Interview with The LAGS: ‘I love Mitch Mitchell, his controlled recklessness’

Liverpool rock band The LAGS will release their fourth single ‘Get A Grip’ early next year, a follow on from their incredibly catchy, guitar-driven single ‘The Locker’.

The band comprises Dan (lead vocals), Bradley (drums), Jack (bass) and Liam (lead guitar). Liam and Dan are school friends who originally started the band with a different bass player and Dan and Bradley know each other from playing football. Their band name has an entertaining provenance: ‘We were in a taxi when a police car drove past and the taxi driver said that’s what we should call the band. “LAGS”, it’s an Aussie word for “convict”,’ Dan said. Bradley laughs: ‘We were a bit worried that it sounded too much like another local band – The La’s!’

‘The Locker’ hooks you from the intro, with its Wild West-like catchy guitars, picking up the pace as Dan comes in on vocals. The outro is glorious, as a Spanish-sounding guitar is joined by drums that build as more guitar lines and bass enter the fray. It’s beautiful and catchy in equal measure, certainly one of my favourite outros this year; it would be brilliant live: ‘In ‘The Locker’, I take over playing lead guitar from the two minute mark ’til the end,’ said Dan. ‘I think José (The Heavy North guitarist José Ibanez, who is also their producer) may have used similar pedals and plug ins whilst we were recording but I think maybe us using Gibson guitars gives it that feel. The Spanish style riff just came with the song when it was written. I’d say it came from Arctic Monkeys’ ‘Crying Lightning’, which has the same chords, and which has quite an Egyptian riff.’

Drama and sonic intrigue are present in all of their tracks: ‘All of our songs are quite dramatic, with big choruses, bridges and endings,’ Dan said. ‘I write the tunes, I start off with chords, the words come later. I’ll be noodling around with the acoustic and say “That’s good, that’ll work”. ‘The Locker’ is a bit of a love song (laughs), I don’t really think about the words. It’s open to interpretation. I was watching Pirates of the Caribbean, that’s where the reference to “the depths of Davy Jones” comes from.’ Bradley is nodding: ‘It’s the one which is most like our influences, like The Stone Roses,’ he said.’ Liam jumps in: ‘It’s second in our set. The stuff we have recorded so far – ‘Down ‘N’ Dirty’ and ‘Free Me’ is lighthearted but our set is heavier.’ Bradley weighs in: ‘The new one, ‘Get A Grip’, it’s not firmed up yet, but it’s heavier.’ Dan agrees: ‘It’s more like ‘Down ‘N’ Dirty’, it’s got a big chorus, it’s a bit like The Who.’ Liam grins: ‘It’s got a massive ending!’ Dan is laughing: ‘I’m not good at this,’ he said. ‘It’s about day to day life but you could find your own story in it. It’s about the general situation, about the government.’ Liam chips in: ‘It’s not politics heavy, we don’t bring too much politics into our songs.’

‘I reckon about 20% of the good venues have closed over the last 3-4 years’

Interestingly, Ibanez has been their producer on all of their tracks to date. ‘We met him because we have a few mutual friends,’ Bradley said. I tell them that I’m really impressed with the new music scene in Liverpool and have interviewed several bands from there, including The Heavy North, and I ask how they’re finding it at the moment. ‘So many venues have gone recently,’ Bradley said. ‘We haven’t done many gigs outside Liverpool, I reckon about 20% of the good venues have closed over the last 3-4 years and there are less people going to gigs and going out, it’s got harder.’

Locally, they have a few firm favourites: ‘The Heavy North and The Sway,’ Liam said. Dan nods and mentions José from The Heavy North: ‘He can hit a guitar! Also, The Kairos, I like them,’ he said. Bradley cites John Witherspoon and his song ‘Shame’: ‘It’s one of my fave songs of the year, kind of funk,’ he said. Liam agrees: ‘He’s like a Bob Dylan/Jake Bugg mash up,’ he said.

Dan and Liam have similar musical tastes: ‘Oasis got me into music but then The Stone Roses, The Beatles, 60’s local stuff, it’s all guitar music,’ Dan said. Jack calls his influences ‘a mixed bag’: ‘Arctic Monkeys, rap music and Arcade Fire.’ Liam cites bands such as Linkin Park, The Stone Roses’ guitarist John Squire and The Seahorses (also formed by Squire). Bradley brings the blues to the band: ‘The Rolling Stones, 60’s British rock. I love The Who and the British take on blues rock. I love Mitch Mitchell (a drummer for Jimi Hendrix), his controlled recklessness, taming the lion. They make it look fun and easy.’

‘You love it so much, that’s why you keep going, Rolling Stones-style’

There are several local venues they’d love to play: ‘The Cavern would be great,’ said Dan. ‘And Mountford Hall, 02 Academy 1, M&S Bank Arena. We haven’t had many gigs out of Liverpool so anywhere really! London and Scotland would be nice… even Manchester!’

If he could go for a pint with anyone, Liam picks John Lennon: ‘I’d like to see him.’ Dan is thinking Liam Gallagher: ‘I’d go for a pint with him any day of the week!’ Bradley laughs: ‘You’d ask him about his brother all night!’ Dan is mulling who else he’d like to go drinking with; ‘Kurt Cobain would be a good one. I’d ask him some things but I wouldn’t be able to tell ya!’ Bradley picks George Harrison: ‘He’d be more chilled than John. I’d ask him how to remain interested in music when you get that big, how to stay motivated.’ Dan looks deep in thought: ‘You love it so much, that’s why you keep going, Rolling Stones-style.’ Bradley laughs: ‘Mick, he does yoga twice a day, he’s fitter than all of us!’ Liam has other ideas: ‘Tupac, I’d ask him something proper decent like “How do we save the world?” The rest of them burst out laughing. Bradley is shaking his head: ‘You want to bring him back to ask him THAT?!’