Ramble Gamble: ‘He was a weird piece of the puzzle that we didn’t know we needed, obliterating a lot of cajons!’

Lincolnshire alt-folk band Ramble Gamble has brought out their latest EP, ‘Hangovers: Volume 1’ , giving us dark tales of love, loss and despair, all delivered with their trademark exuberance.

They describe themselves as a bunch of ‘reprobates’ who formed the band ‘out of a love for music, drinking and refusing to conform to the general sound of their local music scene’, comprising Matt Hercock (vocals/mandolin/guitar/banjo), Jonny Lavin (vocals and guitar), Ben Green (drums/cajon/percussion)) and Chris Logan (bass and vocals): ‘If I remember rightly, it was originally me, Matt and a girl called Sian, we were in a folk pop trio,’ Lavin said. ‘We were having a jam in Sian’s kitchen one night and there was a canvas on the wall with loads of newspaper cuttings stuck all over it. We decided that the band name was going to be on there somewhere and we came up with a list of names. I think it was between Ramble Gamble and Hangman’s Gamble. There was also Toxic Gamble at one point! We felt Ramble Gamble was the most ridiculous, I think the combination of those two words together actually, completely coincidentally in a way, sums up what we do really well.’

Green met the others in the most random yet serendipitous of ways: ‘We met many years ago when I was playing at Filey Folk Festival, which is just up on the East Coast,’ he said. ‘I was playing there with one of my bands from Hull and I bumped into this set of hairy, weird people (laughs), and they were like: “We’re playing later, do you want to come see it?” So I said I’d pop down and see it and it was meant to be. I went to see the set, ended up dancing all night long with them, went back to their tent and we partied till the early hours! They bought me breakfast in the morning but then I didn’t see them again for about a year and a half (laughs). I was playing a gig in Scunthorpe with my other band from Hull, Accentus. It was like dad rock, you know? We were playing with Matt and Jonny’s and Chris’s mate’s band, Mamma’s Days Are Done. I was looking at them, and I thought: “That’s those guys, isn’t it? I’m sure it is”. I said: “Excuse me, are you Matt?” And he was like: “Wait a second, I recognise you! Do you want to be in our band? The drummer’s gone!”‘ Hercock and Lavin met at a jam night after Hercock came back from university.

‘I wanted something bright and happy sounding to lift you back up in that section as it slowly builds up from that point where you realise the song is actually sad’

‘Hangovers: Volume 1’ comprises three distinctly different yet dark folk tales: ‘Now I Understand’, ‘Ragged Wood’ and ‘Two Paths’, which Green describes as ‘dystopian folk’. ‘Now I Understand’ is a song of two parts; at its core, it’s a love story about two people who meet and grow old together, right up to the point where the narrator contemplates what life will be like for the other after one of them passes away. The song slows down around three minutes in and fades away before the sad finale; you think it’s over, before it reels you back in to hear how the story ends, underpinned by a haunting and mournful mandolin. ‘There were a few different variations of that before it finally clicked,’ Hercock said. ‘I wanted something bright and happy sounding to lift you back up in that section as it slowly builds up from that point where you realise the song is actually sad. I think I cracked it after a few times playing live, there seemed to be a moment where it clicked. That’s always a high point in the set for me personally now.’

The ebullient, upbeat melody is diametrically opposed to the lyrics in the later part of the song, all underpinned by beautiful, sweeping harmonies. ‘That song’s older than Ramble Gamble,’ Lavin explained. ‘In fact, that might even be one of the first songs that me and Matt jammed together for the band. At the time, Mumford and Sons were really big and I thought I’ll write something that’s a bit like that, where we can put our own spin on it. I thought I could write a really sad song that sounds happy and upbeat and just try and confuse people, which it tends to do because it is about death, isn’t it? It’s a song about finding the one person in life that you truly love, the one person in life you want to be with, you want to love them and marry them and hold them and be with them forever. And then you realise that one day they’re going to die, that’s the general gist of the song.’

As it kicks off: “All I ever wanted is so much more than I needed. You’re the thing that I hold nearest, the thing that I hold dearest to my heart.”

‘We’ll write songs that generally sound upbeat, based on the music, but the lyrics tend to have a macabre undertone’

‘Now I Understand’, which Green describes as ‘almost in the territory of punk folk’, features an acoustic guitar, drums, bass, several harmonies, a mandolin and keys in the background, according to Hercock: ‘It’s quite tame, really, for us, to be fair.’ I say I’ve mulled learning the banjo and ask if it’s hard to pick up: ‘Don’t do it, it’s a pain,’ he said grinning. ‘Most of the time when you’re live, you’ve tuned it three times before you start. And then when you’re about to start the song, you go, “Oh, it’s out of tune again”. But it’s fun. We use the banjo quite infrequently. I play mandolin mostly and then guitar. The banjo comes out for a special occasion, like the finisher, ‘Tennessee Jacks’.’

The duality of the darker lyrics set to a sunnier melody is something that runs through most of their songs, not just on this EP: ‘I think it’s maybe just the way our minds work; we’ll write songs that generally sound upbeat, based on the music but the lyrics tend to have a macabre undertone,’ Lavin said. ‘You’ll listen to it once or twice and think that’s a really happy song. And then the third time you hear it, you’ll go: “Ohhhh” and the penny drops.’

That mixture of elements is homage to their influences: ‘I think we’re most heavily influenced by bands like Katzenjammer (a Norwegian folk-rock band), Gorgol Bordello (an American punk rock band) and Ben Caplan,’ Hercock said. ‘Katzenjammer really inspired us early on because of their songwriting, their harmonies and their ability to swap instruments at any moment.’ Lavin agrees: ‘Katzenjammer and Gogol Bordello inspired us explore different styles and genres within our sound and Ben Caplan really inspired our songwriting and the way we approach writing melodies.’

‘My mum was actually saying the other day how much she likes Jonny’s songs because they’re really emotional’

Unconventional themes are the heart of their songs, from death to tales of cowboys, pirates and sorrow. The fact that they are all multi-instrumentals is clear from the tapestry of instrumental parts in each track: ‘When we started, it was more like: “What kind of songs have you got?!”, Hercock said laughing. ‘Now, we’ll bring it to the table and say: “This is what I’ve got”. ‘Now I Understand’ was practically written by Jonny. When we started to get our hands on it, we added some more instrumental parts and that. We’ve written a few songs together, but mostly it’s me or Jonny. We’ll bring some words or a few chords and then the song will come from there. Usually, they come to life more when we’ve played them a few times. I think we’re all quite good at knowing what to add to service the song rather than take it over, I think that just comes from playing together for so long.’

However, the meaning behind the lyrics is not always obvious, Hercock admits: ‘I’m usually being intentionally vague so people can make their own minds up, or I’m being extremely obvious *cough cough*, the one about riding a horse is just because I played ‘Red Dead Redemption 2′ and thought it would reet fun to have a song with a silly repeating chorus that was easy for the audience to sing and dance to! Jonny writes quite sweet songs. There’s also a little bit of jokiness in them as well.’ Green is laughing: ‘My mum was actually saying the other day how much she likes Jonny’s songs because they’re really emotional. She can tell the difference!’

‘Ragged Wood’ on the EP erupts with a boisterous energy that’s fitting, given the cheeky werewolf tale within. The gorgeous mandolin solo around 2.30 minutes in, which Hercock describes as his ‘usual mandolin and also an Octave Mandolin layered together, just to complicate the twisted werewolf love story a bit more’, gives the song extra depth and has an almost wistful feel to it. ‘That was originally on our first EP, ‘Neverender’, which we actually released just before the pandemic, so it didn’t do very well,’ Hercock said. Green jumps in: ‘It started the pandemic, didn’t it, that one?!’ Hercock is trying to remember whether it is just him or also Lavin howling like wolves on the track: ‘We’ve been trying to get the audience to do a big howl (laughs). We try and get the audience to do a lot of things and it’s very rare. Like buy our merchandise (laughs). We’ve been pushing our luck a bit recently with howling and drinking games!’ I say that it sounds deadly and he laughs: ‘Oh yeah, Ramble Gamble gigs are deadly!’

As the track goes: “Well I know, you’re making notches on the wall. A silver bullet ends it all. Counting down the days. The rabid wolf inside your gaze.”

‘It was a very different sounding version of the song then, it was a lot slower and a bit darker’

‘Two Paths’ on the EP has a slightly Beatlesey vibe mixed with a bit of Waterboys: ‘That’s a song that I wrote for another band that I was in before Ramble Gamble,’ Lavin said. ‘It was a very different sounding version of the song then, it was a lot slower and a bit darker. ‘Now I Understand’ was sort of our sound at the time, as opposed to the more alternative dark folk we do now. So I thought: “Well, I have this ‘Two Paths’ song, I wonder if I can rework it?” So I’d managed to turn it into what it is now and we booked in to go to a studio to record it in Grimsby. And on the way, I managed to crash my car and destroy all of our weapons. Our weapons (laughs)?! Our instruments. And put me and Matt in hospital, so the song never got recorded. Obviously years later now, we were thinking about songs. And me and Matt were just having a jam of it and thought it was actually a song well worth recording.’

Lavin describes ‘Two Paths’ as essentially ‘about relationships not panning out how you thought they were going to pan out’: ‘It’s very relatable,’ he said. Green agrees: ‘It was interesting as well because in the studio, the first time I’d heard the song ‘Two Paths’ was when I sat down in front of the drum kit to play it! It went quite well. It was one of those where it was kind of a fresh take on it and it was a bit different from what we usually did. It’s not overly folky, although it’s got the folky aspects but it’s also got huge fills.’

As it kicks off: “So give me your hand and we will walk for a while. How can we rule the world if you can’t crack a smile?”

‘Some of the best drummers in the country are from Hull, I’m pretty sure!’

Green describes Hull’s music scene as having ‘a never-ending list of really good musicians’: ‘It’s such a deprived dock town that there’s nothing really to do here apart from make music,’ he quipped. ‘There’s a lack of support, I think, for live music. You know, there’s the grassroots and the music industry. But some of the bigger events that get put on have trouble getting funding, which is surprising considering how much it does for the city. There’s a lot of talent around here. Some of the best drummers in the country are from Hull, I’m pretty sure!’

(Photo by Steve Lloyd Thresh at the Humber Street Sesh 2023.) 

They’ve had some hilarious moments playing in Green’s hometown as well, as Hercock recounts laughing: ‘One man once peed himself during a song. We didn’t do it on purpose (laughs). We get the audience to drink every time we say the word ‘horse’ in one of our songs. But we say the word ‘horse’ something like 78 times. So he drank 78 times!’ Green takes over: ‘He needed the toilet and he couldn’t get to it…so he wet himself. He went home because he lived around the corner and he came back and told us. He was like: “Lads, you’ll never guess what happened to me!” He was proud of it, he took it like a champ!’

‘From being in metal bands, he brought this really driven, hard sound that helped evolve our overall band sound into something a little bit more like what it is today’

Green has had a huge influence on how their sound has evolved, according to Lavin: ‘Before Ben was in the band, we were very light folk sounding,’ he said. ‘From being in metal bands, he brought this really driven, hard sound that helped evolve our overall band sound into something a little bit more like what it is today. He was a weird piece of the puzzle that we didn’t know we needed, obliterating a lot of cajons! Smashing a lot of them, just straight through. He also encourages the weird. We’ve got weirder and weirder as time goes by!’

I ask him in what way. ‘Well, as Jonny says, we used to do soft folk because that’s what we thought we had to do. But now we just write songs because we want to write them. We’ll make it work if we’re all enjoying it and we all like the song. It doesn’t really matter if it’s a nice folk song or a dark folk song or if it’s a little bit rocky – the song chooses the genre, like our song ‘Feels So Good To Be Naked’. Green laughs: ‘It’s a great thing as well. You know, it does feel good! It’s such an explosive song, it’s straight in from the start. Lyrically, it’s very interesting. I’ve never really heard people write music quite like this. You know, when you listen to the lyrics, you think, what is it about? And sometimes I’ll ask Matt: “What’s the song actually about?” And I don’t know whether he’s being serious sometimes when he tells me. I’ll get one version one time and another version another time (laughs). He said this one is about a flasher that felt persecuted because he felt so good to be naked (laughs) but by the sounds of it, he drinks a lot of wine and takes a lot of acid. I’m only spitballing it, I don’t actually know what it’s about!’

Logan has also brought a new depth to the band, according to Lavin: ‘Much like how Ben brought a drive to the band’s sound when he joined, Chris really brought something special when he joined us, he always manages to add that extra ingredient that really brings songs to life. We all bring our own special flavour and talents to the group, we can play solo, duo or as a three piece, but the four of us together is the perfect Ramble Gamble experience.’

The new album that they are currently working on goes ‘a little bit further down the dark path’, according to Green: ‘All the songs are a little bit more strange. The album will be called Ramble Gamble & The Dark Silhouettes At The End Of The World. I don’t know if we were going for a new sound but we definitely ended up with one! But like Matt said earlier, it just felt right.’ Hercock agrees: ‘The theme of the album is pretty much in the title, it’s loosely based around the end of the world because we have a song called ‘End of the World’,’ he said. ‘That kind of sprung ideas for other songs that are on this album. We have a few dedicated fans at this point and the small audience we’ve built gets what we do, we could probably come out with a rock opera at this point and I’m sure they’d go along with it!’

‘This is a spooky Halloween theme, like death swing!’

The album will also feature a track called ‘Dark Silhouettes’ which Hercock describes as one of his favourites. I say that it sounds spooky and they laugh: ‘It IS spooky,’ Green said. ‘We listened to a version of it back and we thought, this is a spooky Halloween theme, like death swing!’ Hercock is laughing: ‘Think of dancing skeletons,’ he said. ‘I think I wrote that about two or three years and I showed it to Jonny while he was trying to do something else because I’ve got a short attention span (laughs). Once we played it on kit, it gave it an even harder edge to it.’ Green agrees: ‘It took it from a weird folk song to a little bit rocky. It’s got a lot of swing in it. It’s got more of a jazzy undertone and quite a punchy outro, it’s like a sandwich with lots of layers stacked up.’

Given the mysterious and eerie nature of some of the songs, they are contemplating an October release to tie it into Halloween. ‘Or Christmas,’ Lavin quips. ‘Death swing at Christmas sounds like a winner!’ It will clearly be an album that showcases a new side of them, whenever it comes out: ‘It was more of a case of not going for a specific thing,’ Green said. ‘We just let it fall when we were in the studio then we listened back. I think we’re all in agreement that we wanted to carry on with it like that because we did 20 songs and we’ve been chipping away at the rest of it systematically. And with other bits, obviously, we need money for it, so we have to save our money from the gigs. You know, if anybody out there wants to give a donation to Ramble Gamble!’

Also in the works is an EP of songs based around Viking-era France, according to Lavin: ‘Because why not?!’ I ask if this means we’ll be getting some songs in French: ‘Chris has got it in French. Chris, are you going to do some French for us?!’ Logan laughs and shakes his head vigorously: ‘I barely speak English! We don’t necessarily choose what the song is going to sound like but we bring it to the table and it just kind of chooses what genre it’s going to be.’ In addition, for their 10 anniversary this year, they will release ‘a bunch of old Gamble songs that people might know from seeing us live over the years but they’ve never had the chance to hear them recorded’, according to Lavin.

‘It was actually about a drunken storyteller just talking nonsense at the bar, we do meet them a lot!’

Their camaraderie is evident on our Zoom and humour also finds its way into many of their songs, such as ‘Drunken Storyteller’, which opens with someone pouring a drink. ‘That is Chris opening a nice fruity cider, is it not?,’ Hercock asks the others. Logan laughs: ‘Yeah, it is. It was my idea, I recorded it in the kitchen because we self-recorded that one.’ Hercock is laughing: ‘Would you believe he got it in 10 takes? Obviously, it’s very important to get that just right, isn’t it? And if you’re not sure, then have another cider! ‘Drunken Storyteller’ is just one of them that was kind of gobbledygook lyrics at the start. Then I got the idea that it was actually about a drunken storyteller just talking nonsense at the bar, we do meet them a lot!’ Green interjects: ‘Sometimes we are them!’

As the song goes: “Take me where the wild things are. And the drunken storyteller is left singing by the bar. And he’s banging to the tune of a dead man’s drum.”

If he could go out drinking with any musician, Green picks Keith Moon: ‘Because he could probably keep up with my drinking! I’d probably ask him about Oliver Reed. He was one of his best mates, wasn’t he? I’d probably ask him what it was like to go out partying with him. He’s in ‘Tommy’, he was the stepfather. (The musical fantasy drama from 1975 based on The Who’s 1969 rock opera album of the same name about a psychosomatically deaf, mute and blind boy who becomes a pinball champion and religious leader.) The stories they’d have would be insane!’ Hercock chooses Frank Zappa: ‘I feel it would be interesting to pick his brain about where the ideas for his songs came from,’ he said. ‘He had so many songs in different genres. It could go from weird to beautiful to haunting and spooky and then just all over stupid and that’s what I really like about his music. I feel like he’d be mean to me, though. I don’t know why!’

Logan has other ideas: ‘Flea,’ he said happily. ‘He’s been a massive inspiration to my playing, how crazy he was at the beginning.’ Lavin goes with Glenn Hansard: ‘I saw the film ‘Once’ and ‘Say It To Me Now’ was such an inspiration to me,’ he said. I say that I love the film and the scene towards the end where they all bundle into the car to hear their first CD played on ‘crappy’ speakers: ‘That’s the real test,’ he agreed.’ Most people listen to music in their car. I like to listen to music first thing in the morning, with fresh ears. Whenever we get sent the initial recordings of new songs, I usually listen to them in the car on the way to work, I usually use that time to work out harmonies and additional vocals for tracks.’

For a band with a pirate and a cowboy in the mix, high jinxes are par for the course: ‘Probably for me, the funniest moment was when we went to Amsterdam with a few friends and we sunk a boat!,’ Logan said. ‘Jonny the so-called pirate jumped ship to let us all sink in the canal!’ Lavin jumps in: ‘That’s not what happened, I jumped back onto the shore to try and grab a rope to pull you all back to shore!’ Hercock tells me his version of events: ‘That’s what he says happened, he saw his exit and took it, pushing us even further away when he leapt. Walking back to the hotel sogged with canal water wasn’t very funny though!’ 

(Top photo from left to right: Ben, Chris, Matt and Jonny. Photo credit: Ellie Jane Richards)