The cliche that time flies was all too apparent when I met up with new Reading band The Parades the other day.
I last saw their frontman Dan Bartlett when he was aged 14.
Back then, he was fronting a young teen rock band called Cooper’s Rage.
They were so young that bassist Henry was smaller than his instrument.
And back then Dan still had a young boy’s voice – albeit an incredibly trained one, thanks to treading the boards in the West End.
It’s also thanks to his theatre experience that he pulled off a charismatic performance on stage, brimming with confidence and lapping up the ecstatic crowd reaction as he commanded the room.
Now I see before me a grown man of 19 with a chiselled jaw, and only a whisper of the young boy’s face I remembered from five years before.
His voice has matured into a soulful timbre, which works well with The Parades’ funk pop sound.
“Starting to write and perform music from a young age was the best decision I’ve ever made,” says Dan, who formed Cooper’s Rage at the age of just 11.
“I absolutely love what I do and believe that more people should follow their passion and not just feel like they have to conform to what’s expected of them these days.
“Being in a ‘band’ from the age of 11 was as you’d expect, a lot of fun.
“But it also gave me the confidence and drive to start making my hobby into a career.”
Cooper’s Rage fizzled out after six years, leading to the formation of The Parades with school buddies Callum Walton and Andy Burge.
“We formed The Parades early this year and have been lucky enough to play all over the UK,” says Dan, showing that the band pretty much hit the ground running.
“It’s been a lot of hard work and we know it’s going to take a load more but we love it!
“We’ve done so much already and have performed in some brilliant places so we’re just looking forward to doing it over and over again, but bigger.”
Interestingly, and perhaps alarmingly, the band have trudged all around the country but are yet to play in Reading.
“I believe that we’ve gone down a completely unconventional route for a band by playing pretty much everywhere but our home town,” says Dan.
“It’s great to build up a local fan base but we believe that playing all over the place allows us to spread our music much quicker.”
BBC Introducing is on the case however to secure them their first Reading gig at its regular live music night at the Oakford Social Club, which will coincide with some more music the band are putting on their Soundcloud page.
In the meantime, the great Parades machine will keep on trundling.
“We’re going to be releasing a lot of content, playing a load more shows, and working hard to create the best music we can,” says Dan.
And that should be every band’s goal, because, to end with another cliche, you reap what you sow.
Find out more about the band at www.theparades.com or follow them on Twitter @theparadesband.
Soundtracks
If you have tickets for Rudiemental on Friday, the venue for this spectacular drum’n’bass DJ night has changed.
Previously at the University of Reading’s Students’ Union, the producers will now be playing at Sub89 in Friar Street.
There are still a limited number of tickets left for this chart-topping team, who have a number one album and two number one singles under their belts. This is the last time you’ll catch them in a venue this size for a while.
Reading’s alt-folk singer Ben Marwood has said he will be spending his free time over the next few months penning some new songs, which is of course very welcome news.
The Xtra Mile-signed artist will be performing two more shows in York to promote new album Back Down, before de-mothballing his Christmas jumper and having a break.
But, not one to sit still for long, Mr Marwood will be embarking on another UK tour in January.
And for this he would like your help.
“I’m still keeping it DIY and not using a booking agent, so this leaves me open to suggestions on where I should be going,” he says.
So if you know of a great promoter or venue near you that ‘specialises in vaguely-in-tune, it’s-not-really-that-much-like-folk folk music’, then get in touch with Ben and he’ll add it to his ‘list of things to investigate’.
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