They're coming to America: an interview with The Amplifires

                                  The Amplifires

The Amplifires, an alternative/indie rock band from the United Kingdom, consists of members Sharon Clancy, 39, (Bolsover in Derbyshire, England), vocals, Steven Rawlinson, 42, (East Manchester, England), guitar, David Brunt, 40, (Brigg in Lincolnshire, England) bass and Ruth Dobson, 40, (Nottingham, England) drums.

The Amplifires are headed to the United States, on August 15, 2009, for a 14 date tour that includes stops in Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York.

The following is a very interesting interview with The Amplffires.

Pete: How did the members of The Amplifires meet each other?

Sharon: I met Steve through work and we just clicked musically.

Ruth: I'm for Nottingham, England - the home of Robin Hood. I met Dave via a band auction site.

David: I met Steve after going to pick up a guitar case bought on ebay. We got to talking and Steve suggested getting together. Steve worked with Sharon, who, at the time, was a folk music singer, and suggested she try out (for the band). We originally had a drummer who left the band in 2007 due to family commitments. Ruth was eventually persuaded to join after (receiving) a number of emails from a web site that advertised musicians.

Pete: What and who inspired The Amplifires to start a band?

Sharon: Me and Steve, and then David and Steve, sort of simultaneously.

Ruth: Sharon, Dave and Steve were the inspirational starters. I followed a few years later when the previous drummer resigned.

Steve: All the people who said I couldn't do it. And the New York Dolls, Slade and the Sensational Alex Harvey Band.

David: We had all been in bands before, going back to our school days, and we were all free at the time. I guess it just felt like a good idea at the time.

Pete: How did The Amplifires think of their band name?

Sharon: It was a long, "names in a hat job" process after a lot of brainstorming.

Ruth: The other members thought of the name.

Steve: Like Rodin's The Thinker - with my chin cupped in one hand, my elbow resting on my knee and looking contemplative. Besides that, no one in the band was keen on "Shy Tots" and, apparently, "Chicken Sex Turtles" had already been taken by Sting.

Pete: Who are the types of people that would relate to your music the most?

Sharon: If you look into our stuff though, I think we have a bit for everyone. And we do have people that have bought our cd's ranging in age from 13 to 75.

Ruth: The age range of our fans is between 15 and 85. However, I suspect we are most popular with 18-25 year olds - which is quite interesting considering we are all over 40 (I think).

Steve: Those who have not lost the will to live (but) want to live fast and die young.

David: Different groups. Lots of young people like us, but also older people who still like music with a bit of an edge. We tend to find that the audience for our material is predominantly 15-25 year olds. Reverb Nation gives a demographic breakdown on your  fans, which turns out to be 18-20 year old girls for us - very perverse.

Pete: What are your ultimate goals in the music business?

Sharon: To continue to enjoy doing it and making great music.

Ruth: To get people to spell our band name right. It's The Amplifires NOT The Amplifiers!

Steve: To kick sand in the face of Mike Hucknall of Simply Red. He used to be a neighbor of mine and, let's just say that there's no love lost between us.

David: Ideally we would love to get our music heard by a wider audience and to be able to spend less time on our day jobs so that we could spend more time on song writing and touring.

Pete: If The Amplifires could play a gig at one dream venue, what would that venue be?

Sharon: CBGB's. But it's shut down now.

Ruth: It used to be The Maze in Nottingham, but, having done that already, now it's the 02 Arena in London.

Steve: CBGB's. But it ain't gonna happen now!!

David: Shea Stadium.

Pete: And finally, what is it that's bringing you to the United States, much less Buffalo, New York, all the way from England?

Sharon: Our fan base in America and a chance to play there is bringing us over. 

Ruth: We have more fans in the United States and the U.K. Also, this summer in the U.K. has been crap. So we are coming for sunshine and fun too.

Steve: An aeroplane.

David: The requests we've gotten from people on various web sites in America. We have quite a following in Texas and California too. So I think we may go there too. But, as a "toe in the water" exercise, New York is a good starting point.

Author's note: I didn't have the heart to spoil Ruth's inaugural visit to Buffalo by telling her that it's been raining here for half the summer.