Splashh

Name?
Tom Beal

Where are you from?
Shropshire

What do you do?
Bass

Describe your style in three words?
Progressive-Urban-Cowboy

You can make a record with anyone from history?
Martin Hannet - He produced all of the factory records bands, which were a big deal to me when I was younger and still are now and I think when you put any of his records on you can instantly recognise his sound. There are lots of stories about his unorthodox techniques like recording drums on the roof of the studio and putting it through delay to get that great sound. He also had a reputation of being a bit of a bastard, which always makes things far more interesting.

What’s the best show you’ve ever been to?
I saw the White Stripes at Wolverhampton Civic Hall in 2003 just after they released ‘Elephant’. To be honest they are not a band I really listen to anymore and even at that time I wasn’t I huge fan of that album but loved all of their earlier stuff. I was 16 at the time and the whole venue was packed, I remember looking up and all the seats in the balconies were pretty much empty because everyone had come down to the standing area. When they came on they just ripped through about 5 songs before even speaking to the crowd and everyone was just going mental. I’m not 100% sure but someone told me that the video for ‘black math’ was footage from that show too.

What British music icons inspire your sound today?
Wire, The Fall, Cocteau Twins, Primal Scream, Jesus and Mary Chain… The list goes on…

You can spend an hour with anyone from history?
Geezer Butler - He’s a fellow bass player and seems like he’s pretty down to earth. They say you should never meet your idols but I think Geezer would be an exception, and I’m sure he’d have a few good stories to tell over a couple of pints down the local.

Which British subculture means the most to you?
Probably punk, I was never really any part of any bracketed group when I was growing up but I suppose we follow the “punk” ethos within the band with the whole DIY style in every sense of the creative process.

If you could share the bill with any British band in history?
I think for me it would probably be The Fall, they are the epitome of a punk band and have been going for over 40 years and still going strong. They are probably the band I’ve seen live the most and it always amazes me how they still keep going, even though they have gone through a lot of line-up changes, Mark E still holds it together.

What music did you listen to growing up?
I was an only child growing up, my parents weren’t really into music, and everything I heard on radio and TV didn’t appeal to me. I was about 14 when I first got into music properly through friends at school, we were into Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Oasis, Nirvana… Basically any band you can now buy a T-Shirt of in Topman.

Splashh are a 4-piece garage rock indie band who originally formed in London but relocated to New York following the release of their debut album 'comfort' in 2013. Their second album 'Waiting A Lifetime' is released 14th April 2017 and can be pre-ordered here.