I met States Of Emotion completely by chance when I ventured into Essex for the first time to pay a visit to The White Room Studios. It was there that they were rehearsing their material and after they were kind enough to play me a few of their tracks, I was hooked. I then made a mental note to nab the guys for an interview so we could all get to know them a bit better...
There seems to be such a great rapport between you all, you've known each other for a long time but what made you decide to group together as a band?
(Olly) "Luke, Bonzai and I formed the band at school 12 years ago, we had some mutual friends but didn't really know each other at the time, I walked past the music room one lunchtime and heard Bonzai jamming with some other musicians, they were playing "The Hives-Hate To Say I Told You So" I can remember being really impressed and asking my music teacher who the bass player was, turns out he had already formed a band with Luke on drums. I then set about poaching the pair of them to join the band I was starting up. I knew Luke's cousin Adam Pelosi, so I asked Adam to introduce me to Luke, we got on really well and he agreed to come and have a jam with me and a couple of mates. It went really well, we had a laugh, so we decided to make it a weekly arrangement, after a couple of weeks Luke managed to convince Bonzai to join us. The other 2 lads we'd been jamming with left after a few weeks but Luke,Bonzai and I were determined to carry on so we played for a few years as a 3 piece, always under the name States of Emotion, right from the start. A good friend of ours Rishi then joined and played guitar with us for a while before deciding to call it a day. I'd been mates with Brick since primary school, he was also friends with Luke and Bonzai as they were in the same year group at senior school, we got him down to rehearse with us the day after Rishi left and it's been us 4 ever since."
Your music doesn't confine itself to one given genre, do you all have different influences that you bring to the table?
The lyrics in most of your tracks really tug on the heartstrings, who writes the lyrics and what's your process of piecing them all together?
(Olly) "I write the lyrics, I'm very grateful to have an emotional outlet like this in my life. All I can really say about it is that I write from the heart and I'd feel like a fraud if I didn't do so." The story of how this band got together is an honest one and I write songs about real incidents in my life. Don't get me wrong, once upon a time we were arrogant, pretentious, insecure teenagers that didn't know any better but that stage is now years behind us, I sleep very well every night these days !"
Your recent release of 'The Way That I'm Wired' has received such a positive response, how does this feel for you all?
Describe each other in one word
Olly - "Luke = Loyal, Brick = Talented, Bonzai = Genuine"
Luke - "Olly = Singer, Brick = Guitarist, Bonzai = Bassist"
Bonzai - "Luke = Alcoholic, Brick = Beard, Olly = OCD"
Brick = "Luke = Luke,Olly = OllyBonzai = Bonzai"
Alongside band duties, Olly also manages Flag Factory which champions local talent and hosts alternative Clubnights in Essex. This weekend will see the exciting return of Flag Factory Festival.
Taking place at The White Horse in Coxtie Green Brentwood on Fri 12th Sept & Sat 13th Sept, the 2 day event will feature 23 of the most exciting new music artists from in and around Essex. Alongside a wide range of Beers & Ales, BBQ and a selection of stalls including Vintage Clothing, Records, Tattoo exhibition, Arts & Crafts + more.
For More information visit: https://www.facebook.com/flagfactory.presents?fref=ts
