Join us as we chat to Rob Doherty of Leeds band Sound of Sirens about influences, gigs and....Matt Goss???

Why did you call the band Sound of Sirens?

"The band was named this as myself and Mik live in Harehills In Leeds which always seems to have the police visiting on a regular basis! Also there's the local hospital, St James', a ten minute walk away so there's always the lovely Sound of Sirens nearby!

How many of you are there and where did you all meet?

"Since I joined the band there have been loads of people come and go as we wanted the right mix of people as well as a good musical taste!

As it stands now there's me, Mik (the founder), John who works with Mik (and who started as the guitarist, went on to bass, before finally wowing everyone with his drumming skills!), Pete, who had seen an ad online too and came down to see one of our early gigs at The Cardigan Arms and loved what we did, and Greg who John found in a skip!"

How would you best describe your music?

"Our music is a real mixture of every single person's personality/Individuality in the band! It's basically classed as indie/rock with a slight poppy edge to it but, to be honest, I dont think we could compare ourselves with anyone at all. Our songs all have a totally different feels and a different style. We do put our "Sirens" stamp on there as well which is all about energy and life! When we write we make sure everyone is happy with the way it's going, the finished product etc... The main thing about our music as I've said is the energy! As a live band when we go on stage we all seem to let go and just enjoy being there and seeing the crowd's reaction. If you don't enjoy what you've created then there's no point in doing it!"

You've recently signed to Medellin Music - was this just for the single 'Schizophrenic' and/or do you continue to work with them?

"We're contracted with Medellin for the single but could be releasing 2 or 3 more singles with them! It's important to us to have a close working relationship so we all know where we stand and what's going on! As anyone would, we want to progress and work with anyone who could take us to the next level!"

Do you write all of the songs or does each member of the band have an input

"I could bring lyrics in, John could kick a beat, Greg or Mik design a riff, Pete a funky bassline... Either way we all have an input in each song. I'd never dream of coming in and saying "Right here's how the drums are, guitar etc.." I'd get beaten up for a start! haha!"

What would you say is SoS's biggest achievement to date?

"We've come a long way in such a short space of time. We've been gigging for 2 years now and I'm proud of the fact that we've done everything step by step. We've not cut corners or had friends in high places to shove us up a notch which is an achievement in itself! We've worked really really hard to be where we are now and it's been far from easy, but we've got on and stuck at it! I remember we all got excited about playing our first town gig at Mr Bens In Leeds. Since then we've played all 3 rooms in The Cockpit, including a couple of headline gigs there; had a centre spread feature in The Yorkshire Evening Post, articles in magazines such as City Dweller and obviously the Leeds Scenester who, I might add, have been an amazing support to us! We've played and been interviewed on BBC Radio with Alan Raw...we've had so many great things happenand I just pray that we keep on with the success of the Sirens and we hope to grab a few more fans along the way!"

Who are your main influences?

"Our influences are a mix of people like The Doors, Guns and Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metalica, Matt Goss! We all have different tastes from Metal to pop! It's all blended in to make Sound of Sirens!"

What advice would you give to other bands starting out in Leeds?

"Have belief in what you're doing! You need to be 100% confident that what you're doing is right! You're gonna have gigs where there's 2 people there; there's gonna be times when you'd much rather stay home and watch tv and have a takeaway and there will probably be times when you think Is it really worth all the hassle? Is it worth not getting paid gigs? Is it worth playing to a handfull of people? Are we good enough? Who invented rubber??? But get through all that and stick with it! At some point someone will notice what you're doing and say ya know what? These guys have payed their dues, they can pull a crowd, they've got passion and talent and take you to the next level! "Never give up" is a cheesy thing to say but it's tried and tested and if you do give up you'll just never know what could've happened!"

Where can we catch you playing anytime soon?

"There's a few off the top of my head but everything will be added to the Sound of Sirens page on Facebook."

MAR 25/26/27 DIRTY HIPPY FEST @ MILO LEEDS! One of the dates on that weekend!
APR 30TH HOLLYWOOD & VINE, HULL
MAY 14TH MILO, LEEDS
JUN 25TH ESCOBAR, LEEDS

What's next for Sound of Sirens?

"At the moment we're working on some more new material. We're growing as a band and our music is getting stronger and more defined. We'll be doing a Summer tour round the Uk this year and we're asking everyone who's ever wondered about our live shows to come down and see for yourselves! We've always had great reviews from the very beginning and we intend on keeping that up! We've got the odd radio performance too which is always nice! We just want to branch out now and get our mugs on the TV to further promote our unique style we've brought to the table."

Interview by Sapphire Wheeler