Q&A: Former Champ

“Life’s too short to be self conscious about your art, who cares what anyone thinks!”

Former Champ is Glasgow’s freshest supergroup featuring Irish vocalist Claire McKay (Martha Ffion), alongside members of Savage Mansion, Catholic Action and Secret Motorbikes. The five-piece band formed in the summer of 2021 after years of talking about doing it. Inspired by both their shared experiences of their home city and their Irish heritage, there are also nods to Thin Lizzy, Teenage Fanclub and The Cranberries in their all killer, no filler power pop.

We spoke to Craig Angus about their most recent release, their debut EP, and the future of Former Champ.

You recently released the single ’Stella' as part of your debut EP 'Vol.1'. Can you tell us a bit about the track and how it came to be a single? And how would you describe the EP as a whole to a new listener?

Stella is a collaborative effort that was written mostly by me and Claire. I had written this melancholy drinking song and she came in, changed a couple of chords and we rewrote the words together. That’s quite typical of the songwriting process in FC. Usually someone has the original idea and then if it strikes a chord we move forward with it as a band. Everyone is encouraged to suggest things. Nothing is ever just one person’s song. 

What is your creative process when creating music? Do you have a specific technique for writing/composing or is it freestyle?  

I’ve no specific technique, historically. I’ve recently been thinking about creative flow though, inspired by a Blindboy podcast, and I think my ideal writing state is to lay down a lot of ideas without thinking too much about it, devote a good chunk of time to listening back and reflecting, and then another big chunk of time on finessing and editing. Separating all those processes and thinking about the separation has been eye opening. I think all my best songs are ahead of me.

What was your favourite show you played/went to last year?   

Our favourite show we played last year was Left of the Dial in Rotterdam. It was our first time out of Scotland with this band, we did a couple of shows at it, and it felt like the perfect inner city multi venue festival to me. Really well curated, we got treated well (as is the case in Europe, god bless them), and Rotterdam is a really cool city I didn’t know much about beforehand but loved hanging out in. Reminded me a bit of Glasgow, although it might have been the fact it rained constantly. We got to catch up with our old mate Romeo Taylor who is playing drums in The Tubs - great band - which is always eventful. There was a backstage bar that we christened “the shebeen” because you could smoke in it and the pints were free, so it felt too good to be legal. Let me tell you the journey home on the Sunday was rough.

Tell us your three desert island albums.   

Picking three is so brutal, my god. But three essential records that have informed Former Champ as a band are 'Is This It' by The Strokes, 'Let It Be' by The Replacements and 'Alvvays' by Alvvays.

If you could collaborate with anyone on future music, who would it be?  

I’d love to make a Former Champ record with John Parish. I talk about that a lot. I think the records he produces and engineers sounds amazing. And really put an emphasis on great arrangements that value space as much as playing. Which is something we try and think about.

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians who are looking to establish themselves in the Scottish music industry?  

Write every day, even if it’s just notes on your phone. And don’t be self conscious - life’s too short to be self conscious about your art, who cares what anyone thinks! I wish I’d had that realisation ten years ago. 

Lastly, what can we expect to see from Former Champ in 2024?

We are releasing more music - two of the best songs I’ve ever been involved in recording are out before the summer, and then gigging more and writing an album. Come see us.

The band kickstart their year at The Rum Shack on Friday 22 March, for all things Former Champ, and tickets to the gig, click here.

Q&A: Wine Moms

“I definitely started off caring so much about streams and followers and now after having done it for a couple years, it’s so much fun just getting to make music without getting caught up on stuff like that.”

Photo by Jos Hurley

Wine Moms have established a reputation for themselves in the alternative DIY music scene in Glasgow, ingraining their unique grunge and punk sound into the consciousness of audiences all over Scotland. They are widely known for their riotous, chaotic, and loud live performances.

Since forming in high school, Wine Moms have grown significantly, headling iconic Glasgow venues such as King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut and Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, as well as sharing stages with countless bands like BILK, Master Peace, Grandmas House, and a short tour with Welsh rockers James and the Cold Gun. The band are at the top of their game and ready to bring fresh new material to the table in 2024. After two years, three new members, a tonne of new music is just around the corner.

Your most recent single was ‘White Lies’. Can you tell us a bit about the track and how it came to be? What was it like signing to Electric Honey Records?

I'd had the main riff for White Lies lying around for about 3 years and could never properly get it to click. Then the day that Rishi Sunak was put in power, I wrote the second verse all in one go and the rest of the track shortly followed. Signing to Electric Honey was a steep learning curve for us. It was really difficult to hand over so much responsibility that we were so used to taking ourselves. After the single came out through them, we figured out that we weren't really ready to lose that control over our music yet so we're back to doing it ourselves. We made tons of amazing connections through EH though, including our new drummer, Arran Black. 

What is your creative process when creating music? Do you have a specific technique for writing/composing or is it freestyle?  

For me, I have two ways of going about writing a song. Either riffs or lyrics. With riffs I find it a lot easier to figure out how I want to structure the song and develop the melodic ideas that I've started with. Lyrics on the other hand, are more hit or miss for me. I'll either write nothing for a month or finish off three songs in a couple hours. I much prefer the freestyle approach, it means I'm not held back by a set of rules that I've made for myself. 

What was your favourite show you played/went to last year?   

Favourite show we played has got to either be our first headline at Sleazys with Scottish Music Collective and our mates Wishbone, or getting to headline King Tuts with San Jose, Brat Coven, and The Runaway Models. I saw my very first gig at King Tuts so getting to headline with the best bunch of support acts I've ever seen was really special. Best show I went to either has to be The Prodigy at The Hydro or San Jose's first headline at Audio. The crowds were both absolutely nuts. 

Tell us your three desert island albums.   

Collection II by Misfits

Dummy by Portishead

Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing by Discharge

If you could collaborate with anyone on future music, who would it be?  

Out of anyone it'd have to be Dave Grohl, that man is an absolute machine and he shaped my entire music taste when I was younger. On a more realistic level though, I'd love to start collaborating with some local punk bands, I think the local music scene is really missing that right now so I'd love to explore it. 

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians who are looking to establish themselves in the Scottish music industry?  

Do it for yourself. A lot of what held me back when I started creating was this fear that no one would want to listen to it, but now it doesn't really matter to me as much. I definitely started off caring so much about streams and followers and now after having done it for a couple years, it's so much fun just getting to make music without getting caught up on stuff like that. 

Lastly, what can we expect to see from Wine Moms in 2024?

Well we have our new single, Dogma, coming out on February 2nd and the day after we'll be co-headlining Audio with One Nine Eight. We're really excited to get this new era for us on the move. We're gonna be sending off some old favourites at that show in preparation for a lot of new music. And for the rest of the year, we've got our third EP fully recorded and ready to drop whenever so keep an eye out, and a couple surprises that I don't think people will expect.

To pre-save Dogma and keep up to date with all things Wine Moms, click here.