Boo English and I first introduced ourselves to each other through an online discussion of local music. I listened to some of his band ENGLISH’s online tracks and was just blown away by the amazingly polished and meshed sound – both from a technical and a lyrical standpoint. Comprised of drummer Loren Bates, bassist Todd Donnelly, vocalist Dawn Moore and Boo English himself on lead guitar – their fluid mix of funk, blues and hard and classic rock make ENGLISH a band made for grooving out.
Here’s a demo of a few of their songs from a recent show:
I asked Boo if he and his band would mind answering a few questions for me, and here are their responses.
- How did ENGLISH get its start – how did you all know each other and what brought you together?
In early 2016 I (Boo English) decided to put together a band that would be a combination of all the music styles I grew up liking…Rock, Hard Rock, Funk, Blues etc. I had played in a former band with drummer Loren Bates. He was all in from the start. I knew Todd Donnelly from other local bands he had played with so I asked him if he was interested in the bass position. Fortunately he was so now all we needed was a vocalist. I had done recording sessions with Dawn Moore at my studio previously and I knew she was exceptional. I messaged her one night asking if she knew of any female singers that might be interested in fronting a band that was going in the musical direction we were going. I actually was hoping she would want the position!!! She asked me to send her some examples of the songs and styles we were going for so I sent her several songs. Fortunately, she answered me back very quickly and said she was interested in giving it a shot!!!! I was thrilled…lol!!!! After that, we started writing songs and rehearsing…..and here we are!!!!! - Congratulations on your recent album release – tell us about it. Where does the inspiration for your songs come from?Our debut album ENGLISH was released in January of 2017. It is all original material except for one cover of Aerosmith’s “Last Child.” It is musically along the lines of the styles I mentioned earlier. Basically, I will have an idea for a song, I will record a demo of what I’m thinking and send it to Dawn. She then will come up with lyrics and vocal melodies for the music I sent her. That’s normally how it works but sometimes Dawn will come to me with melodies and lyrics that she has already come up with and I will put music around those ideas, so, it works both ways. I personally think we write great songs together.
- You also have your own studio – what difference does that make in the music process? Has working with other bands to make their records had any impact on your own music?I own and operate Knothole Recording Studio in Weddington NC just outside Charlotte NC. I recorded, mixed and mastered our album there. It helps quite a bit with our writing because as I said, I can demo song ideas whenever I have them and send them to Dawn and obviously, we can record the finished songs as well. We are constantly writing and recording new music. It never stops!!!! I also record other bands as well which is also very cool because the Charlotte area has a ton of great music!!!!
- When your not performing, what do you do for fun? Any geekiness amongst the members?When not performing, recording and writing, Dawn enjoys spending time with her family and traveling. Loren enjoys collecting comic books. Todd spends time with his two boys and rides motorcycles. I pretty much live in the studio….lol…that is my fun!!!
- Where can we go see you perform next?We are currently talking with venues around Charlotte as well as surrounding areas, Raleigh, Greensboro, Asheville…etc…so we will be announcing new shows very soon. As always, we are recording new music as we speak.
Finding ENGLISH on the Interwebz
- Website: ENGLISHbandrocks.com
- YouTube: ENGLISH
- Facebook: ENGLISHbandNC
- Recording Studio: Knothole Recording Studio
In or know a local band that we should check out?
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