#preydrive

Preydrive.

My motivations….. Steve (Guitar & Backing Vocals)

I’ve played guitar for over 20 years and I got into the recording side of things about 16 years ago. I loved being able to turn ideas and concepts into songs and sounds for anyone to hear, and I still do. I studied audio engineering at the School of Audio Engineering (SAE) in London from 2008-2009, had some work experience at Metropolis Studios and briefly with Jason Perry, however I never pursued it as a career. It was always something I enjoyed doing, however I didn’t want to live in London anymore and felt being away from the capital may effect my chances of work. I also couldn’t bare the thought of working with sub-standard musicians who expected an engineer to make them sound good, despite the fact they couldn’t even play their own songs. Maybe thats snobbish? I don’t know - but I’d never expect anyone to wave a magic wand and turn my steaming pile of sh*t song into a number 1 hit. Norfolk doesn’t have many big studios, but in-between working 9-5 jobs and studying for my BSc in Environmental Science, I’ve still managed to record a few local bands (I Said Goodbye, Joiners, Adventure By Post) as well as Prey Drive, to satisfy my audio engineering needs!

Now I’m 35 years old, it feels different being in a band. I used to be full of hope and desire when it came to releasing songs, playing shows etc, however the more and more experience I gain, the more my motivation diminishes. I have peaks and troughs though, however on the whole; I would say i’m far less optimistic about music now than I was 20 years ago. Don’t get me wrong, I still love playing in a band and writing music, however sometimes I just enjoy the process of making a song far more than I do having to play it live and promoting it. Getting other people to hear your band can be exhausting and sole-destroying. Perhaps I put too much pressure on myself and the band to get stuff heard, as I guess i truly believe in the songs etc and think people would enjoy them. But without hoards of money to pay for PR, radio pluggers and show buy-ons, it just doesn’t seem a very fair system anymore. Getting a local band as a support act for a big touring act is super tough, whereas previously it used to be a rite of passage. I remember ALWAYS seeing local bands open for touring acts. But if you do get that opening slot, music fans just turn up for the headline act now instead of opening themselves up to the fact that they may actually discover a new band they like, who are local!? 

It feels like unless you’re signed to a major and constantly in press/radio, not many people are going to give you the time of day. This isn’t entirely true i’m sure, but sometimes that’s how it feels. And we’ve had some amazing opportunities too - like supporting Busted at a sold out UEA show. To play in front maybe 1,000 people was immense, and we gave it our all. But the crowd weren’t there for us, and didn’t know who we were or what we did. We had to work hard to win them over as we’re a completely different band to Busted, however we did sell a lot of merch that night! There are also all too many ‘management’ and ‘booking’ agents too, who will happily take a retainer from bands each month, often of at least £500, and they’ll send out a bunch of e-mails on your behalf with no promises….. We’ve never done that, but had many offers however it just felt wrong to us to spend that much money with no guarantees coming our way. 

Nowadays, as I said earlier, my motivations are just in producing new music and getting it recorded. I’d love for people to hear the songs we do, despite how difficult it is to get them heard, however I keep trying. I enjoy the process of hanging with the guys in PD and just making music. Demoing everything in my little home studio and then taking it to a studio to progress it, is a real fun experience. Making videos too is amazing. I feel we’ve churned out some cool videos in the past and I really hope we can do some more again soon. If I dwell on the fact that not many people will see them, it does bum me out. But I try to enjoy the process of making them and that usually outweighs the negatives.

‘When will I see EU again….”

Touring in Europe, for Prey Drive, has always been amazing and it sounds weird saying it out loud, but ‘better’ than playing shows in the UK. I think many other UK bands will say the same. European DIY shows just seem to have an edge on the UK ones, most likely down to funding available to small youth clubs/venues which allow a budget for touring acts. It's always been easier to book shows too, and if promoters can't help they can usually recommend someone who can. And their honesty means that if they simply don't like your music or don't think a show would work: they tell you, instead of just ignoring you and then loosing their sh*t when you inquire again a few weeks later....

We’ve played 3 tours in Europe, our first was back in 2017 with the awesome Mountains To Move from Belgium. We then returned in November 2018 for a long weekend of shows in the Netherlands with our friends in Charades, and then again in early 2019 for a week of shows with Munster-based Swan Songs.

Most shows were amazing for us, with enthusiastic and honest audience members who embraced our sound, supported us through merch sales and just enjoyed hanging out with us. Even shows where attendance was low, we got fed 2 meals, at least 5 beers each, sold merch and walked away with some money to put diesel in the van. We always felt that we were treated like kings.

Now with Brexit and who-knows-what new ‘laws’ in place come the end of 2020, entering Europe as a small band may be costly and difficult. But we simply don’t know. Maybe COVID19 has delayed those plans and we will be able to enter Europe without needing visas in 2021…..? We can dream.

We certainly hope to return to Europe soon, to catch up with some old friends and make new ones. We made so many memories in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany and played with so many great bands - we’d be insane not to want to go back. There is simply something so appealing about the honesty of European music fans and their support for non-mainstream music is unparalleled. They don’t care if you’re not signed to a major label and played on mainstream radio every day - if it sounds good, they’ll go check it out and support a scene. It’d be amazing if the UK could be similar, however we’re far too often faced with losing the small, independent venues we do have and so it feels like a huge ask.