Last July, we introduced you to five-piece boy band :PM – made up of members Alex Boulton (drummer), Dan Reynard (vocalist), Harry Yates (guitarist), Joe Morley (bassist) and Josh Stockdale (guitarist) – following the release of their debut single ‘Grown Ups.’
Since then, the band have gone from strength to strength, most recently releasing original tracks ‘Sunglasses’ and the extremely upbeat and catchy ‘Driving Me Crazy’. You can watch the video to ‘Driving Me Crazy’ below:
:PM are currently supporting The Vamps on their UK and Ireland 2018 Tour. With their undeniable friendship, incredible vocals, musical talent and the energy they bring when they perform, it’s safe to say that they are becoming many people’s new favourite boy band.
Here at CelebMix, we had the opportunity to talk to the band about being on tour with The Vamps, what they have planned after the tour, how they formed, and more. Keep reading to check out our exclusive interview!
You’re currently on tour with The Vamps. What is that like?
Dan: ‘Mad! Imagine being in a band full of kids that met at school together, and then playing arenas together at the same time and looking at each other thinking: “we played in Alex’s garage for years, since we were eleven, and now we are on an arena tour with The Vamps.” That is amazing!’
We have to ask because you are on tour with The Vamps; what is your favourite The Vamps track?
All members: ‘Middle of The Night.’
Dan: ‘On The Floor.’
Josh: ‘Shades On.’
Joe: ‘”Shades On” is a BANGER.’
Josh: ‘I think those three are the ones we like to play the most in the car.’
What has the atmosphere been like on tour?
Josh: ‘Absolutely mad.’
Joe: ‘Busy, sweaty.’
Alex: ‘It’s quite tiring really.’
Josh: ‘It’s mad sweaty and loud!’
Dan: ‘It’s so great.’
Joe: ‘When we’re driving the car, we play The Vamps really loud. It’s just good fun!’
Harry: ‘It’s absolutely great, it’s amazing.’
Do you have any pre-stage rituals?
Dan: ‘Yes, but we can’t really tell you this!’
Joe: ‘We can pretend, we can make it different.’
Dan: ‘We have a shot of a non-alcoholic beverage.’
Joe: ‘Yes, there you go!’
Dan: ‘Imagine it’s Ribena. We do a shot of Ribena.’
Joe: ‘We pass the Ribena around and have a little sip of Ribena.’
Dan: ‘We also do a big huddle and tell each other we love each other, and tell each other to smash it.’
Joe: ‘Our lovely Manager joins in.’
Dan: ‘We say “go get ’em, Tigers.” We do loads of fist pumps as well.’
Josh: ‘We basically remind each other to just live in the moment, appreciate it.’
Joe: ‘I shout at Harry and tell him to run fast – “go on Harry, run faster.”‘
We absolutely love your set on the tour. What is your favourite song that you perform?
All members: ‘Driving Me Crazy.’
Dan: ‘I think because that track has the most energy on the whole set and it’s the last one, so we’ve kind of warmed people up a little bit.’
Can you tell us how you guys met?
Dan: ‘In Narnia.’
Joe: ‘Tinder.’
Dan: ‘No.’
Josh: ‘Me and Harry played guitar together since we were at school and we were really young. Me and Harry met Dan at an assembly. Dan played a really good song, he was really good. We got him and he started singing with us.’
Joe: ‘This is a long story, but fast.’
Josh: ‘Alex is my next door neighbour, so Alex plays drums and joined the band. Joe, who went to Sixth Form with Alex, were best friends. Bassist, boom, all together, play music.’
As a band, who are your musical influences?
Josh: ‘Wow. We all have very different musical influences, don’t we?’
Dan: ‘Jay-Z, Kanye West…I’m joking, that was a joke! We started playing Nirvana covers, that was our first thing, with a bit of Kings of Leon. We started a guitar/rock and roll thing. We also started to do some Katy Perry. It’s a full pop one side, rock one side – we love pop songs, and then we like making them in to a rock and roll sound.’
Josh: ‘We always say that one band that brings it all together is The 1975.’
Dan: ‘The 1975 is a big influence.’
Joe: ‘It’s like a cross between Blur and Justin Bieber.’
When it comes to writing tracks, do you split off and write separately or do you write as a band?
Dan: ‘We have quite a good relationship with our Manager, a singer-songwriter from London, who we met about four years ago, and we formed a nice relationship with her.’
Joe: ‘She’s a publisher and everything.’
Dan: ‘We will always find a nice combination of people to write songs with. It’s a great relationship, and we’re smashing it, aren’t we?’
What are the plans for after the tour?
Dan: ‘We have an EP for sale on the tour, a limited edition EP. We’re going to have more singles, more music videos. We’re going to go on our own headline tour, which is going to be as crazy as this, times ten, because we are going to be the headline act, so it will be mental, as you can probably imagine.’
Josh: ‘Lots of jumping, everyone’s going crazy, and sweaty.’
You’ve a very dedicated and ever-growing fan base. Do you have a message for your fans?
Dan: ‘Thank you so much for showing up to our shows.’
Joe: ‘Showing up to our shows?’
Dan: ‘Showing up to the shows we are playing at. We can’t wait to release more music and show everyone what we’ve got. We love you all very much.’
Joe: ‘Thank you so much for being amazing!’
Josh: ‘We love you!’
Alex: ‘And thank you for putting up with us.’
Dan: ‘And also for putting up with our BS!’
Here at CelebMix, we want to say a huge thank you to :PM for taking the time out of their busy schedule to talk to us!