Surreal Knights sounding good

Oct 30 2008 by Graham Fraser, Hamilton Advertiser

LARKHALL band Surreal Knights are hoping their groovy tracks will endear them to the West of Scotland music scene.

Formed in November last year, the four-piece band are writing some new songs while establishing themselves on the gigging circuit.

The Surreal Knights are John Mowbray (vocals), Steve Thomson, known as Beaver, on guitar, Mikey Curivan (bass) and Euan Douglas (drums).

Mikey said: “Mowbray, Beaver and I were all at Larkhall Academy and we played in a band. It was just a laugh and we didn’t really take it that seriously so we just packed it in after we left school.

“We are all great mates, so one weekend we were having a few beers and one of us said we should start up the band again.

“John knew Euan, who is from Hamilton, so we got him involved.

“The band consists of a group of close mates with a similar ethic - to write gritty and powerful rock music.”

Since Surreal Knights got together, they have honed a style they describe as “rock ‘n’ roll, in your face, no messing about; a raw sounding bang”.

The band recorded their first four-track EP entitled Bring on the Rain in August at the Old Mill Studios in Strathaven.

One track, Oh Rico, is a foot-tapping bit of fun while the driving drums and guitars riffs of Never Again introduces Mowbray with vocals reminiscent of Oasis’ Liam Gallacher.

“Some people have commented that Mowbray sounds like Liam”, said Mikey. “I think he is some sort of cross between Oasis and Johnny Rotten, which is cool because we all like The Sex Pistols.”

The Surreal Knights take their inspiration from the likes of the Wildhearts, Kasabian, Supergrass and Primal Scream.

Although the band has only been together for a year, they have already attracted some interest from an independent record label from Newcastle.

Mikey added: “They heard our tracks on our MySpace page. We looked at the deal on offer from them but we thought it would be better for us if we developed our fan base in Lanarkshire, Glasgow and beyond.

“The next step for Surreal Knights will be to try and get our name out there as much as possible. We will be going for stuff like the T in the Park unsigned stage next year.”

The Surreal Knights’ next gigs are at The Dog and Parrot in Newcastle on November 22 and at the Academy in Coatbridge on November 28.

For more information on the band, visit www.myspace.com/surrealknights