BLOSSOMS is:
Tom Ogden – Guitar/Singer
Myles Kellock – Synth
Charlie Salt – Bass
Joe Donovan – Drums
Josh Dewhurst – Guitar
EUPH.: First and foremost, welcome to NY! Have you all had a chance to do anything fun in the city yet?
Joe Donovan: Not really, me and Tom had a quick walk down earlier.
Charlie Salt: We got some pizza that was cheap; and we’ve got some mind reviews [on it] — I really liked it.
Myles Kellock: a bit bland…
Tom Ogden: I didn’t mind it.
Joe: I think for a NY pizza it’s got to be quite chunky, otherwise the thin gets a bit weird…
EUPH.: This is not your first time in the states, correct?
TO: No, we’ve been to Texas before — SXSW.
EUPH.: How many dates on this current U.S. trip?
TO: New York, San Francisco, and LA. We did Toronto yesterday.
EUPH.: Very cool. Now what’s this all about that you were all born in the same hospital?
TO: Yep! Stockport — Stepping Hill Hospital.
EUPH.: Was this something you’ve all figured out early on in life?
Joe: I figured it out…
TO: I think we just realized after we all got together — we realized we all live very close to each other.
Joe: I was in the car and the only person I was unsure of was Myles. I knew everybody else was born at Stepping Hill. We were going over a bridge [one day] and I was like, “Myles, where were you born?” — and that’s when I knew we were all from the same hospital, there we go!
EUPH.: So how did you guys all meet then?
TO: Joe and I have known each other since school, around year 8. So we were like 12 or so. AD – and now here you are, you’re in New York.
TO: Exactly! It’s crazy.
Joe: It’s pretty weird!
TO: I was in a band before Blossoms and Joe was in a band with Charlie before Blossoms. Joe would come and watch my band play and I would go and watch Joe’s band play. We knew Josh; I gave Josh’s old band their first gig with my band — stuff like that. [Blossoms] was just a 4- piece at first, and then after about 6 months we drafted in Myles. We knew Myles through a friend; we used to go to his house and drink — he used to live in a flat above a curry house in Stockport. And that’s kind of how it works.
Joe: And the reason we all got together was because we were so bored.
CS: There was already kind of a practice room built in my grandad’s scaffolding yard. We go in there and knock out loads of noise whenever we want — and it’s free. He’s been very kind to us, we’ve [even] done music videos there.
EUPH.: Are you guys still using that practice space?
TO: Well, because we’re on tour all of the time, not really. He uses it more as a storage space — I think we have too much equipment now.
EUPH.: Tell me about this massive tour you guys were just on.
Joe: Oh we’re still on it [laughs].
TO: We’ve just done a big UK tour, the biggest one we’ve done. Not “big” as in terms of length; it was like the biggest shows and the biggest venues, yeah. So that was fun. And we’ve done like 45 festivals over the summer. It’s been a long summer, we’ve just been traveling the world and stuff like that. Before that, we did another tour in February-March. So we’ve been constantly doing that really — just on the road.
EUPH.: Was this last tour the first tour where you felt like big things are starting to happen?
TO: Eh…it’s always in stages.
MK: Each tour feels like a milestone. Say like in February, we sold out a venue called the Albert Hall, which was like 2,000 (capacity). And then you get down to a few months down the line and you do Manchester Academy 1, which is like the “big venue” what we’ve always wanted to play. Each tour you kind of step up a level.
EUPH.: and you’re selling out these venues as well, correct?
[Collective “oh yeah” and “yeah” from everyone]
TO: The whole tour was sold out. Like even London when it was 2,300. Manchester was 2,600. Nottingham was 2,000. You know what I mean? It was cool.
Joe: Manchester sold out in like 4 minutes.
MK: So yeah….it’s been different, this one, yeah.
EUPH.: So not only is your live show making a massive killing, but your new album is doing incredibly well. You’ve hit the #1 spot in the UK in just only 2 months?
TO: Yeah, yeah. It’s been out for about 2 months now.
EUPH.: What was the writing process and inspiration behind the album?
TO: I write the songs — and usually my ex-girlfriends…in a nutshell. It can be positive things from the relationships, but it’s usually when you’re feeling a bit shit. Just [kind of] write about what you know I suppose, so people can relate to it. Then I’ll write them at home and bring it to the scaffolding yard and we’d build it there. And it becomes Blossoms.
EUPH.: You’ve named your band after a pub?
TO: It’s in Stockport — the main road through Stockport. There’s loads of pubs and we picked “Blossoms.”
EUPH.: Is there any significance behind it?
Joe: No, so Tom texted me once [about it] when we were going through Manchester. A week later, Charlie said it to me. Charlie and Tom didn’t really know each other [had said it].
CS: It was a twist of fate.
Joe: so there was no meaning, they both just happened to say it was a good name for a band. TO – It looks good, it sounds good.
EUPH.: It was a sign. Literally.
CS: The pub is called “The Blossoms” and we’re just called “Blossoms” — which a lot of Americans struggle to say because they always knock off the “s” at the end.
EUPH.: One last question for ya — what are some bands, past or present, that you would love to go on tour with?
TO: Arctic Monkeys.
Josh: ABBA. Without a doubt.
TO: Oasis.
Joe: The Smiths.
MK: Kanye West.
Josh: Drake. Drake would’ve been fuckin’ mental
TO: Madonna
MK: Madonna, yeah that would be good..
TO: Why not?
MK: Maradona? [Joe laughs]
TO: Taylor Swift
CS: The Doors
Joe: The Doors, yeah. Stone Roses…
CS: Sunflower Bean. They’re from NY aren’t they?
EUPH.: Oh yeah, they just played a sold out show last week actually.
(Blossoms proceeded to play a very packed and lively Baby’s All Right. A successful 3rd show in the US)
