Shropshire pop-punkers Like Giants to make big announcement today - unsigned column
'Do it, do it, do it, do it! Honestly, whether you've been a band for three years or three weeks – apply!'
Telford's Daniel Kai, the vocalist and frontman for high-flying pop-punk four-piece Like Giants, is full of excitement when he tells the Star about his band's recent experience playing on the Fireball UK Fuelling The Fire Tour at Birmingham's O2 Academy.
The fourth tour of its kind this year was co-headlined by heavyweights Less Thank Jake and Goldfinger, and also on the bill were Save Ferris, Thieves of Liberty, Snuff, King Prawn and Lady Bird.
And after fighting through a tough regional competition to join the tour's Birmingham show on September 21, Like Giants got to rub shoulders with some of their heroes while playing to a huge crowd.
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"When we got the email through saying we were getting the chance to perform on one of our 'Bucket List Stages' we were shocked," Kai adds. "We have only been a band for just over three months and for us to receive this news, we were just gobsmacked.
"I don't think it hit us until we were loading our gear into the venue. When we were walking past Less Than Jake and Goldfinger, bands that we grew up listening too and wanting to be like, these are our idols, man.
"We have a very energetic live show, and having the opportunity to play a large stage and still fill it was incredible. We would love to have the chance to do it again. We were so fortunate to get this experience and it's definitely something that will stick in our memories for years to come."
Kai, aged 29, is joined by 30-year-old Newport drummer Ben Caddy and two 27-year-olds from Shrewsbury - bassist Billy Clapham and Sam Price on guitars, to make up the quartet.
And it's been a busy time for Like Giants. Despite being only around three months old, they have also released their debut EP Sovereign at the end of September.
"The reaction has been incredible to that," adds Kai. "It's always a little difficult releasing something that you're so proud of. What if people hate it? What if people think the lyrics are cheesy? These are all things that go through any band or artist's mind before releasing something so personal.
"We're proud of what we have achieved with Sovereign, writing about topics from depression and anxiety to relationships, hanging with your buddies and reminiscing about the best times of being a kid. We wanted to show our writing diversity with this release, and so far people are definitely picking up on that."
It was well-timed for the band, as Kai points to the recent resurgence in pop-punk allowing Like Giants to ride the crest of a wave so quickly and get themselves slots like on the Fuelling The Fire Tour.
"Pop-punk, for the last six years or so, has had a massive surge of interest," he continues. "I think it all stems from bands like Neck Deep and State Champs becoming so popular on the underground scene, and fans have helped them break out to the mainstream with them both having hits in the charts and sustaining that popularity.
"We take inspiration from both these groups, we like to write catchy melodic choruses, similar to what you may find in some State Champs or All Time Low material, but with hard-driving rhythms, somewhat similar to Four Year Strong or Neck Deep.
"Other than that we all listen to different groups. Myself and Ben are into Disney soundtracks, Sam likes Bullet for my Valentine, The Rat Pack for Billy, and even back to Blink 182 and Yellowcard."
The band has been a long-time coming for, in particular, Kai and Caddy. Their relationship goes back a long way.
"I knew Ben for around 15 years, only realising recently that we lived right next to each other - literally a single road separating us. Billy worked with Sam and both had a love for similar kinds of music, so wanted to get some writing going. I mentioned to Ben about starting up something so I sent a few song ideas over to Sam through WhatsApp. After adding Billy into the chat we then thought 'right, let's meet up in a rehearsal space and see what we can make of this'. The next thing you know, Like Giants was born."
Ah, the joys of modern technology! And that is something which the band hope will help them moving forward. After that O2 Academy gig, their social medias were already beginning to rumble.
"As soon as we came off stage we had noticed that there were more likes on our Facebook page, and noticed we had a lot more people following our Spotify account. With the incredible job Fireball did with promotion, they always made sure to include us in posts, or even on the posters, so this helped us to draw some attention.
"We have something we will be announcing at 10am today. It's something that we're so excited for - put it this way, the beginning of 2020 is going to be really fun.
"We will be playing as many shows around the country as we can between now and the end of the year, and we will also be writing as much material as we can, ready for us to hit the studio at the beginning of the new year. And no, that's not the announcement!
"But if you follow our Twitter @likegiantsuk then you will see what we're talking about. All we can say is, it's going to be fun!
"Hopefully, you guys come along with us for the ride. Thank you to everyone who has supported us from the beginning, and a huge welcome to those who will follow us in the future."
That's a beautiful message to the fans from Like Giants, and that kind of relationship with them will make sure that future is bright.
The Like Giants EP Sovereign is available to hear now at the Spotify link above. Keep an eye on their Facebook and Twitter profiles for today's big announcement at 10am.
