British Rockers Slydigs Talk How Animal Are You? EP, Touring with The Who, Eddie Vedder's Words of Praise & More (The Witzard Interview)

"Hailing from Britain's North-West, a thriving hub of musical heritage, Slydigs are a charismatic four-piece leading the rebirth of Rock "N" Roll music by bringing a fierce modern edge to a classic sound. Consisting of four school friends who grew up together in the industrial wasteland between Liverpool and Manchester, Rock "N" Roll music became an effective escape from their seemingly pre-ordained destinies in the factories and building sites of the North-West," reads the intro to Quite Great!'s recent Slydigs press release. Slydigs founding members Dean Fairhurst, Louis Menguy, Pete Fleming, and Ben Breslin readily cite The Rolling Stones, Oasis, The Kinks, and The Black Keys as sources of both classic and contemporary sources of influence. They've previously supported Rock legends THE WHO ON TOUR in 2016, as well as played gigs supporting Catfish & The Bottlemen, The View, The Libertines frontman Pete Doherty, and two full European tours backing Vintage Trouble. I was lucky enough to get ahold of Slydigs frontman Dean Fairhurst and lead guitarist Louis Menguy to speak about their latest How Animal Are You? EP, touring with living legends Pete Townshend & Roger Daltrey, receiving words praise from Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, their "Give It Up, Brother," and much, much more; with that said, feel free to delve in, turn on a couple "chunes" from How Animal Are You? EP, and learn a wee-bit about one of Britain's finest risin' and rollickin' young bands, Slydigs!


Sincerely,

Matt "The Witzard" Horowitz
Rock "N" Roll Historian/Scribe

I. How would you say Slydigs' sound has progressed and evolved since you 2012 Flicknife Records full-length Never to be Tamed? How would you best describe the current Slydigs sound harnessed on How Animal Are You? EP?

Louis Menguy: The new EP really showcases our diversity when it comes to our song-writing, I think that's where you can really notice the evolution of the band and see how far we have come. On this EP, we have straight-up Rock "N" Roll tunes, some Bluesy tracks, and a few more mellower anthems. We wanted to give a snapshot of what we could do, when we eventually come to record a full album. You can also really notice how we have progressed as musicians, too. It's an EP we are really proud of!


II. What might you cite as a few of your greatest sources of inspiration and influence on your How Animal Are You EP?

Louis: Both me and Dean have contributed to the song-writing on this EP. From my side, I would say bands such as The Kinks, Jet, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, and The Rolling Stones, from a lead guitarist/band point of view... and Bob Dylan, Donovan, and Jack White, from a song-writing angle. There's definitely many more sources in there, as every song and artist we adore influences the music we write in some way.



III. Your recent Quite Great! press releases states that you've recently toured with Rock legends The Who, as well as Catfish & The Bottlemen, The View, Vintage Trouble, and The Libertines frontman Pete Doherty. Were you able to play them your How Animal Are You EP? If so, what type of feedback did they give you?

Louis: We only actually got the EP compiled and completed at the beginning of this year, but we have been playing most of the tracks live for a few months. Whilst trying to narrow down tracks for the EP, we tended to choose songs that were getting the best reactions, whilst performing them in stadiums across North America and Europe, whilst supporting The Who. After leaving the stage whilst supporting The Who, there was many a time that we were congratulated by The Who members, who had been watching from the side of the stage. Pete [Townshend] & Roger [Daltrey] were very complimentary towards us, saying they were impressed with how well we were going down with the fans; to hear that from your musical idols, is just a dream come true and it really cemented our belief in the music we are making.

IV. Upon meeting Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder at a Who show in Seattle, he complemented Dean Fairhurst's voice, saying and I quote: "from that performance, I can see why you're excited about your future in the business!" Now, did Eddie have any other particular words of advice for you fellas, as your career progresses?

Dean Fairhurst: He was very sweet, really; however, I had to rush off to sign CD's after The Who show at our merch [table,] so sadly, I didn't get enough time to speak to him. But having him see us perform was amazing in itself and our brief conversation gave us the boost that advice couldn't. He seems a very humble guy, so I suspect he wouldn't be a man that would be giving advice out, like some artists do. I hope I meet him again! I'd love for us to support him one day.


V. While writing these very interview questions, I saw that you guys just released your latest "Give It Now, Brother" music video (which might I add, is incredibly infectious!) However, what's next for Slydigs?

Louis: Thank you! Well, we have just recently finished our first UK/European headlining tour and it was such a great experience. We played a lot of towns we hadn't ever visited before and it was so encouraging to see fans turn out in force to support us. I would
certainly like to re-visit these towns again on another tour in the near future and build on the great fan-base we are establishing. Also, we have a few more festivals in the pipeline. We have a huge amount of material that we want to get out there; ideally, we would want to be releasing it through a label that can help get our music out to as many people as possible.