Carry The Crown - Meet the Lincoln band making their mark on the UK's Alternative Rock scene

This week Offbeat spoke with Carry The Crown, a Lincoln band making soundwaves across the country. The band is made up of five guys - vocalist Martin James, drummer James Butcher, lead guitarist Rupert Tyrer, bassist Tom Marsh and Simon Carroll on guitar. The boys have already been noticed by BBC Introducing and headlined their stage at the 2Q Festival in 2018. They've had major success so far, and 2019 is looking to be no different. This is what the boys had to say when we sat down for a chat.

How did the band start?

"It all started with Martin and James bumping into each other on a night out in good old Lincoln and somehow ended up talking about music. After taking each other’s details they talked about what kind of band they wanted to create and then they met up again to talk about their plans. They then started recruiting through friends and Facebook pages. It took the band a while to end up in its current line up but it’s been an important process."

How did you decide on the name Carry The Crown?

"We all talked about what we wanted to achieve and our aspirations within the music industry. This aspiration then became symbolic with a Crown and we went from there."

How would you describe the band?

"We’ve been described as many things, not all we can say here...haha. But formally we describe ourselves as modern alternative rock. Informally, we are a bunch of idiots who enjoy making music."

What sets you apart from others in the industry?

"We pride ourselves on giving fans their money's worth when they come to a show. In some ways we are actually more known for our live performances than our EP's."

If people were to listen to you for the first time, what song of yours would you recommend they start with?

"We all have our own personal favourites but to get a flavour of where we are going in the future then you’d need to listen to ‘K A R M A’ and ‘Eyes’."

What do you think is your biggest achievement to date?

"We’ve had radio play on BBC Radio 1, but I think that being asked to headline the BBC Introducing stage at 2Q festival was huge for us."

How did you get involved with BBC Introducing?

"We uploaded our music through the uploader and that was it to begin with. I remember Martin and James getting the first email saying we were getting played and jumping around the room (the same thing happened with the Radio 1 play). Since then they have been so incredibly supportive of us and we cannot thank them enough."

How often do you guys rehearse together?

"We rehearse twice a week for three hours at a time and then we have our gigs on top of that."

Is it difficult being in a band and making music whilst also studying?

"It’s crazy difficult to balance it, but when you want it as much as we then you just find a way."

What other artists have influenced you?

"We each have different musical backgrounds that we draw inspiration from but the closest bands to our sound are probably You Me At Six, Don Broco and Kids In Glass Houses."

Favourite gig you’ve ever played?

"Our collective favourite was our first sold out headline show that we played in Leeds. Hearing people screaming our songs back at us and going crazy was a sight that none of us will ever forget."

Where do you see the band in five years time?

"That’s a really good but tough question! We would like to see ourselves being out on the road, travelling around the world meeting new people and still playing music together."

Any big plans coming up?

"We have a lot of stuff that we are waiting to announce so 2019 is going to be a very exciting year!"

What advice would you give to those who want to start their own band?

"Make sure you are with people who are as driven as each other and pushing towards the same goal. You need to become a group of brothers (or sisters) as well as musicians."

Listen to their new single K A R M A now: