Page 22 - Black Velvet Rock Magazine Issue 110

BV110 pg 20-24 All Ears Avow Interview.qxp_BV110 pg 22 13/06/2024 21:55 Page 3

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everyone’s hand in it, I guess.” necessarily know when I’m on stage, but I ut, getting back to music, All Ears
It does seem like the world is getting am very shy. Talking about things, and how I BAvow chose to re-release their debut
worse when you hear about the wars and deal with them, when I’m addressing audi- single, ‘Home’, on March 1st. Claire tells us,
mass murders, and even violence that goes ences and things like that, I’m so scared to “That song is about family and friendship
on in the UK – although, if we look back at rock the boat all the time and offend some- and how much that matters, above all other
history, wars, murders and violence have body, and Millie does not give a crap about things. And how it gets you through dark
been going on since time began. We ask that sort of stuff. She just gets up there and times and everything. I think we, as a band,
Claire if she feels like the state of the world just says what she believes and what she we’ve spent the last year or so, I wouldn’t
is deteriorating. means, and I found that so inspiring, be- say lost, but finding it difficult to find our
“Do I think it’s deteriorating?” she asks, cause everybody should be like that, right?” footing and that sort of stuff. We had some
repeating our question. “I’m not sure if I do. Things like that can take time though. fans of ours desperately wanting us to re-re-
Maybe it’s that we are becoming more aware We’re not all extroverts and we don’t all have lease that song and to put it back out on
of it. So many more people are speaking out the confidence to speak out on important streaming platforms and stuff like that. I
about it now, whether you want to call it subjects – although, the more passionate we think the stars just sort of aligned. We were
being ‘woke’ or whatever… I hate that term… become, the easier that is. listening to the song, ‘Ahh, I don’t want to
but it is an awakening, isn’t it, I think? And, Claire sings ‘you only want to blame start playing this again,’ or whatever, then we
with things like UK fact check politics and all your weakness’ in ‘Bird On A Wire’. We ask listened to the song and were like, ‘Actually,
of that sort of stuff, I think we are so good at what weakness she means. She replies, “I this is so relevant to us right now, and every-
sharing information now, with social media’s think you could apply this to many different thing that everyone’s been through after the
rise over the last decade or two, that we are things. I think, on a personal level, it would pandemic and everything, and realising
more aware of the problems there are and be, speaking of veganism and things like what’s important, your friendships and your
corruption and anything like that. But, I don’t that, the mindset and the belief of all of it, I family and everything, and sort of treasuring
know that it’s getting worse. I think it’s just utterly respect and completely agree with those moments.’ There’s a lyric in it, ‘Take
about that sort of awakening, I guess. Maybe and believe in, but putting it into practice and your places, smile like you mean it,’ – that’s
it is getting worse. Certainly, climate change me turning down meat, I feel even awkward a photograph to me, and, while life can be
and things like that are clearly getting worse. saying it out loud in this moment, but I don’t difficult, when you have those little snapshot
As to our own behaviour, I’m not sure.” have an excuse for it, other than it’s in my moments, they mean everything, I think. Re-
Since she’d mentioned animal cruelty in life and I don’t know how to reframe every- lating it to ‘Bird On A Wire’, those are the
the list of cruel things she’d seen reported thing. And I don’t even mean that in a mental things that get you through all of that other
on, on the TV, we ask if anyone in the band way, I mean in terms of my own cravings. horrible stuff.”
is vegan. “Yeah, my drummer is vegan,” You know the sort of classic thing that every- We ask how Claire has grown since the
Claire says of Sean. “I’m sure he’d like all of one asks you like, ‘Don’t you miss bacon?’ initial release of ‘Home’ ten years ago.
us to follow suit. I think we’re all finding our and things like that. I would absolutely miss “I don’t care what people think, quite as
way in that and experimenting with it. When bacon. That’s not an excuse. In the song, much, in terms of my songwriting,” replies
we go away, writing together and things like when I’m saying ‘You only want to blame the singer. “I think, when we first released
that, we always eat vegan together to sort of, your weakness,’ that’s what that sort of stuff ‘Home’ and other songs off of that first EP
I guess, learn more about it. I’m very inter- is about, and it’s not about being like, ‘I’m that we sort of buried, I think I cared a lot
ested in it myself. I’m a very fussy eater, so I going to be strong in this moment,’ and this about what people thought of us and I
think it’s something that I’m trying to gradu- is what I believe in, so I’m going to do it. It’s wanted this refreshing, but really pop sound,
ally come around to, but, as we’ve discussed about that sort of realisation that you’re kind that was going to elevate us in some way.
between us in my band, personally I think it’s of admitting that you’re weak by saying that. Now, it’s ten years later and I don’t really
something that we, as a society, are going to And you can apply it to so many other situa- care about that sort of stuff. I’m just writing
have to do, from an environmen- what I care about and the music
tal point of view, I mean, be- ’m so scared to rock the boat all the time that I love. And, I think, as long
cause the planet is going as you’re writing something that
downhill.” “Iand offend somebody, and Millie does you love, then somebody else
She is not wrong. Meat pro- not give a crap about that sort of stuff. She just will probably like it as well,
duction and consumption is a right?”
leading cause of greenhouse gets up there and just says what she believes When Claire looks back to
gas emissions. Last year, the and what she means, and I found that so inspir- earlier musical memories, her
Food and Agriculture Organiza- ing, because everybody should be like that, mind turns to playing music at
tion of the United Nations re- school. She remembers “play-
leased an estimate that livestock right?“ - Claire Sutton. ing in my first band at school
produce 11.1% of global green- rock concerts where you’re
house gas emissions – although other stud- tions as well, like, again, using Millie as an- scared that someone’s going to shut the cur-
ies have put the figure closer to nearly 20%. other example, the way she stands up on tain on you if you’re not very good, or some-
Eating a vegan diet is much better for the en- stage and says all of this stuff that she be- thing like that. I don’t think they do things
vironment, having lower carbon, water and lieves in, and I’m terrified of doing that. You like that anymore. And, I guess, the early
ecological footprints than a meat-based diet. could say that I’m blaming the fact that I’m days of All Ears Avow touring and every-
And, one vegan that has inspired Claire shy for not standing up there and doing that, thing, that’s not really our childhood, but we
is Millie Manders of Milie Manders and The and that’s one of my weaknesses, so… were so much more carefree back then.”
Shutup, who All Ears Avow recently toured there’s so many different layers to it, I think.” It’s amazing how close-knit the band are.
with. Claire knew Millie prior to the tour, hav- But, again, we are all unique and we were Claire has been in a relationship with bassist
ing produced some of Millie’s music. Claire all brought up differently. We all have differ- Joe for 16 years. The two met through music
tells us, “I’m a music producer and I’ve done ent personalities, and we all have different college. “And then, the other guys, I think
some recording with Millie. I think, actually, strengths and weaknesses. What someone Joe went to college with Sean and they ac-
writing this song was almost… it was right considers a weakness, someone else may tually knew each other when they were one
after my last sessions with them. I think it consider a strength. And the older we get, or two years old,” Claire tells us. “So, they’ve
was almost in reaction to everything that we the more confident we can become, through got all these really cute photos of them to-
were talking about, and she’s just released a time and experience, and through knowl- gether as toddlers. So, I met Sean through
couple of songs, one of which was called edge and growth. Oh, and there’s such a Joe. And then Jake, he was in another band
‘Can I Get Off?’ and ‘Bird On A Wire’ was al- thing as vegan bacon. Rather like technol- and we sort of poached him, I guess. And
most like a reaction to that. Listening to that ogy, food has progressed so much that there we’ve just sort of been the absolute best of
song and us talking about all the issues, and are so many vegan alternatives these days, friends since. We go on holiday together, we
stuff like that, I think that’s what inspired me, such as vegan bacon, vegan steak, vegan own businesses together. Me and the drum-
to suddenly be waking up, looking at the sausages, vegan chicken, that it is so much mer, we run a recording studio together. The
news, and things like that. And yeah, just easier now to avoid meat and choose cru- other two work together. We’re just a bit in
touring with Millie, she is so not afraid to say elty-free alternatives. That’s food for each other’s pockets, I think.”
her piece. And, I think, being totally honest, thought.
I’m someone that is very shy. You wouldn’t
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