Page 5 - Black Velvet Issue 87

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BlackVelvetMagazine.Com - 5
Are You Vulnerable e
Are You Vulnerabl

Or Just Insane
Or Just Insane? ?

tuart Woolfenden is a solo artist from Redditch in the heart of Eng-
S land who’s been performing since the age of 11. We finally got to
see him in action at 2015’s Zombie Walk Birmingham when he performed
a short set before the walk got underway. With some great songs under
his belt and lots of experience, including performing at festivals such as
the Sunshine Festival and Morton Stanley Festival, the 17 year old is des-
tined to go much further. Black Velvet met up with Stuart to chat about
the British media, wasted Facebook posts and being a little insane…

tuart has never been in a band, choos- tuart’s latest EP is entitled ‘Are You Vul- He started winning them round after they
Sing the solo route instead. “I kind of lis- Snerable Or Just Insane?’ Black Velvet saw him perform an original song at the end of
tened to solo artists and people writing their own asks which he is – or which he’d prefer to be. He Year 9. “People were saying all sorts of things
songs when I was 11 years old and that inspired replies, “I’d prefer to be insane. I like to think I’m like ‘Oh, Stuart was my best friend’ or whatever,
me to pick up my guitar that had been sitting in a bit insane. I wouldn’t say that my friends de- which was just really strange. The true people
my room for a few years and just give it a go,” scribe me as normal, so yeah, probably insane.” stuck by me I suppose. But people in a way like
he tells Black Velvet. “I’ve been doing it ever He says the most insane thing he’s done in to bring people down if they’re different. I was
since and I’m 17 now.” relation to his career was actually getting a just that little bit different.”
He says he likes being solo. “There’s some- backing band to play behind him at Redditch’s
thing about having my own mind. I wouldn’t mind Morton Stanley Festival. “That was a big chal- tuart writes songs on all sorts of sub-
having a team around me giving me advice and lenge for me and I think on the day I was ques- Sjects, although being inspired by Manic
stuff but I feel like I just don’t really belong in a tioning my sanity,” he says. “That was a crazy Street Preachers and The Clash, his lyrics have
band. But you never know, things might change moment because no other solo artist in the area substance and aren’t throwaway. He has a song
in a few years. But at the minute I’m happy being had bands behind them. I kind of challenged my- called ‘Blood On Your Hands’ about crime. “It’s
solo.” self in a way.” not easy to walk down the street as much as
He has an older sister who is supportive of He says he tried that due to the stigma of maybe a few years ago. Anything can happen,”
what he does. “She had piano lessons and stuff his acoustic guitar. “I think it’s because when he says. “So that song kind of came from the
when she was in middle school so she’s pretty people see me with just my acoustic guitar, they idea that innocent people can get hurt when
musical as well.” Although it’s his mother that re- assume my music is acoustic as such on the they’re just walking down the street. The song
ally helps him and he says she’s like a manager. tracks that I create. But it’s completely the op- comes from two different perspectives. It comes
She helps find him gigs amongst other things. posite. The stuff I do is very upbeat and it’s very from the victim and then the criminal.”
“She’s always sat there on her phone looking for rocky, so I kind of wanted for a one off perform- He also has a song inspired by the media.
things for me and when I’m doing my homework ance just to bring that to Morton Stanley Festival ‘Dear British Media’ was, he says, “from when I
she’ll lean over to me and say “Stuart, make and get all my friends down so they can see saw a picture and it said something like ‘Dear
sure you apply for this one!” so I always get in what I’m actually about. It’s very rocky music. British Media’ and there was a picture of Jessica
touch with those people. I definitely credit my That was actually the first time I’d ever done Ennis. It was in 2012 when she won the
mom for helping me out.” something with a band.” Although by the sounds Olympics. It said ‘Maybe we should put these
He’s had a lot of songs broadcast on BBC of it he won’t be doing that again! people on the cover of magazines instead of
Hereford and Worcester, while in December, people that may have been on reality TV. And it
Stuart played Redditch’s Kingfisher Shopping rior to ‘Are You Vulnerable Or Just In- makes you think, ‘actually that’s probably right’.
Centre Christmas Show for the second year run- Psane?’ Stuart released an EP in 2013 So that’s where that song came from. I guess
ning. He says he got to perform due to putting entitled ‘This Is Going Nowhere’. That EP in- you could say that the media doesn’t really por-
himself out there. cludes songs such as ‘Wasted’ and ‘Dear British tray talent the way it should be. It’s more por-
“Last year, Overload Generation from the X Media’, both of which Stuart wrote at the tender traying the way you should look and maybe that
Factor played so I thought it’d be a good oppor- age of 14. He says about ‘Wasted’, “I don’t drink is poisonous in a way.”
tunity for me to get noticed by more people, or anything, because I’m still 17, I’m not allowed He adds, “I feel like there’s a lot more reality
maybe a different audience, so I got in touch to drink obviously! So when I was 14 a lot of the TV than there used to be and people are more
with the Kingfisher Centre and they said that popular kids were going out and getting drunk interested in the way someone looks and laugh-
they were after people. I’d already got in touch and then they’d put their photos on social media. ing at people… sitting on your sofa at home
so they wanted me to play, and then this year It would make me think, ‘who are you trying to being able to watch TV and almost critique peo-
they asked me to play. I brought it up and they impress?’” His dad suggested he write a song ple to make yourself feel better. If there was less
said that they were already planning on asking so Stuart decided to write his take on others get- of that that would help people be less insecure.
me. So I guess it’s just being nice and just put- ting drunk. “I don’t think it’s right for people to I feel like reality TV and that sort of stuff can
ting yourself out there. It gets you a good name, put their photos on Facebook just trying to im- make people a bit more insecure.”
I guess.” press people,” he says, adding that “people at Well Stuart definitely has no reason to feel
Stuart loves being on stage. He says, “I did my school were separating themselves from, I insecure. He’s got a lot of talent, and his willing-
a gig last night and a few of my friends came guess, the not cool kids like me because they ness to go for his dreams and get out there is
and were singing my lyrics back to me – so that were just going out and getting drunk.” attracting new listeners and fans every day. If
was nice, to have people sing your own lyrics. He tells Black Velvet, “It’s a lot different now. you haven’t checked him out yet, head over to
It’s kind of given me a bit more drive to want to People are a lot more respectful as we’re a lot www.facebook.com/stuartwoolfenden
do more with my music. It gets more exciting I older now but back then when I first started high
think over the years when you get more experi- school I wasn’t the most popular kid. I’d go to Words & Photo By Shari Black Velvet
ence and start doing bigger events and more the library every day and do my homework or
gigs.” write songs.”
STUART WOOLFENDEN