Slaves To Gravity

Slaves to gravity consists of 4 band members Tommy Gleeson who plays guitar and is lead vocals, Toshi Ogawa who plays bass and backup vocals, Jason Thomopoulos who plays drums and Mark Verney on guitars and backing vocals, they are a London based band. Slaves to gravity are a DIY band which means they are independent are not restricted by any record labels. 
 

Slaves to gravity formed in the summer of 2006, 3 of them are the remains of a rock band called the Ga Ga’s, they self produced the debut album titled ‘Scatter the Crow’ and released through the band own record label called Gravitas records on March 31st 2008. The band are currently working on the follow up album, I caught up with the band to see how it was like being your own boss. 

Hey guys, thanks for taking the time out for this interview, first question, how did you come up with the band name? 

We we're in the torture museum in Amsterdam. It was cold. It seemed like a good idea at the time. 

Have you guys toured in the USA? 

Not so much toured as played shows here and there. We've played SXSW 3 times, a few shows in New York mainly as label showcases. We'd love to get in a van and do a proper US tour. 

What are your influences and inspiration? 

Brian Adams and Melanie C from the Spice Girls. 

What can we expect from you in the future? 

A new record from some very thin musicians. We're in the studio making it right now. Once it's wrapped up we'll be hitting the road again which is something we've really missed. We haven't toured properly for almost a year, which is criminal really. 

What were you doing before Slaves to Gravity? 

I've been playing in bands since I was 12. The only straight job I've ever held down was working behind a bar for about 6 months before I moved to London. This is all I've ever wanted to do since I first heard Appetite for Destruction when I was a kid.... never had a plan B. 

Many bands are the way they are because of a certain thing that has happened to them in their lives, is that the case with you? 

We are all a product of our environment, weather you're a musician or a school teacher or whatever. The things we have experienced from growing up in 4 different corners of the world, moving to London and trying to get somewhere in the music business... it all informs our art and makes us who we are, for better or worse. I wouldn't say there have been any specific isolated incidents that have defined us. It's more a case of just taking a lot of shit on the chin for a very long time and never giving up. 

Describe slaves to gravity in 5 words? 

Tenacious, eccentric, insular, honest, and right now, hungry. 
 

If you had the chance to play any country in the world which would it be and why? 

I'd love to play in Cuba. I've seen footage of those Manic Street Preachers and Audioslave gigs in Havana and it's just stunning. It's such a cool country that I've been lucky enough to visit as a tourist once before, but to go there and play music for those people would be incredible. 

If you can be in any other band which would it be and why? 

With Slaves, I'm putting my absolute heart and soul into something that’s probably never going to make me a living. It means my relationships suffer, my health suffers and my bank balance is well into the red. If I was to be in another band, I'd really like to think i could just be a cool cat session guitar player who picked up a regular pay-cheque for playing someone else's music all night. 

Do you enjoy performing better or being in the studio? 

They're very different but I really love both. I'm in love with the whole process, from writing to recording to performing. A good balance of these things makes me happy. 

You toured with Aiden a while back, how was that for you? 

It was OK. They're nice guys and we had some good times with our friends in Sign. I don't think the crowd really ever warmed to us, though. We're coming from very different places and I didn't feel we really made a connection there. 

Where do you see the band in 5 years time??? 

The hope is always that we'll still be making records and touring the world, just hopefully with a much higher profile and a bigger budget for pyro. 

You guys are more of a DIY band, how’s that working out for you? 

We set up our own label out of necessity really. We couldn't get arrested by any of the Indies of majors and we didn't want to quit, so we just found another way through. It's tough and you're learning by your mistakes all the time. There's no-one to blame but yourself when you make a bad call. It can be really frustrating when you get stepped on/over by a shitty band with a major label budget, but It still buys you a lot of freedom that you perhaps wouldn't get in a more traditional deal where demographics and sales quotas are actually real things that real people have real conversations about. 

And for the most important question, starbucks or cafe nero? 

Starbucks every time. It's a Seattle thing. 

Find out more at www.myspace.comslavestogravity.