A Sunday Conversation With Reece Of Steak




When I was a kid, growing up in a house with Cat Stevens, Neil Diamond, and Simon and Garfunkel, the first time I ever heard Kiss's "Detroit Rock City," it was a moment of musical epiphany. It was just so vicious, aggressive and mean. It changed the way I listened to music. I've had a few minor epiphany's since then, when you come across a band that just brings something new and revolutionary to your ears.

What have been your musical epiphany moments?

As a bit I was very into early stiff like Hendrix, The Who, Floyd etc but a real turning point for me was hearing Kyuss. I came late to the party on that one and found them via Queens of the stone age but that really changed my life and musical direction. To have John Garcia sing on our album Slab City was something else.

Talk to us about the song-writing process for you. What comes first, the idea? A riff? The lyrics? How does it all fall into place?

With us normally we work on the riffs 1st, we take down loads of guitar ideas even recorded on my phone and gradually develop the idea with the band in the rehearsal room. Kip will jump in with vocals when suits and sometimes it flows super easy or he will take the track away and really refine the vocal over time. We have a cool space to work on stuff and get pretty decent demos and it helps a lot.

Who has influenced you the most?

Between the band there have been a lot of influences and from my point of view it changes depending on what I’ve been listening to at the time. I was a huge Pink Floyd fan so I’m open to some more atmospheric stuff but we like to have a song driven hard by the riff also. I guess a great song for us is the perfect balance between to two things.

Where do you look for continuing inspiration? New ideas, new motivation?

I try not to consciously look for inspiration from other bands because I think that happens naturally in your subconscious. We have been likened to various bands from the past but we have never tried to do that on purpose and I think we have a kind of unique sound. Motivation for us comes from playing Live I would say, sometimes you can get in a lull when your not recording or playing shows so it’s always a nice way to get back in your flow by smashing a great gig.

We're all a product of our environment. Tell us about the band's hometown and how that reflects in the music?

Being a London band we are in the heart of the action so the social side of playing live music has been very important to us. Having fun is very high on our list because we ain't doing this for the money! London has such a strong underground music scene and there is a lot of support from promoters, venues and the fans. We like to make an occasion of a London show so we will party to the last man every time.

Where'd the band name come from?

It’s all about meaty riffs, T bone steaks and dirty jokes

You have one chance, what movie are you going to write the soundtrack for?

Mad Max for sure, desert wasteland and survival of the fittest. I think that collaboration would be rad.

Come on, share with us a couple of your great, Spinal Tap, rock and roll moments?

Never! The moment there is one we need a new career choice.

Tell us about playing live and the live experience for you and for your fans?

We give a lot in our live performances, we try to give the people watching as much energy as we can in the hope that they respond the same way. Like a lot of bands we feed from the crowd and it’s a beautiful thing when the crowd feed off us the circle is complete, everyone has lost their inhibitions and and we are all at the point of enjoying the experience.

What makes a great song?

If only it was as easy to formulate, a great song to one person isn’t always a great song to another so it’s a tricky question. For me there needs to be a riff that sticks in the mind, something that people can’t get out of their head, for Steak we try to make sure the riff through and not to many layered guitars playing different things. This then gives room for a killer vocal and if that magic ingredient turns up on the day and the creative stars align then you may be lucky enough to come up with a banger.

Tell us about the first song you ever wrote?

I believe it was called last exit. It actually was pretty good for an 1st attempt and we played it live in our 1st band a few times. We actually found it recently and listened to it again its funny as hell to listen to. Maybe a bit cringe but we all start somewhere.

What piece of your music are particularly proud of?

I love the track Overthrow on the new album ‘No God To Save’. I think it shows what progression we have made as a band in creating something that has all the drive and riffs of a Steak song but has a great balance and flow.

Who today, writes great songs? Who just kicks your ass? Why?

For me the band of the moment are Elder, talented musicians, cool guys and song writing to a new level. They are on their way to being absolutely huge.

Vinyl, CD, or digital? What's your format of choice?

It’s all about vinyl and digital now. I haven’t purchased cd’s in quite a few years and I had a big collection. I think all vinyl sales should have a free download code with them so you get both. At the met I’m buying 2 copies, one digital for the phone and the vinyl for home.

Whiskey or beer?  And defend your choice.

I’m a beer man, nothing like an ice cold one on a hot day and some banging tunes. Plus Whisky gets me too drunk!

What's next for the band?

We are looking forward to touring this album, we have some great options for euro touring and hopefully get to the US for early 2018. We also have a couple of really cool videos to shoot for the new album so we are pretty excited about that as the director is a very talented guy and things always get a bit crazy...

Any final comments or thoughts you'd like to share with our readers, the waveriders?

Big love to all from the Steaks, hope to see some of you on the road and enjoy the new tunes. We will be at the bar after the gig so come party.

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