MUEN: Hi, I'm very excited to be interviewing you. I really enjoy your music! Would you like to start by telling us your names and what role you play in the band.

Liam: Well thank you for having us, It's a real pleasure. The Tides line-up is Liam - Vocals, Bozzy - Guitars, Dave - Guitars, Sam - Bass and James - Drums.

MUEN: How did you meet up and when was the band formed? Is this the original line-up?

Liam: Well, me and Bozzy worked together many moons ago, when we were much younger and slimmer haha! We started writing acoustic songs while we built the band.
Sam: I replied to a local newspaper article advertising a vacancy for a bass player. My cousin Dave joined on rhythm guitar soon after.
Dave: Drummers came and went (as they often do!) until the line-up was settled with James joining in early 2005.

MUEN: When it comes to influences (Magners and Stongbow-haha!) I can definitely hear a likeness to Puressence. Who else would you consider to be big influences in your songwriting?

Liam: Haha! Strongbow and Magners have played a huge part! On the vocals side, there's certainly a resemblance to Puressence, but influences would most probably come from The Beatles, The Cure, Placebo and The Bluetones.
Dave: The main influences musically would have to come from bands such as Radiohead, Pink Floyd, New Order, Oceansize and Doves.

MUEN: How many recordings have you released so far? Who's produced them for you? Are any of them available for us to buy?

Liam: We released our debut double A-Side single last year (You'll Never Change and Fall) and that was produced by good friend Gary Kirk and ourselves. We also have had a number of early demos which include early versions of "Lights" and "You'll Never Change", plus crowd favourite "Something To Say."

MUEN: How is the songwriting process done within the band? Is it one person that writes the songs or does everyone have input?

James: We all have an input in the songwriting process. We are all influenced by different music and bring those influences with us to the practice room.
Dave: Usually one of the guitarists will come up with the initial idea and then the rest of the band will jam the tune, until there's a basic structure. Then, vocal melodies will be tried out until we've got something we're happy with. Lyrics are more often that not the last thing that's done.

MUEN: You've played quite a few gigs- have you supported anyone interesting? Anyone big that we might have heard of?

Liam: We've supported some well known acts, such as the Fall, The Bluetones and Mark Burgess of The Chameleons. We've also played gigs with newer up and coming bands like Milburn, Little Man Tate, Keith and Pull Tiger Tail.

MUEN: You've also played The Aftershow and Manchester Academy, headlined a few shows yourselves. What's been your favourite show so far and why?

Liam: There's quite alot of personal faves really. It was amazing to play the Salford Lowry with Puressence.
Dave: For me it would have to be when we played The Cavern in Liverpool last year. It was a brilliant gig especially for us all being such big fans of The Beatles. Also, we managed to get a full coach load of fans to come and see us, so the atmosphere was electric.
Bozzy: My favourite has to be at The Witchwood in Ashton a couple of years ago.
Sam: Yeah, that's one of my favourites too, we sold the place out and they were turning people away at the door!

MUEN: Manchester has two DJs rather famous for the bands they were in: Clint Boon from Inspiral Carpets on XFM Manchester and Mani from Stone Roses and Primal Scream on the Revolution. You've been on both of their radio shows! Are they very supportive of unsigned bands? What's it like being on the radio? Especially with these seasoned musicians.

Liam: Both the shows were brilliant to be on, we had a great night with one of our heros "Mani" from the Stone Roses. We had a good laugh and went for a few pints with him afterwards.
James: Clint Boon is a fantastic part of the local music scene. He puts a lot of time in for all the local bands and musicians who need his help or advice. He's a top bloke!

MUEN: So, you're doing very well at home- how about your international fan base? Are you finding that MySpace and the Internet is helping get the word and your music out around the world?

Liam: The Internet is great for getting your music heard worldwide. We've already got fans in the likes of Romania, Japan and Australia. Also we get played in a few clubs in Germany and on a few small radio stations in the USA.

MUEN: You have a second MySpace page just for your acoustic songs. Why did you do this and which are your favourite versions?

Liam: It was just so our current fanbase could delve a little deeper into the history of The Tides really.
Bozzy: The songs on that site don't get played live anymore as we have progressed so much as a band over the last few years, but we still get a lot of positive feedback.

MUEN: What are The Tides future plans? Are you recording any new music? Any gigs coming up? Anything else you wish to share?

Dave: We've recently recorded three songs in London with up and coming production company, The Animal Farm. There's a planned release with them early next year, which should certainly promote our status to the next level.

Interview by Lissy MacMillan