Page 41 - 368649 LP250851 NE Volume Magazine (170mm x 245mm 52pp) November 2022

MILLIE MANDERS
NEXT NE GIG
Saturday 12th November
VENUE
Head of Steam, Newcastle
Millie Manders & The Shut Up bring their energetic punk-rock to Newcastle on November 12th at Head of Steam. Callum Rollo caught up with Millie prior to the band heading out to Germany to start their ‘Life is a Rollercoaster’ tour.
That’s a great name for the tour by the way...
Out tour is called ‘Life is a Rollercoaster’ because life is crazy at the moment with everything going on in the world. With the cost of living crisis, coming out of a pandemic and everything else, we couldn’t think of a better name.
The tour brings you to Newcastle. How are you feeling about coming back up north again?
We love Newcastle and previously performed at The Cluny - and the response we had was breathtaking. We
something you consider before agreeing to play a venue?
There isn’t really a lot we can do apart from setting a limit on vendor sales at £200 otherwise the venue take 20%. It’s a huge frustration, but if we wish to play huge O2 venues, we are in a tough position. I remember one gig where the vendor made one sale over £200 and we were hit with a £60 bill. That might not seem like a lot of money but for a new band, this is the fuel money to get to our next gig. I cried with frustration.
With artists like yourself, Delilah Bon, Cage Fight and Spirit Box emerging and showing what women in music can achieve, what more do you think needs to be done to create a more even
playing field?
I think there is always more that can be done where equality is concerned, but this is across the whole gender spectrum. It’s still 80% male bands at major festivals, but where they are trying to be inclusive, it’s female-only bands that seem to take precedence over mixed-gender bands. Basically, more needs to be done to give balance
across the whole spectrum.
We are still sadly seeing reports from festivals and gigs of female patrons being assaulted. What can we do as a community to prevent these atrocious attacks from happening?
There will always be people who wish to cause harm to others and it’s prevention rather than a cure that’s needed. If I see something at my shows I stop. At a recent gig, my bass player had her ass slapped whilst going on stage. Frustratingly, she didn’t alert me to this until after the gig. Remember, if you feel in danger, please alert the band or security.
You can catch Millie Manders & The Shut Up at Head of Steam, Newcastle on Saturday 12th November. Tickets, priced at £13.20 in advance, are available from seetickets.com.
are really excited to be coming back on a headline show.
“I think there is always more that can be done where equality is concerned”
expect
from your
What can we
upcoming shows?
‘Rebound’, our new single, is due to
be released before Christmas. We are
hoping to have it recorded during our tour.
Initially, it was formed as an acoustic song
then fettled to decide what key it needed to
be in. So it can be performed with the band on stage although it’s still really fresh as we’ve only performed it as a band three times.
With 27 performances between now and December 3rd, how do you keep fresh and motivated for such a large tour?
I find organisation is key. I always have a tour book to keep us organised, showing load-in info, accommodation, check-in times etc. It’s best to stick to a regime. I do miss my partner and my cat a lot when I’m away but ultimately, I’m travelling with some amazing people and spending the evenings jumping about having amazing fun on stage.
I’ve been following a movement from artists to use venues that don’t take a cut of merch sales at their venue. Is this
INTERVIEW // NE VOLUME MAGAZINE // 41