Rocking high hopes for 2021
What Do You Want This Christmas? ask local young rock band The Station
NEWBURY shoppers will have heard some unusual buskers over the last few tricky months as popular local band The Station have brought some much-needed cheer to the streets.
Guitarist/singers Dylan and Louie Morris, with bass player Josh Hensby, have been thrashing out their particular brand of exciting rock and roll whenever possible on the streets of Newbury – in the absence of any gigs over the lockdown periods.
In the meantime they’ve also launched their own online record label (Ragged Records) and released two very popular self-penned singles I Say Hello and Smile.
On Friday they released their first Christmas single What Do You Want This Christmas? and are hoping that as many people get to hear it as possible. The band, all Park House sixth formers, have been together since they were 12 years old and write much of their own material, alongside some classic covers given their own unusual spin. Their sound is a blend of jangly rock and roll, strong melodies and quirky lyrics, and is very appealing. Seventeen-year-old Dylan and Louie are, incidentally, the twin sons of writer/theatre director Ade Morris, an associate artist at The Watermill. We asked Dylan how they had coped with the last few months of relative isolation. “Well it’s been hard – for us and everyone – it’s as everything we all took for granted before is suddenly dangerous and even illegal, but we’ve found some chinks in the curtain, online stuff for instance, and concentrating on the songwriting.
“We’ve also been talking to other bands all over the country, listening to and reviewing their stuff through the Ragged Records platform, so in a way it’s made us more engaged, more aware, and helped us really value the world we’re working in, and look to how we can help rebuild things in the future.” Josh, 18, adds: ‘Last year we were playing at lots of parties and concerts. Unfortunately all bands have had to stop that, but we’re looking forward to playing live again very soon.”
“When we do play again it’ll be at such huge celebrations, it’ll be fantastic, people will be so happy when all this is over!” says Louie, reaching, as ever, for his trusty guitar.
“That’s what we want this Christmas,” chips in Dylan. “For things finally to start to get better.”
Yes indeed, so here’s to that. In the meantime the band’s catchy, thoughtful and rather excellent single What Do
You Want This Christmas, is now available on most streaming platforms.
When we do play again it’ll be at such huge celebrations, it’ll be fantastic, people will be so happy when all this is over