We found 'The High Hats' on myspace. They're an up and coming band in the United Kingdom with musical influences ranging from The Clash, to The Doors, to Jimi Hendrix and even 'The High Hats' themselves :)
Danny answers a few questions posed by the mym Street Team correspondents. A band made up of three friends, it's clear they take a light-hearted approach to their music and to their lives. Check them out on myspace and book 'em for a gig if you like what you hear!
Who came up with your band name and what inspired it?
The name "The High Hats" come from our drummer Carl who kept saying that we needed more hi hats when we were practising our songs, we came up with a few other names (won't mention them... too embarrasing), but as he kept saying we needed more hi hats in our songs we just kinda liked the sound of it and I spelled it wrong and it just stuck.
How and when did your band start up?
We started up November 2006 really just as a get together in our drummer's attic just used to jam and create little tunes. Then things started getting serious and we thought yeah our jams are turning into songs and we just grew from there.
Who are your biggest musical inspirations?
My musical inspirations really come from when I was around 13ish, Sean (guitarist) and I used to listen to alot of Red Hot Chilli Peppers, while our drummer Carl was really into the mellower kind of indie music like Incubus.
Being a band from the UK, how much do online communities like myspace.com contribute to building the support of international and local fans?
Myspace.com is a great tool to gain alot of fans and getting gigs all over the UK. Because it's a website, people don't have to go out of their way just to listen to you. Recently UK music is becoming some of the best in the world, alot of bands have been recognized from it, and from experience I know alot of people in the UK want to be the first to hear new bands and see what's out there. myspace.com being a very easy way to do so.
Is there any messages you hope that your music will deliver to fans?
We like to think that our songs just really tell the truth, sometimes the truth isn't nice but it's the truth so it should be said. We like having alot of fun with our lyrics, making people laugh and cheering people up, hopefully our music does this.
What's the most stressful thing about being in a band?
The most stressful thing for me is trying to find our hotel or gig venue. Luckily we have Sean and his girlfriend to follow as they're really good at navigation but if you lose them you're in trouble! Also getting your equipment around is kind of stressful, but to be honest we started the band to have a good time and we do not have many stressful things about it.
When you guys are going through stressful times, what's the best way you deal or cope with what's going on?
When I'm stressed, down or need something to take my mind off things I write songs, thoughts and feelings down and try to turn them into something positive. That's how I deal with my bad times. My girlfriend recently got mugged for her mobile phone. It upset me quite alot and she was in pieces, we wrote a song about it and now we look back and think well at least something good came out of that - we got a decent song out of it.
Best piece of advice someone's given you?
Nice and short, "Never give up" and "Don't let whatever negative things are said get you down, you always know you can turn things around".
Knowing that MYM is a website designed to help youth cope with difficult times and provide credible information surrounding mental health, what advice would you like to give to today's youth about reaching out and getting help?
I think if people need help just don't be afraid to ask for it, no one is going to laugh at you or put you down. I think everyone has problems and if you keep quiet about them they don't go away, they only get worse.
So get yourselves heard, ask for help, it'll make things alot better for yourselves.
www.myspace.com/thehighhatsband
