With the release of VO!D’s (Void) debut single, frontman Jack Gill spoke to Mersey Music about his musical inspirations and updated us on the new band.
This a new venture for you, what made you decide to start a new band?
I’d been doing solo stuff for a couple of years with a live band so I had gotten the feel for it there.
The solo stuff with the live band had come to its natural end and a couple of members had left, so myself and Sam Hepworth (lead guitarist) decided to start a new project.
Will we see a change in your style of music?
I’d say there has been a change in style without losing what worked with the solo stuff.
There’s a lot of focus on the instrumentation and it pulls from a lot of sub-genres in rock, such as blues, garage & classic metal.
I think it’s important for artists to progress. If you listen to the later end of my solo stuff, you’ll find some similarities with what we are doing with VO!D.
What got you into music when you were younger?
My parents first and foremost; I grew up in a very musical household!
My dad is massively into classic rock (The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin etc) and was always in bands and stuff when I was younger, even now he’s still at it.
My mum on the other hand is into more soulful type stuff and was always in choirs, so I think all of this gave me a natural love for music from a young age.
Then, of course, you end up growing into your own stuff as you get older.
Who are your inspirations and musical influences when writing?
My inspiration can come from anyone and anything really.
The idea of the new stuff is lyrics that are bit more socially conscious, I’m trying to tell stories of things I see and hear. For example, the new song, Dotted Line, is about greed in the music industry.
You’ve probably experienced some it yourself, whether that be promoters, labels, those constant emails you get from shady email addresses that start with ‘hey I really love your music but if you pay us this much we can do this for you’.
It seems everyone is trying to make money other than the bands themselves. I always love songs from writers who can really paint a picture and have something to say, the likes of John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Roger Waters etc.
What’s next for the VO!D band?
We’ve got some exciting stuff coming up: a debut single release last Friday and I have to give a special mention to two brilliant singers who helped out with some additional vocal work, Ria Hanley & Amber-May Morris – both top singers who really added something extra to the tune.
We’ve got a new member joining the band shortly on keys ahead of our soon-to-be-announced headline show at the end of April in the Kazimier Stockroom.
We’ll follow up with some summer shows and another single release in the summer, really looking forward to it!
Thanks to Jack Gill of VO!D for speaking to Mersey Music.
You can follow VO!D here and listen to their debut single, Dotted Line, here.
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