1. This song I remember from my childhood: Cornershop – Brimful of Asher
It was my favourite song when I was a baby and I can really remember demanding that my parents play it repeatedly.
2.This song inspired me to be a musician: Timeless Melody by The La’s
This song I remember from my childhood: Avril Lavigne – My Happy Ending
I remember getting the Under my Skin album for Christmas and being so excited, I made a scrapbook out of the lyric sheet. It was my mum’s favourite song on there as well, so we used to sing it in the car on the way to school (cute).
This song inspired me to be a musician: White Stripes – Hotel Yorba
I have always and will always love this song. I think it has everything. I feel like I have learned a lot from this song, and spent a lot of time studying it. It was one of the first songs I learned to play on guitar too.
Your new tracks are getting playlisted left, right and centre, how has that been for you? Have you found an increase in listeners?
It’s been pretty cool! We’ve gone from about 10k monthly listeners to nearly 100k so it’s definitely had an impact. The hard part is keeping those numbers up once all the singles are out!
Hi In Earnest! Please could you each introduce yourself to the readers and reveal an interesting fact about you.
Hey! We are In Earnest! We are comprised of Tom, Sarah and Toby. Sarah and Tom write the songs and Toby makes ’em pretty! Tom is a big emo-metal kid at heart and holds a black belt in karate. Sarah used to teach street dance and loves dogs more than anything.
Harry Mockett is a 22-year-old, Northampton based musician, who’s grooved filled, contemporary RnB tracks have earned him recognition from BBC Introducing, with the exciting promise of more music on the way.
Hi Harry! Can you please describe your sound for us in exactly 7 words, no more, no less?
Soulful and honest, occasionally a little funky…
2020 has been a strange year for everyone, but there have been good times amongst the band, what would you say your highlight is so far?
Leave It Out was an explosive debut single and the spoken-word passages are a stark contrast to The Bohos style. As you describe it in your Spotify bio, its “Poetry from a tense 3am taxi queue”. What inspired this stylistic and lyrical U-turn? Can it be pinpointed to a single moment?
I guess the shift into a more mature and refined sound has just been a product of the time me, Fin and Alex have spent writing songs, practising and gigging together, especially as we’re entering our 20s. We felt like re-emerging as STONE, with a stronger sense of identity was the most necessary thing we could have done, having outgrown the old Bohos outfit. The conception of STONE was driven by a lot of the frustration and hunger we had felt over 2018-19 trying to make a name for ourselves, finding and channelling inspiration from developments in our own personal lives whether it’s been struggles with mental health, going out too much, break-ups, trying to make this band shit work…
First of all, how are you guys handling isolation?
Not too shabby, starting to get used to it now. Figured out getting fried every evening isn’t sustainable so toned it down to every other night; can’t speak for the other guys but I imagine it’s much the same for them too. Been working on some new tracks as well, not much else to do now.
First of all, how is everyone? Does life feel strange now we’re slowly coming out of lockdown?
We’re pretty good. I guess it’s just hard to keep yourself busy but everyone’s in the same boat so we’re not too worried. Just sad there are no shows to play, it’s the only time we’d leave the house.
You guys are from Warrington, do you find that your music is influenced by your surrounding cities of Liverpool and Manchester?
Somewhat I guess, it’s hard not too because their music scene is really popping off in both places and they both have their own thing going on. You end up playing with loads of different bands from around the area and I guess it’s inevitable that some of that rubs off on you.
I’ve been slowly trying to get better at the piano, but I keep getting sidetracked by ideas for new songs – nearly finished all the songs that I’d like to go on our debut album. I was also forced to learn how to get better at video editing when we did a split-screen isolation video for our charity single ‘These Unprecedented times’.
How are you guys all doing?
We’re doing alright actually! Trying to keep as busy as possible during these weird circumstances!
Can you describe your sound to someone who hasn’t listened to The Rills before?
Our music is a delicate balance of punk and anthemic indie flavours.
What inspires your music? Do you find that your songs come from real-life experiences?
