You’re no doubt already familiar with a rock band called REEF who burst onto the scene in the early 90’s with their heady blend of surf infused rock music, well folks, they are set to release their 6th studio album ‘Shoot Me Your Ace’ on April 29th and embark on a UK wide tour to promote its content. 

We were asked if we’d like to chat to Jesse Wood (Guitarist) from the band, naturally I said yes and immediately set about creating some thought provoking questions for him to answer. 

We chatted about the recording process for the new album, the UK tour and summer festivals (along with festival survival tips), cassette tapes and minidiscs and whether or not it is Jack Bessant wearing the wolf mask in the ‘Wolfman’ skateboarding video, for all this and more, read on….

Jesse, ‘Shoot Me Your Ace’ is being released on 29th April, it’s the 6th studio album from REEF and the second album where you have been involved, did the band approach the writing and the recording of the album differently to the way you did for the 2018 release ‘Revelation’?

Yes, it was very different as we used a different producer called Andy Taylor. Gary (Stringer) had worked with Andy before and our management suggested that we should have a jam session with him and see how it went. To cut a very long story short, we all got together, got on really well and came out of the initial session with quite a few ideas for new tracks. We used George Drakoulias for the Revelation album (which was amazing) and the difference with using Andy was that he was more involved in actually playing the music and even came along and played a few live shows with us. We booked some time in Baltic Studios in Shoreditch back in 2020, ‘routined’ the tracks and made sure we were all sharp, then we hit the actual recording room with expectations to maybe knock out 3-4 tracks over the weekend but actually ended up with 12 songs, 10 of which were used for the forthcoming album, I guess you could say that we went about it in the ‘old school’ manner and something magical happened whilst we were there! It was fun doing t and I think that this comes through in the music. It’s funny to think that we were in the studio exactly 2 years ago and have had to patiently wait until now to get it out there and tour again!

To create 12 tracks in 2 days is incredible, would you say that you were happy with the tracks after the 2 days in the studio or was there more work to be done?

I guess we did a few overdubs but the foundations and brickwork was done in the studio. Andy would pass on rough mixes to us and we would sit and listen and to be honest, we were really happy with them and apart from a bit of polishing, they were ready. To think that we managed to create the album in such a short space of time and have had to wait 2 years to get it out there is mad but that’s the way it goes!

The latest track to be released is ‘Best of Me’, I’ve also heard ‘Shoot Me Your Ace’ and they are both full on ‘four to the floor’ rockers which sounds like Gary has been discussing vocal styles with Brian Johnson from AC/DC, is the rest of the album along the same sort of lines?

Well, I guess it’s down to Gary’s voice, he really does look after it in every way he can and he is like a fine wine that just gets better with age! I don’t think we specifically tried to steer the new album down a certain route, we have produced a great rock n’ roll record and it is what it is, I’m sure that the fans will love it and we’ll see what the future looks like but once it is out there, I think that’ll give us a good sign that we have done the right thing! 

The new material sounds like it’s going to be fun to play live, how has it gone down with fans so far?

The way we ‘routined’ the tracks in the studio ahead of laying them down is a great way to see what the future looks like as it’s in the same way that you get up on stage and play the new tracks as you did in the studio and people can really get a feel for the way that they were put together, I really do think that it’s the best way of doing it as your approach doesn’t need to change when you’re on stage. 

Your tour kicks off on April 7th and ends on April 30th and you’re taking in the majority of the UK, are there any places that you personally are excited about playing?

I love everywhere, my son is in Newcastle but he will have broken up by the time we get there, I love Geordies, they’re always up for a great time! We have sold out our Exeter and Southampton dates which never really surprised us as we are all based in the South-West and South-East and that’s our old stomping ground. We had a great time in Manchester and Glasgow last time we were there, we always go and chat to fans which is nice to be able to interact with them. Sadly, we’re not doing a Dublin date this time around which is a shame, another time for sure.

You’re playing a bunch of festivals this year including ‘Hard Rock Hell’ in Ibiza, ‘Barcelona Rock Festival’, ‘The Big Retreat’ in Wales and even ‘Bear Grylls Gone Wild Festival’ in Devon….

Thanks for the reminder! We’re really looking forward to playing these and a few others in the summer, no Glastonbury this year as we played there last year and they have this 2 year rule that says you can’t play there 2 consecutive years but maybe well be there in 2023! 

Tell me your top 3 festival survival tips….

1. Have a really great time, all the time! 

2. Choose where you poo…..

3. Have a bloody good time whilst you’re there and do what you do but be safe and enjoy your freedom!

You’ll be joined by the mighty ‘A’ on the road along with local supports at each venue, how did you choose which local supports got the gig?

Our management reached out to other bands and worked out who would be the best fit for us, it wasn’t too hard to find some great bands to join us, I’m really looking forward to hearing and also getting to know a bit ore about the local support bands, and ‘A’ as II’ve not played with them before.

I said at the start of the interview that the new album drops on April 29th which means there’ll be two shows later on the tour where it will be available to purchase from the merchandise table, will you be able to carry enough stock to satisfy demand?

I have no idea how that is going to be done, the vinyl has been delayed owing to the backlog in production. I know that we’ll be playing the four singles from the new album on the tour so go and learn the words and you can sing along with Gary on the night! There’ll be another couple from the album that people won’t be familiar with which I hope will go down well. Come the last couple of shows, hopefully the fans will have had a good chance to listen to the entire album before seeing us and then they can enjoy all of the new tracks! I’m sure the merch team will be earning their money on the last two shows! We’re so grateful to be out there again, playing live and thankful to everyone who has bought a ticket and shows up for the gig!

I see that you’re releasing it on all the popular formats (CD, Vinyl, Download) including a cassette tape, do people still own cassette players or is it more of a collectors item?

You know what, I have no idea if people still play tapes or not but I’m excited about seeing them, I think they will be more of a collectors item and remember, the earlier REEF material was available on cassette to they may just boost someone’s collection! I remember winding the spool along to take up the slack and getting the tape stuck in your ghetto blaster, happy days!

I still have a couple of REEF albums on MINIDISC which is where it all started out!

Indeed it was, probably no demand for that format at all these days though!

I’ve watched videos for the new tracks and I wanted to ask about the making of these, is it something the band enjoy doing?

We have enjoyed the process of video making, we have worked with many artists to get new ideas out there and come into the REEF world. The ‘Wolfman’ video especially was great fun, loads of super talented skateboarders doing their tricks! ’Shoot Me Your Ace’ was a fun video to make as we all went to a place in Cornwall and got inside one of the original ‘wall of death’ style attractions, we also agreed that we should do an animation video to tie it all in, they absolutely smashed it out of the park with the video for ‘Best of Me’.

I wanted to ask if the ‘Wolfman’ is Jack with a mask on, am I right?

Well, that’s a mystery, can’t say either way, you’ll have to wait and see!

Jesse, thanks for chatting to me, I wish you and the rest of the band all the very best of luck for the tour and the new album ‘Shoot Me Your Ace’ which lands on April 29th, we’ll either be at the Exeter or the Bristol show so make sure you comb your hair, brush your teeth and look your best as we’ll be taking photos! Pleasure talking to you, take care!

Thanks for your time, see you on the road!

Interview by Steve Muscutt

Tickets for their UK tour that takes place in April are available now but selling fast, get yours booked HERE