We caught up with THE EYELIDS ahead of THE GREAT ESTATE FESTIVAL....
Ahead of the Great Estate Festival which takes place at Scorrier House in Cornwall over the Jubilee Bank Holiday Queen’s extra long Coronation thingy weekend, we chatted to a band called THE EYELIDS. We covered loads of topics including musical influences, expectations for their live show, waterproofed toilet roll and forthcoming new material. For all of this and WAY more, read on…..
Please tell me about the band, who is in it and what you do....
Sharon: Hey! We’re the Eyelids, an all women band from mid Cornwall. There’s Michelle on drums, Louise on double bass, Sharon on guitar and backing vocals and Kelly on lead vocals, theremin and keys. We formed in 2006. With a slightly different line up on vocals and guitar.
Louise: This year will be our 15th anniversary with Kelly on vocals and 10 years with Sharon on guitar!
When did you start your musical journey?
Sharon: I sang on stage in pantomimes as a kid … and started playing guitar aged 16.
Louise: Michelle and I used to be in a band together when we were 15. I was on a normal (we like to say ‘single bass’) then. We played a few gigs then 10 years later we started the Eyelids!
What style of music do you play?
Sharon: Mmm style of music, I’d say there’s always an element of ‘spooky’ in the chords we choose.. It’s a bit punk and a bit rock with a touch of something else?
Who would you say are the band's musical influences?
Michelle: Horrorpops, The cramps and Pj Harvey.
What day/time/stage are you playing at the Great Estate Festival?
Louise: We’re in Madame Wongs House of Wrong on Sunday at 5pm!
What can the audience expect from your live show?
Louise: An energetic show with added theremin, double bass, spooky guitar and face paint!
The bill is looking pretty good for this year, who else would you recommend the festival goers make a beeline for over the weekend?
Kelly: Mother Vulture are sure to put on an unmissable show. And our friends Hedluv and Passman, and Shagrat are favourites of ours.
There seem to be more Cornish festivals popping up all over the county these days, what is it about them that keeps people coming back year after year?
Michelle: I guess because Cornwall is such a nice place!
Tell me a funny story about a festival/show that you've attended in the past....
Kelly: Well we’ve been booked to play Boardmasters 3 times in the past, but we’ve never actually managed to play it. The first time we were booked, the stage got cancelled because of sideways rain (we also got stuck in the mud that year and needed to be towed out). The second year, the whole festival got cancelled because of the weather. And then the third time, there was a global pandemic! We’re supposed to be playing this year, but we’ll see what the universe thinks!?
Give me 3 bands or artists that you would like to headline at your own festival (you can choose ANY band/artist dead or alive)
Kelly: That’s a really hard question! There are so many! I mean, they’re a bit obvious, but I guess I’d have to go for the dead ones that I haven’t seen but wish I had… The Clash, Queen and Bowie.
Please tell me about any new music that you have in the pipeline and when can we expect to hear it?
Kelly: We’re working on writing a new EP at the moment. We have a couple of finished tunes, and a couple more that are in the process of being born! Now that we’re playing more gigs, it’s been hard to find time to work on them, but we’re having fun working on them and you’ll be able to hear their progression at our gigs this summer.
Lastly, tell me your top festival survival tips?
Kelly: Take your own toilet roll, in a plastic bag. Lots of jumpers (especially for one as early in the season as this!), and snacks. Lots of snacks.
Michelle: Don’t drink in the sun at a festival. Speaking from experience!
We’d like to thank all 4 ladies for sparing their time to chat to us, we wish them every success for their performance at The Great Estate Festival (Madame Wongs House of Wrong on Sunday at 5pm) and for all future endeavours. We’ll also be at Boardmasters later on in the year and HOPE that we might see the ladies there!
To keep up to date with their musical happenings, click on the links below;