The Cliffhanger

How did your band come together?

We have played collectively since our early teens on and off. Coming from a small town there was not a great deal else to do. Over the years we have tried other musical ventures but we keep getting drawn back to each other. The Cliffhanger in its current guise has been together now for about 2.5 years.

Please introduce yourself and your associates, what qualities do you each bring to the band, musically and otherwise.

Dave English (guitar and vocals), Dave Hughes (Drums), Mark Bell (Bass), and myself Ben Trenerry (guitar and vocals). In terms of the qualities we bring – it is hard to say really, we are like a family and we all have our strengths and weaknesses but collectively we are a strong and creative unit.

What inspires you, musically and lyrically?

Speaking for myself, my own life and the events within it inspire me to write music and words. I am lucky enough to have travelled a lot and have done a lot professionally during the 7 years since I graduated from University and all this has expanded my worldview and fuels my own music.

On a Cliffhanger curated festival bill, who else would play?

Carcass, Lift to Experience, Miles Davis, Slint, Jeff Buckley, Led Zep.

What motivates you to record and gig?

To me music is a release. I am lucky enough that through making and listening to music I am able to make sense of the world. I would like to be able to do music for a living, which is my goal. As for fame and fortune - not interested.

If the musical world was ideal, it would…

Support music as the art of self-expression.

Why should people buy the NYQUIST THEORY compilation?

Well first of all it’s for charity, and secondly the guys who put it together seem to really have their hearts in the right place – which is extremely commendable and rare in music.

Suggest a publicity stunt to increase your profile in the UK.

On-stage levitation.

What do you consider your best achievements in music?

I am very proud of our musical output so far (all of which can be downloaded for free from our website: www.thecliffhanger.co.uk)

What more would you like to achieve with your music?

To make a living from it. 20K a year and I would be very content indeed thank you very much.

If you weren't in a band just what would you do with your evenings?

I would probably travel more, maybe have a family?

What are your future plans for gigs and recordings?

We are in the middle of a second attempt at recording an album; it is going a lot better this time around. Last time around life got in the way, as it sometimes does. But we are hoping this piece of music will be complete around May. We are hoping to get back gigging in June – it will be the first time for over a year and we are all very keen to get back into it. We just want to play in front of open-minded openhearted people. We are hoping to get out of the NorthEast more so if anyone wants us to play in their area then please get in touch.

What, with regards the UK music scene, upsets you?

The word cool.

Please name your 6 discs for a Desert Island?

1 Miles Davis – Bitches Brew
2 ACDC – Back in Black
3 Carcass –Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious
4 Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
5 Saturday Night Fever - Soundtrack
6 Jeff Buckley - Grace

3 Books for a desert island?

1 How to Survive on a Desert Island
2 How to Build a Raft using Items only found on a Desert Island
3 The Bible

1 Luxury Item for a Desert Island?

A girl.

Any other words of wisdom?

Go to Finland, it is lovely this time of year.

www.thecliffhanger.co.uk