New Kids on the Block
The Provans… you may not have heard of them yet but you will.
Scottish Music Network were fortunate enough to catch them live at the famous King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut recently, where they put on a short but very enjoyable show.
Describing their music as alternative/indie rock, they are new to the scene but are already gaining traction on the local scene, with King Tut’s and SWG3 already under their collective belts. I was able to catch up with Scott Knight shortly after they came off stage at a recent gig and managed to grab a few words with him…
Me – Hi Scott, thanks for stopping for a few minutes; how was the show?
SK – No bother… Aye, we thoroughly enjoyed it; it’s King Tut’s!! I thought we smashed it to be honest.
Me – Give the readers a wee bit of an insight into the band;
SK – We are basically brand new and I think we have come on quite a bit; we only put the band together last year and we’ve played a few support slots in Glasgow. It’s been good to get to play places like Tut’s and SWG3… we didn’t really expect that so soon!
We are all from Glasgow and all have similar musical tastes and influences, and I think we pay respect to those bands but we’re about creating our own vibe and I definitely think there’s a place for us. Glasgow is obviously a hard place to crack due to the number of amazing bands in the city but we have confidence in what we bring to the party… and it’s only going to get better from here as we find our feet in the local scene.
Me – I see from your Press Kit you describe yourselves as alternative/indie rock… that’s a tough sell in Glasgow (as you’ve already alluded to). What do you have that will help you up the ladder?
SK – As I said before, I think we have a different vibe from anyone else we’ve heard; it’s hard to explain, but it’s a feeling that we all have; as we build more confidence playing and speaking at interviews, I reckon we’ll explain it a bit better. We’ll be more comfortable… you’ve got to remember how young we are and all of a sudden we are playing on stage, having photographers shooting us and doing this interview!!
Me – So… you’re getting some decent gigs and appearing in Scottish Music Network… What’s next for The Provans?
SK – I think we need to keep playing as many gigs as we can in and around Glasgow. Try and build a following and catch the eye with booking agents, venues, and PR folk.
I think after that it’ll be getting an album or an ep out… we are a bit short on that at the moment but we’ve been concentrating on getting our sh*t together rehearsing and playing live. If it keeps building then we’ll look at things like t-shirts and mailing lists… we want to do it properly but without bombarding everyone… kinda like quality or quantity, you know what I mean?
We definitely need to up our game with social media content and platforms like YouTube. You can be the best band in the world (and I’m not saying we are… yet!), but if you’ve no social media presence then you just stay in the local scene or die away… I mean, there’s nothing wrong with the local scene; it’s one of the best in the world, but we want to go as far as we can. We’ve all got tunes running through our heads, and now we need to get them out there!
Me – 5 years time… where will The Provans be? Will we be interviewing you backstage at the Barrowland or the Hydro? What’s the dream?
SK – You know what? It’s all just about dreaming just now. Perfect what we’ve got and write new stuff. Get the recordings done and out there… I think that would give us an idea about where we’re going and the direction we take to get to where we need to be… 5 years. Me personally, I aim for the stars, working hard, building that following I spoke about. We all want that Glasgow following. King Tut’s sold out; SWG3 sold out, Barrowlands sold out… is that too much to ask for?
Me – Well you’ve caught our eye here at Scottish Music Network and we’ll keep following your progress and get to a few gigs.
Cheers Scott…I’ll let you go while you’re still on a high after the gig… keep us updated
SK – Thanks John
The Provans are live at SWG3 – Poetry Club on Friday 2nd October alongside The Missprint and Danny Dunnery
Photograph by Stephen Wilson Photography
Interview by John Brown
