I’m sat down in the Cleveland Bay pub in Chandlers Ford with Sam Ogles and Andrew Ovenden of Southampton band Kitchen Sink Drama ready to talk music when Sam (the band’s vocalist) decides to test a theory out. Flicking the outside of the glass which holds Andrew’s pint of Guinness, he announces “That’s a good pint!” How can he tell? “Well, if it sounds like this….” – he flicks the glass again – “…you can tell that it’s a decent pint! If it’s a lighter sound, then it isn’t!” Rock n roll bands eh? What they don’t know about a pint of Guinness…..
Once I am suitably impressed by the duo’s amount of knowledge for pub trivia, we settle down to talk music. Kitchen Sink Drama have not been around for too long. Indeed Sam has only recently fully discovered music! “I first picked up the guitar in February,” he states. “I decided to teach myself so I downloaded every Oasis album. I think Noel Gallagher is a genius lyrically. Hearing Oasis was the first time I was deeply inspired by music.”
Guitarist Andrew Ovenden remembers what got him interested in music too. “My brother’s a big influence on my life. When he was at senior school, he was heavily into grunge. I was about nine years old at that time. My brother picked up a guitar so I decided to learn too!” he smiles. “I formed my first band when I was in Year 10 at school. We were called The Chancers. It was a piss take really. We were shit!! We did one gig at school. When I came off stage, my brother said ‘Nice effort, mate!’ He’s not one to mix his words!!”
“I really got into playing guitar whilst I was at college,” Andrew continues. “I started writing some solo stuff. I was quite Jamie T influenced.” In March of last year, Andrew got a bit bored of the solo life and decided that he wanted to form a band. “We were at college one day and Ogles nicked my guitar!” – they both laugh – “He started singing ‘Wonderwall’!”
“Andy called me that night,” Sam continues. “He was like ‘you’ve got a really good voice!'” Andrew and Sam did not meet in the most orthodox of circumstances. “He got off with my ex!!” laughs Andrew pointing at Sam. They both laugh and it leads into confirmation between the two about what actually happened. “It was OK though,” smiles Andrew. “I told him I didn’t care about it!”
The band – completed by Darren Guy (“guitar wizard” – Andrew), bassist Jack Munday (“the world’s hairiest man!” – Andrew) and drummer Dom Mortimer (“the second sweatiest man in the world….behind me!” – Andrew) – made their live debut in July. “Our first gig was on 29th July,” states Sam. “It was the 27th….” offers Andrew. “No, it was the 29th…..” corrects Sam. Out comes the mobile…… “You’re right,” confirms Andrew. “It was the 29th!”
“We were supporting Amy Wyke,” enthuses Sam. “She was phenomenal! She has asked us to support her at Talking Heads on 13th November too!”
The band’s setlist consists of 6 songs at the moment – “I like our sets to be short and sweet”, states Sam – with each song being different from the last. “Our set is really varied,” says Andrew. “There’s ska, there’s some indie rock. ‘Who Are You’ is a punk song and ‘Wild Side’ is New Wave. ‘We Are The Future’ is a simple rock song in the vain of ‘D’You Know What I Mean?’ by Oasis.”
Kitchen Sink Drama are not just a great band but they also have a great name. So where on Earth did it come from? “I love New Wave cinema, ‘angry young man’ literature and ‘kitchen sink drama’ art,” enthuses Andrew. “I thought it’d be a great idea to bring all this into music!”
As well as being immensely likeable and talented gents, Sam and Andrew are very ambitious for Kitchen Sink Drama. “Our dream is to get signed, get an album out and become a household name!” states Andrew. Simple! “We are realistic and down to Earth about it all. We enjoy what we’re doing. We’re going to play more gigs, get into London and build our fan base.”
Prepare to be impressed by a great band….and some interesting facts about your pint of “the black stuff”!
Paul Lane.
Unplug The Jukebox 