I first heard of Stirling's indie-pop 4-piece Miniature Dinosaurs thanks to fellow Scottish music blogger Have Fun At Dinner who's Scottish Compilation Volume 1 album featured their cracking debut single "(I Want To Watch) Top Gear". It's hard not to be impressed by these guys. They've only been kicking about for just over a year. In which time their debut single was played on Radio 1 long before they played their first gig and they've gone on to support the likes of Twin Atlantic and The Xcerts. Not only that but they've done everything off their own back. It goes without saying then that they're pretty damn good!Recently, they released their new 4-track "Chatterbox" EP. So I thought I'd ask lead-singer Barry a few questions. Here's what he had to say...
Kowalskiy: So how did the band come about?
Barry: In horrible conditions! It was a cold night in Arbroath, I remember, when Alban and I first met; both supporting our local football team, Stirling Albion. We just went home and jammed away the misery of another defeat! Some months later Sam moved up from Huddersfield to attend Stirling University, and after a chance meeting we made it happen. We met Craig at the Tolbooth venue up the top of our here town... the same place we played our very first gig actually.
Kowalskiy: Who (or what) are your musical influences?
Barry: We like anything that makes us want to listen to it again, for whatever reason. The likes of Bowie, Weezer and Pulp have been a favourite of ours for a long time, so they would definitely all fall into this category. A lot of current music could also be included in this. We like to mix it up and our own songwriting seems to come naturally from these places.
Kowalskiy: You've only been together for just over a year, supported some cracking bands, released an acclaimed single and EP. Are you surprised with how well things have gone so far?
Barry: It has to be said that Alban and I spent a few months putting down the foundations of the band beforehand. We prepared a heap of songs that were ready to be played and we just got to it when Sam and Craig joined. None of us come from any bands that have been around the block; so we are all pretty fresh, and as a result we like to go at things in super speed! We always notice when someone says something nice about us though, and it's always appreciated. It's definitely what inspires us to keep going, whether that be a promoter putting us on a great bill, a blogger (like yourself) saying nice things, or someone at a show saying that they liked the performance.
Kowalskiy: What can we expect to hear from you in the rest of 2010?
Barry: We really want to get the Chatterbox material out to more people and pick up some more fans. This will mean playing more live dates and hopefully getting into some more media. We're doing everything by ourselves at the moment; it's hard work but it's very rewarding when it comes together.
Kowalskiy: What bands are you tipping for this year?
Barry: I guess since we're not from the main musical cities we should tell you about some of the other acts from the Stirling area. We've got Stevie and the Moon, Mopp, Little Eskimos and Jack Butler, amongst others. All are regulars on our playlist and would be more than worth checking out.
Kowalskiy: Anything else you fancy adding?
Barry: We'd love it if people gave us a chance by checking out Chatterbox. We'd also really love to see more people at our shows. We are playing two Glasgow dates; Maggie Mays on 8th April and King Tuts on 17th May, with our first Aberdeen date just before that on 15th April.
Here's the first track from Chatterbox for you to get yours ears around. If you like what you hear, check out the links below to buy their EP. It's rather good!
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