As part of Music Is To Blame's What's to Blame? interview series, we sat down with singer Rick Witter during this year's Y-Not Festival to talk all things from train sheds, their unique sound, and playing Glastonbury.
First up, could you introduce yourself and where you're from?
I'm Rick and I sing in Shed Seven. I'm from York.
Very nice. So, we're Music Is To Blame, and we'd like to know what's to blame for the name Shed Seven. Where did it come from?
Well, we were desperate for a band name and we were really struggling for one, so me and Tom, the bass player, were on a train travelling from York to Manchester, and as we left Leeds train station, there were ten huge sheds lined up on the side of the tracks. Obviously, train fixing sheds and each one had a big door on it that said 'shed one', 'shed two', 'shed three', but shed seven didn't have a door. I said, 'That must be shed seven'. So the trains are to blame.
How do you think playing gigs throughout the year compares to playing festivals?
Well, it is a different ballgame because with festivals, you try to appeal to a different crowd who perhaps haven't heard of you. It can be quite soul-destroying if you're on a big stage outside and you've got your fans watching, but then there are lots of people walking from one stage to another, ignoring you. It's like, hold on a minute, we're here! It's a thrill and a buzz trying to win new people over, whereas your own gigs, you're selling tickets for people to come and see you, so you know everyone in the room is there for you. It's a whole different ballgame.
Yeah, for sure! How do you think your current sound compares to when you guys first started out?
There isn't much change to be honest. If you listen to our last studio album that was released last year, there isn't a huge difference between our debut album songwriting-wise which I think works for us. Bands do like to go off on tangents and update the sounds, but for us, I think our fans really like us for our sound. So why fix something that isn't broken?
Exactly!
It's funny because when we play newer songs now within our sets of songs that are thirty years old, they don't stick out like sore thumbs. They really fit together quite well. So that works really well.
Have you managed to catch any of the other artists playing this weekend at Y-Not?
I would like to see some more bands, but I'm busy doing this! I want to watch The K's, who are on now. I'm not sure if I'll stick around, but it would be nice to see a bit of Franz Ferdinand and a bit of Madness, but we'll wait and see. You are stopping me from doing these things!
You're stopping me from seeing them as well! I wanted to see The K's. Honestly!
Oh, sorry!
And finally, what do you think the highlight for you guys has been so far this year?
Well, this year, all we've done really is festivals. Glastonbury was a big highlight because we've only ever played that once before, and that was in 1995. Thirty years ago. The fact we went out live on the iPlayer was pretty exciting. But we just love doing gigs, so wherever we go, we put our heart and soul into it and hope for the best.
Emily Teague
Image: Tim Firth
If you enjoyed reading this article please consider buying us a coffee. The money from this pot goes towards the ever increasing yearly costs of running and hosting the site, as well as our monthly "Writer Of The Month" article prize.