Yellow Helen: What’s the point of being in a band?
Zara Grew
09/05/2024
(Yellow Helen. Image Credit: Zara Grew)
Zara Grew heads down to Empire Studios to chat with emerging Glasgow rock band Yellow Helen…
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In an unassuming box room in the Southside recording space ‘Empire Studios’, I candidly captured three musicians tinkering around with a new track. Lewis Macpherson, lead vocalist and guitarist, counted in a complex sequence as drummer Maxwell Weaver grew frustrated, huffing and puffing at the vague instructions. Joseph flower, keys player and self-titled ‘bits man’ made a snippy comment and that was the last straw. Rehearsal over.
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Followed by a burst of laughter.
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Yellow Helen have been well and truly making their mark on the Glasgow music scene this year. Releasing two back-to-back singles, headlining the iconic Glasgow venue Stereo, and recently being featured on BBC Music Introducing.
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I wanted to hear first-hand about what it is like to start and sustain a band with your friends and the journey to establishing yourself in an overcrowded industry.
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Since the beginning Yellow Helen has consisted of three core members who have always been best pals as well as band mates. The band officially started in 2018 on the 22nd of December. Lewis remembered “because it was close to Christmas”.
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“We all met in school, and we’ve all been friends since we were 12 or 13 and then started Yellow Helen when we were 18. Our music has changed a lot since then. I don’t know what we were really trying to do then – it was kind of goth. It had a teen angst to it.”
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Max said: “Now there’s more joie de vivre. Still a bit of angst though.”
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When asked to describe Yellow Helen Joseph said facetiously “we’re a Glasgow based indie rock band”
Lewis added: “That’s the bread and butter of it but I don’t like ‘indie’, that’s more of a style but I would say were more heavy.”
(Lewis Macpherson and Maxwell Weaver. Image Credit: Zara Grew)
Yellow Helen sees themselves moving more in a Garage/ Psych direction, taking inspiration from the likes of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Pink Floyd. For those of you, like me, who aren’t too sure of the definition of ‘Psych music’, Lewis helpfully explains; “It’s fast and it’s loud and it feels good and it’s for dancing and jumping and feeling good.”
When asked about the band’s process when it comes to recording music, Lewis noted: “We don’t have unlimited studio time and every minute costs money, so we try to be pretty rehearsed when we go in. So we have lots of rehearsals and we start with the basic track and then work on all the little bits.”
“It’s like stepping into a pool full of custard.” Joseph joked.
Although Glasgow has a reputation for its thriving music scene, the lads explained that it can still be hard to make a name for yourself and get recognised.
Lewis said, “we are one of many bands who are trying to do it in Glasgow. Pretty much every band that we know or have played with outside of the bigger bands that we support, are doing it. Are trying to get noticed. People talk about the scene, but I don’t know what that is. I feel a bit like an outsider to the scene sometimes.”
Max added, “there’s a lot of financial barriers because you spend a lot of money and don’t make anything. Streaming services don’t really pay artists but that is the norm. There are underground and indie movements of people making and selling physical copies of music but that’s in the minority. But the old way was more competitive, and now more people are making music. So is there really any winning?”
Joseph, the resident peacemaker, replied: “there is no winning there’s only taking part.”
(Joseph Flower. Image Credit: Zara Grew)
The group lament the difficulties which come with grassroots music-making, particularly not getting paid enough, or at all, by venues and promoters.
Lewis: “We play gigs often and you have to sell a certain number of tickets to get a cut so we usually walk away with the base rate.”
Max: “Promoters make losses all the time though so I understand why they can’t always pay people. From the limited exposure that we’ve had it has been pretty rough. You can’t make music without hassle. It depends on what you want out of it though. You can get a gig here and there and that’s worth it, but the hassle comes when you want to go further than that. It’s tough to make a living out of it.”
Lewis, in less diplomatic fashion, proclaims, “money ruins everything”.
(Lewis Macpherson and Maxwell Weaver.
Image Credit: Zara Grew)
Despite the roadblocks, the group remain hopeful about and passionate about their creative practice.
Lewis earnestly remarked: “For me it’s worth it. the feeling of it and seeing the things we’ve recorded and put out is something I am proud of”.
Yellow Helen gave me an honest and thoughtful insight into the struggles and success in their journey as a young Glasgow band.
Alongside the long-standing friendships and silliness, the band mates share an unequivocal joy in making music. It is this joy, plus some persistence, which has helped them to grow and develop into emerging artists.
(Image Credit: Zara Grew)
When posed the all-important question “Why make music?”, the band gave some characteristically enigmatic answers:
Max: “so that one day I can buy a pool full of custard”
Joseph: “my parents dropped me a lot as a baby”
Lewis: “I’ve just always done it; I’ve never been as good at anything else and I’ve never felt as good doing anything else so I just keep doing it”
Proving in their responses that there is no one correct reason behind being in a band but that there is most definitely a point to it.
You can keep up to date with all things Yellow Helen on Instagram and listen to their released tracks on all major streaming platforms including Spotify.