James Kennedy & The Underdogs
Words by Glenn Sargeant
Feature Image Photo Credit: Supplied By BJF Media.PR
South Wales alt-rock band James Kennedy and The Underdogs have released the thunderous new track “Revolution”, featuring guest vocals from Skindred’s Benji Webbe.
Who is in James Kennedy and The Underdogs, how did you meet and what do you play?
We’re a hard rock / punk band from Newport South Wales formed in 2023. We met through us all being part of the same gigging circuit in our previous bands. Me, I’m the singer
What is your earliest musical memory?
My dad teaching me how to play the 12 bar blues on a little Spanish guitar he gave me for my 9th birthday.
When did you begin songwriting?
Late! I didn’t write any music until I was 20 and it wasn’t a song, it was an entire album which was released 2 years later – so I made up for the late start.
You have your new single ‘Revolution’ featuring Benji Webbe out now. What was the story/inspiration behind the track?
Seeing society descend back towards fascism has been a sad and frustrating thing to watch. So I wrote a song about us going round in circles and fighting the same battles over again, making the same mistakes over again and never learning from the past. Then I asked my mate Benji if he’d add a little something to track and well…he took it to the stratosphere didn’t he!
Where did you record the track and who produced it?
We all recorded our parts at our home studios. Aggy recorded the drums at her place, Elliot at his and the rest was done at my house. Benji’s vocals were recorded at his house. The album was mixed and mastered by my long-time production buddy, Jeff Rose at his studio in Newport.
Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the recording sessions?
Oh man, anything involving Benji is gonna be fun and memorable – the dude is a legend! Seeing him at work was a real privilege, he’s such a creative tsunami, it was an honour to be in the room as he literally wrote his parts for the song whilst recording them. No rehearsal or preparation and no idea what he was going to sing – he just pressed record and went for it. All done in an hour. Then he put the kettle on and made us tea. As I said – legend.
Did you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for the record?
Guitars wise, the whole thing was done using the Fulltone OCD pedal (maxxed out!) and a Fender Jag guitar – simple as that. I think the amp was a Fender Deluxe. The filter sound on the pre-chorus is just a wah wah sweep with a Crybaby – so all pretty standard stuff!
Which of your tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?
Happiest: uuuuuuh…
Angriest: maybe ‘Bad Apples’ from the new album
Most reflective: ‘Struggles’ from our last album
Was it a difficult track to write?
Nah not really. I write pretty quickly as a general rule. Usually for me albums are written, recorded and mixed within 3 months and I record at home which removes a lot of barriers to the process.
How did the collaboration with Benji Webbe arise?
I am very blessed to count Benji as one of my good friends. So I asked him and he said yes. A lot of established artists talk about how they love to support emerging bands but Benji actually does it – not just for us but for tons of bands. And he gives just as much of himself to a song by an unknown band as he does on stage with the mighty Skindred. He’s one of the greats.
The single is accompanied by an official music video. What was the thought process behind it and who directed it?
We just figured we’d go for a simple performance video with this one and let the song and the performance do the talking. The band scenes were filmed at the gorgeous Northhouse Studios in Llanhilleth South Wales with the multi-talented Chris Peet behind the camera and Benji’s scenes were filmed…wait for it…in Benji’s back garden. He’s a busy dude and aligning schedules was tricky so one morning he just rang me and said: “wanna do it today?”. So I grabbed my little camera, raced to his house, threw the band banner up behind him and in an hour or two, it was done. All of that awesome editing was done by my long time video collaborator, Scott Carey.
Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?
Newport South Wales: musical, real, community, potential, underappreciated
How do you look after your voice?
I’m not overly protective of my voice, I’ve been singing a loooooong time so I’ve learned a few things that work for me. I only drink water before and during a show (coffee counts as water, right?), I avoid certain foods on gig day and I warm up. Warming up is the most important thing a singer can do – I have my own little warm up routine that I’ve developed over the years which involves a variety of…strange sounds
Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe in 2026/2027?
Hell yeah! We’ve not long finished a UK tour with our pals in the Gypsy Pistoleros and we’ve got a bunch of dates coming up for this year including Savfest 2026, the Patti Pavilion in Swansea and a bunch of others for this year. Next year is already booking up nicely and there are talks of us getting over to Europe next year too so keep an eye on our socials for updates!
What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?
That we gave 1000% no matter what the gig and that the audience had an amazing time.
Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?
Don’t start me! Guitar pedals are my weakness, I’ve got boxes of them. Some favourites are the aforementioned Fulltone OCD, the Proco Turbo Rat, EHX Memory Man, Big Muff, MXR Sub-Machine, POG 2, Fuzz Factory, Tube Screamer, Digitech Whammy and I still use this really old multi Fx pedal made by Korg called a Toneworks AX30G which I had when I was a kid and it can make some INSANE sounds if you push it right – all the weird ambient sounds and noises on the early Kyshera tracks were done using that thing. I’ve used that pedal in top end studios with serious producers and they’ve been like: “how the hell are you getting that sound!”. So I don’t use anything exotic or super expensive, just the classic stuff – but they’re classic for a reason.
You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?
The Plague by Albert Camus. I’m a huge Camus nerd and his writings are the inspiration behind the lyrics for most of our upcoming album ‘Rebel’. I prefer the Plague to his most famous work The Stranger and I’d thoroughly enjoy getting my sonic teeth into a movie of that anytime!
Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?
Again, all the classics! Rage Against the Machine, the Clash, At the Drive In, Royal Blood, Jeff Buckley, Frank Zappa, Radiohead, Pink Floyd and too many more to mention.
What makes James Kennedy and The Underdogs happy and what makes you unhappy?
As a band I think we’re happiest when we’re playing shows and having a laugh exploring new cities and hanging out – ya know, doing the human stuff and the musical stuff – the real stuff. What makes us unhappy is the constant pressure to feed content to an insatiable algorithmic beast and the cruel daily judgement of trial by view count and likes. If I could erase social media tomorrow, I wouldn’t think twice about it.
Feature Image Photo Credit: Supplied By BJF Media.PR
James Kennedy and The Underdogs featuring Benj Webbe’s latest single ‘Revolution’ is out now.
https://www.instagram.com/andtheunderdogs/
https://www.facebook.com/JamesKennedyandTheUnderdogs
https://www.youtube.com/@jameskennedyofficial
https://x.com/jameskennedyukhttps://jameskennedystuff.bandcamp.com/
https://jameskennedyofficial.com
