Small Town Saviours Talk New Single, Favourite Instruments And More
Words by Glenn Sargeant
Feature Image Photo Credit: Supplied By San PR
UK rock ‘n’ rollers, SMALL TOWN SAVIOURS, charge onwards, armed with their formidable new single and video, ‘Alkaline’.
Who is in Small Town Saviours, how did you meet and what do you play?
Lance Skybaby – lead vox, lead guitar, Skinny Pete – rhythm guitar, backing vox, T.Bone – bass, backing vox, Carl.D -Drums. We all go back a long way as friends or in other bands
What is your earliest musical memory?
I went to school in Hong Kong and the school band had a drummer that I thought was the coolest cat on the block at the time, and I just went “I’m gonna do that too”
When did you begin songwriting?
I feel like I was born with music in me personally, so I can say all my life.. with Small Town Saviours we’ve been constantly writing since 2019
You have your new single ‘Alkaline’. What was the story/inspiration behind the track?
I think if you look at the way your social media feed is presented to you – you’re basically being shown a lot of extremes.. it gets people arguing in the comments section and gets everyone riled up.
But what if it was all a psyop? We probably have a lot more in common with each other than we do the billionaires that are running the world. All that raging at each other doesn’t seem to be solving anything
Where did you record the track and who produced it?
We work with the very talented Dave Draper at his studio near Pershore in the midlands. Always such a pleasure to lay down the tracks there
Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the recording sessions?
They are all memorable in their own way. One thing I did learn is that “Tiffin Yud” in midlands speak is translated to “teeth in your head” in the Queen’s English
Did you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for the record?
We really just use whatever we can lay our hands on at the time that sounds cool. For us, it’s not about the gear, it’s about the heart
Which of your tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?
Well we wrote “RANT” after watching someone having a meltdown. Was quite a disturbing thing to watch but that particular person went through the whole range of those emotions and we basically translated that meltdown into music. So I guess you could say we cover all bases in that one track!!
Was it a difficult song to write?
I don’t feel like any of our songs are difficult to come by. Here’s a hot take for you – I believe that as artists, we are the messengers, not the creators. I believe that all songs already exist and what we do as artists is channel them from Source Energy into the physical realm. You just need to provide the right conditions for that channel to open
The single is accompanied by a video. What was the thought process behind the video and who directed it?
The video for Alkaline is purely a live performance of ours, captured when we played at Arlington Arts Centre in Newbury. Prior to the show, we had a message from a videographer (Andy Boyd) asking if we wanted it filmed. There really wasn’t much thought that went into it other than we will go do our thing and have some cameras pointed at us
Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?
I’m going to say Newbury (my hometown is Basingstoke but I spend so much time in Newbury it might as well be) 5 words to describe it – It’s so very, very normal.
How do you look after your voices?
Plenty of Strepsils
Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe in 2026?
At the moment our focus is on putting out more music and videos. Will do live shows if the conditions are right.
What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?
I hope that we will have connected with our audience. We have a lot of cool stories to tell through our songs and it really is a privilege and a joy to be able to share that with others
Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?
Personally I like to play Ludwig Vistalites, or the old 70’s Pearl drum kit that I also own. And I don’t think a Small Town Saviours set would be complete without Lance playing his Gibson 335
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?
I love a good gangster movie. My dad gave me a book called “I Heard You Paint Houses” before he passed away, so I’m gonna go with that
Do you have any further music releases planned for 2026?
Most definitely! We have tons of songs in the bank
Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?
As a band, we are influenced by Backyard Babies, The Wildhearts, Danko Jones, Green Day.. that kind of thing. Check out Rachel Bolan’s track At War With Myself – that’s a banger
What makes Small Town Saviours happy and what makes you unhappy?
We generally have a good baseline of happiness. Just getting to do what we do is so satisfying. If anything gets us down, we use it as material for new tunes, which makes us happy
Feature Image Photo Credit: Supplied By San PR
Small Town Saviours single ‘Alkaline’ is out now.
