White Raven Down Talk Favourite Instruments, Music And More

Apr 14, 2024 | Interviews

White Raven Down

Words by Glenn Sargeant

Photo Credit: Supplied By PR

Rock-trio White Raven Down have been releasing music and performing for a few years and are currently working on their second album. They will also play on Friday 19th July 2024 at Maid Of Stone Festival in Maidstone, Kent, UK. Stu Bailey kindly answered our questions below:

Who is in White Raven Down and what do they play?

White Raven Down are a 3 piece heavy rock band originating from Essex in the south east of the UK. 
We consist of Luke Chappell on bass guitar, Tom Mrazek on drums and myself Stu Bailey on guitar and vocals.

 

When and how did you all meet?

We met with both Luke and Tom answering an advert that I had circulated online… 

Are you currently working on any new material for release and if so, how has the writing/recording been going?

Yes we are actively writing our second album right now. We have had to come off the road from touring in order to do so… the past 2 years we have been working very hard touring the UK and a couple of parts of Europe to build our fan base. 

 Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?

Oh yes… we’re quite particular on our sound… in fact it is our sound that defines us as a band.
I use Gibson SG Standards. My white 2013 is my number one. Absolutely love the tone of that guitar. EVH Amplification, Morley Wah, Digitech Whammy, TC Electronic Delays and Reverbs, Way Huge Green Rhino Overdrive, powered and controlled by GigRig G2.

Luke uses Rickenbacker 4001 basses through Orange Amplification with an assortment of pedals. 
Tom Mrazek uses Mapex shells with Zildjian cymbals, Axis pedals. 

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words? 

Southend is the hometown of our band… 5 words… wow… 
How about Rock Is Not Favourable Here? Lol. 
Essex is not well known for its love of rock music like other parts of the country. 

 

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?

We hope that we have entertained a crowd by the time we have left any stage. We have some big chorus’ and fairly heavy riffs which people tend to really get on board with when we play… we like to get our audiences involved too so hopefully we deliver on that… 

Do you have any plans for live shows in Europe/UK in 2024?

We do not have any plans for going abroad in 2024 as we are focusing on our writing but 2025 we could be abroad for some dates.
We have several UK Festival appearances most notably Maid Of Stone Festival, Call Of The Wild, SOS Festival, Wild South West Rally and more…
Our festival dates can be seen here.

 

How do you look after your voices?

Being quite new to singing lead vocals I am particularly careful with how I treat my voice. I do this by using vocal exercises before going on stage to warm my voice up as well as drinking hot honey tea avoiding caffeine, diary and alcohol before going on… 

Which tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

From the tracks that we have released to date we do not write happy songs in terms of subject matter… however… if you are of the kind of person who likes a solid heavy riff “Lost Your Hold” could make you happy particularly when we play it live… we get the audience singing along with us…

Our angriest song could well be “Stole My Light” which is our most recent single… however it does have some reflective verses as well. 
Our most reflective track could well be “Demons At Your Door”… this is a meandering progressive song that really does take the listener on a sonic journey… 
We have an orchestra in it to help get the point across and I love how the strings and horns help accentuate the storytelling… 

 

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?

Between the three of us we have quite a varied pot of influences… 
Luke is a massive Rush fan and draws a lot of inspiration for Geddy Lee as well as other progressive bands.
Tom is a metal-head. He grew up listening to In Flames and draws the heavier and more aggressive styles in his approach to songs. 
I am a massive Black Sabbath fan. I probably draw my riff writing from Tony Iommi and apply those ideas and present them in a modern way. 
As for vocals I am really new to this arena. So I would say that my favourite voices to listen to are the guys from the Seattle grunge era but I can’t sing anything like those guys. I am still very much trying to figure out my own path, taking inspiration from others and using multiple techniques to make something my own.
Although we have a wide range of influences from some of the artists I’ve mentioned here… I believe that we do not stick to these artists… inspiration can come from anywhere and when put through our own filters we can come up with something that is unique to us…  

 

One of your tracks is called ‘Stole My Light’. What was the inspiration/story behind the track?

“Stole My Light” was the first song we wrote as a 3 piece band and the only one we have released up until now… it’s a song about an overbearing presence in a relationship that prevents the other element from shining its brightest and once the relationship is over realising its dominance. 

What makes White Raven Down happy and what makes you unhappy?

What makes us happy? There are two things that do that… firstly the creative stage of song writing… there is nothing better than creating something that makes you proud because is was started from literally nothing… zilch. 
Secondly being able to perform those songs to an audience that hopefully enjoys what you are doing… we are very lucky that people seem to be into what we’re about.. 
As for what makes us unhappy… not very much. We love being musicians and everything that it entails… the down side is we need to travel and spend time away from our families who are very understanding and accept us for who we are… that is the downside and a sacrifice that we make to do what we love… on the flip side though, being away forces you to experience new things and meet new people… and what’s not to love about that… 

Feature Image Photo Credit: Ian Treherne Photography – Edit Rockstar Art

White Raven Down will perform at Maid Of Stone Festival 2024 on Friday 19th July 2024 alongside headliners GUN and Blaze Bayley – 30th Anniversary Iron Maiden Set.

Tickets are onsale now here: https://maidofstonefestival.com/ 

For more information visit their official website here: https://www.whiteravendown.com/