Hertfordshire has been historically well-known for producing some awesome indie and alternative talent over the past couple of decades from Tom Grennan to Lower Than Atlantis, Declan McKenna to Enter Shakiri and George Ezra.
Now emerging from the undergrowth of Watford and Hemel Hempstead, power-pop five-piece High Regards look set to make their mark.
The band, comprising of Georgia Casey (vocals), Jack Botterill and Oliver Nutkins (Guitars), Thomas Townsend (Bass) and Tim Charlwood (Drums) they have recently released sophomore single ‘Falter’ which has been a big hit. The band chatted to us about the single and their love and support for grassroots music venues.
‘Bringing you fun, upbeat songs for you to listen to in the bath’ as they describe it, High Regard’s music offers striking riffs and powerful pop-punk vocals from Georgia. It’s a true rock anthem that packs a punch.
Speaking on the response to ‘Falter,’ Tom said: “The response has been great, we passed 1000 streams in the first day but since then it’s slowed down a bit.
“Not everything is about numbers though, people everywhere are saying how much they love it.”
Ollie adds: “It’s pleasing to see it holding up as well as the Latter, for me it just means that people want to come back for more which is a very warming feeling.”
Keeping their sound simple but extremely effective, the band got recording with Ryan Hyslop (Trash Boat) who raised the bar further.
“He took our demos which Georgia and I had worked on from home and brought the ideas we had laid down to a level above what we had anticipated,” comments Tom. “Most of it was done in the box. No fancy outboard gear or anything, just a good preamp, a microphone, guitars and a MacBook over a couple of days.”
Originally meant to sound slower and more relaxed but once you get into the studio anything can happen and you just go with the flow. It’s all about experimenting. Fair to say they’ve come up trumps on ‘Falter’.
Georgia said: “‘Falter’ is one of a few tracks we have released or have plans to release that tackle issues on and surrounding mental health.
“It was originally intended to be a slower, more relaxed song however through the recording process the song took on a more upbeat persona.”
Grassroots venues are the life and soul of live music for local bands such as ourselves and their survival is essential to the industry.
Georgia Casey, vocalist for High Regard
With the news from the Music Venue Trust earlier in the year that over 556 music venues were under threat of closure due to the Coronavirus, a huge public outcry was needed to get the government to provide a huge £100m care package to the performance and arts industry.
However, despite this, 30 iconic music venues are still at risk of imminent, permanent closure. High Regard have played the grassroots venues circuit for years – even under previous bands – so they have first-hand experience on how much it means to them.
Jack said: “Without grassroots venues you can wave goodbye to new music.
“They are the important stepping stones which bands take to get to bigger things, and for the audiences to discover their new favourite band.”
“Grassroot venues are essential to the creation of new bands without industry backing or much money to get support,” adds Tom. And he’s right. Where would your big artists be without the small venues? “For us, we need them to be able to play in front of new people and gain a wider audience,” comments Tom. “We only managed to play one show as High Regard before lockdown, and we can’t wait to be able to play again.”
The nearest major grassroots music venue to the band is The Horn in St Albans and others are spread quite far and wide in the county.
For Tim, and I imagine all members, The Horn is a vital place where they can perform.
He said: “Venues like The Horn were so important when I started playing in bands. It’s difficult for young bands to get on bills, so it’s refreshing to see when venues actively reach out to new bands and encourage their progress.
“Without these grassroots venues, smaller bands simply wouldn’t have an entry into the music industry.
Speaking further, Ollie added: “It’s a way to build hype and connections in the local community.
“As well as that it’s just a bloody good way to spend the evening for bands and listeners alike.”
There’s a bit of good news for High Regard as there is talks for a new arts and music centre in Hemel Hempstead. There hasn’t been one since The Pavillion closed in 2002 to make way for council offices.
Arts Venue in Dacorum (AViD) put out a survey to residents which has been a great sigh of relief for the band.
Tom said: “Growing up in Hemel I never really had an outlet for performance, it would either have to be a trip to St Albans, Watford or Berkhamsted in order to play a gig.
“I think especially for younger bands it would be great to have somewhere to be able to play and form a community.”
Ollie said that there has never been enough music venues in the area.
He commented: “There has never been enough local venues. It’s more likely these days to see them being shut down rather than being opened.
“Music brings people together, which is hugely important for any community.
“I hope this will encourage more musicians to come forward who have previously felt like there was nowhere in Dacorum to demonstrate their talents.”
AViD is now chaired by Luke Hinton (who also puts on nights at The Horn under Juicebox Live) so it’s in safe hands to convince local councillors and MPs that a venue is needed.
For those that have never visited Hemel, like drummer Tim who’s recently moved to the area, you would be shocked not to find a venue in a huge town like Hemel is.
“As a recent local in Hemel, it’s a shock to see a lack of music venues in the area,” expresses Tim. “With the Horn in St Albans and various venues in Watford, a new venue in Hemel would really fill a gap to help provide even more opportunities for local bands and build a wider community.”
Tom has played in several bands before HIgh Regards to which he says is a “fun challenge” to juggle it all.
“It’s nice to form friendships through the love of music,” he adds. “Different bands require different roles to be filled so I guess being in different positions stopped any of it becoming stale, making me want to spend all my time getting as good as I could at my craft.”
“I think he’s on drugs and has multiple personalities,” jokes Ollie.
Lastly, Jack reveals more music is in the pipeline as well as some interesting merch ideas are on the table – I hear soap could be one of them!
Listen to ‘Falter’ below and see how we are supporting the Music Venue Trust’s #SaveOurCampaign with exclusive merch!
