Teesside artist Joe Ramsey has a big year ahead of him so Lee Allcock caught up with him to speak about his new sound, acquiring a band and more.
In what is a very big step, we hear that your sound is changing…
When I recorded my last songs, so the tracks that were released in 2019 (‘You Don’t Have to Leave’ and ‘Won’t You’) as well as ‘Shelter’ at the back end of 2018, they were all with the same acoustic-driven sound and the production kind of tip-toed around it in terms of piano, keys etc – there was no full-on percussion. When I was pitching the track to PR companies, a number of them came back saying the production wasn’t really up to scratch and I respected that. So, the plan is to now work with a full band in the live setting and I also want to push that sound out on any future recordings. I’ll be working with a few guys from the band I used to be in, The Panoramic, as well as guitarist Josh Brown from Thornaby who I’ve also worked with before.
Why did you feel that now was the right time to play your biggest headline gig?
It was a combination of things: I’ve been as active as I ever have been in terms of releasing music, I’m at a much better stage now than I was a year ago and I’ve played the likes of The Green Room and sold it out. With all that in mind, I really hope I can pull that local audience down to this.
Why did you choose The Georgian Theatre as the venue for your biggest ever headline gig?
I was looking at venues in Stockton and Middlesbrough and I didn’t really want to play at the same venue – I wanted it to be that extra bit special. I love The Georgian Theatre and I’ve seen so many bands play there over the years so I thought it’d be great to see what I can do on that same stage.
How are you preparing?
We started rehearsing as a full band a few weeks ago and we still have a few weeks yet until the gig so we’re not too worried. I’m also running a competition for bands to apply to support me. Artists can simply fill in a simple form on my Facebook page and I will choose an artist, at random, to support me. I mean, it’s a great venue to open at so I hope there are quite a few bands and solo artists who would like to play.
And finally, do you have anything else planned over the next few months for your fans to get excited about?
Well, we’re actually playing Stockton Calling on one of the bigger stages, ARC 2, with the full band. Chris Cobain at Tees Music Alliance asked if I was up for it but he really wanted me to do it with a full band. In all honesty, I couldn’t turn that down – it’s a great opportunity.
Joe Ramsey heads to The Georgian Theatre, Stockton on Friday 28th February. Tickets, priced at £5.00 in advance, are available from georgiantheatre.co.uk.
