Berwick intergenerational hard rock band, Not Now Norman, are gearing up to release their new single. Lee Allcock caught up with lead singer Taylor-Grace Minary Mitchell to speak about chickens, Norman HQ and more.
Tell me a bit about ‘Why Don’t Ya Like Me’ and what listeners can expect…
Since I started Not Now Norman, I’ve been getting a lot of trolls in the comments. Some have said that I sound like Yoko Ono whilst others have made comments about my appearance, specifically about my knees looking like dogfaces. You have to give them points for creativity. Luckily for me, I find them entertaining these days rather than hurtful, which is where ‘Why Don’t Ya Like Me’ started. It takes a lot of energy to spread hate, so why bother? So, if you’ve ever been put down by a troll or two, and you’re in need of a confidence boost, then ‘Why Don’t Ya Like Me’ is the song for you.
How does it differ from previous releases?
I think it has a different ‘In-Your-Face’ approach. Our previous tracks such as ‘Shut Your Mouth’ and ‘Judas’ had a solid ‘Back Off’ vibe, whereas ‘Why Don’t Ya Like Me?’ has a bit of a raw, carefree deflection. I also got a few people to help me out with the flow of the track. I wrote a few of the insults down and phoned my best friend to get her to record them for me. She said ‘I can do you better than that, I’m going to get my friends in on this too. So, shout out to Emi, Vad, Tiggy and Adam for helping add a little spice to it.
Will you be going on the road to promote it? Tell me more…
There are no solidified tours as of yet but there are a few gigs in the pipeline. We’ll be on the Shoresdean Stage at Lindisfarne and playing a few more festivals. But currently, we’re focusing on writing new material for our next album; I’m thinking of calling it ‘Go Hard or Go Home’. We’re also working on a tour so keep an eye out for that. In the meantime, we’re playing at NE Volume on the 20th September.
Where did you record the release? And what did you learn along the way?
We recorded it right here in Norman HQ, AKA, the washroom cupboard, with the Maestro, Ally Lee, in production. Ally really cracked some eggs with this one, getting me to try different things with my voice until eventually, without realising it, I learned how to fry scream; it’s something I’ve always wanted to learn how to do but was too afraid of the consequences.
And finally, who exactly is Norman?
I’m glad you asked. Norman was my pet cockerel. Sadly he died a few years ago defending his hens from a fox. Now I don’t know if you’ve ever met a cockerel before, but they’re not the nicest of birds to deal with as they’re aggressive and territorial. But I want you to picture the scene where we got the band name. My little sister, Eb, usually feeds the chickens. Now visualise this: She’s 5ft 1 and she’s wearing Wellington boots past her knees. She’s armed herself with a metal dustbin lid full of chicken feed and a broomstick handle to fend him off. You’re busy doing the washing when suddenly, you hear a commotion in the back garden. You go to check it out and you see your sister running back towards the house, screaming at the top of her lungs “NOT NOW NORMAN!”
You can listen to ‘Why Don’t Ya Like Me’ from around Nov/Dec time on all major streaming platforms.
