Leaping around the stage, sweaty and full of enthusiasm and a room full of girls eagerly watching them; The Holiday are in their element. Jamie Smart is on vocals, moving and dipping the microphone stand as if it’s his dance partner whilst he sings his lungs out. Daniel Cobb and James Broderick are on guitar and look as though they are putting their heart and soul into every chord. James Harding is on vocals and bass, multi tasking both fantastically, whilst his band mate Jonathan Royston-Claire smashes out beats on the drums. You can just tell when a band really enjoys performing and this is definitely one of them.
The Holiday formed in Spring 2010 and in less than a year have transformed into a popular local band. With their happy-go-lucky songs such as ‘Cue the Sun’ and ‘The Weekend’, The Holiday have headlined and sold out Southampton venues such as ‘The Joiners’ and supported the American band ‘Fun’ in Brighton. But is this tight-knit band content with simply local success? Absolutely not. These boys have big personalities but even bigger ambitions.
“Where do I see the band in five years time? The dream is to have a major record deal with someone like ‘Universal’ and a truly devoted fan base,” Jonathan Royston-Claire, a self-confessed Mcfly fanatic, explains, eyes wide, brushing his hands through his fly-away hair, “We’d really like to get some buzz going in America. That would be amazing.” Jonathan, at the back of the stage behind his drum kit and his band mates, could quite easily be over-shadowed; however his height, at well over 6ft, and his extrovert personality do not allow this to happen.
When Jonathan is asked about his height, band-mate James Broderick, guitarist, eagerly gets up out of his seat and encourages Jonathan to stand back-to-back with him. This is the first real sign of off-stage confidence in the small brown haired boy, who rocked it on stage but seems very quiet and shy in person. James Broderick’s main input into the interview is “Don’t try and get into the music business in a heavy metal band, I’ve tried it and it’s near impossible.”
So, how did this group of young men meet and combine to create indie/pop band The Holiday? Four out of the five attended university together at Southampton Solent and starting hanging out through the local music scene, however the band did not form until one fateful day in Wetherspoons, when the boys finally managed to convince vocalist Jamie Smart to leave his then-band to join theirs. So, The Holiday was born.
Jamie Smart is the life and soul of the party when he is singing on stage - bounding around enthusiastically, smiling at his band-mates, winking at the audience - however when simply sat, talking with the rest of The Holiday he seems like your typical brooding, ‘too-cool-for-school’ kind of guy, looking vaguely bored with the whole conversation. However, he perks up when the band is asked for interesting stories about themselves, “When I was born my brother and I were one of the heaviest set of twins the hospital had ever recorded,” he says stroking his stubbly chin and a smile creeping across his face as he recalls this anecdote. When asked about the band’s style in terms of clothing, Jamie talks about how a man once mistook him for a girl and this is not too difficult to imagine when looking at his unbelievably tight choice of skinny jeans. “This is not necessarily how I always dress, we like the band to look like a unit, bound together by one basic style.”
It is common knowledge that the music business is extremely competitive and there is definitely a need for something special in order to succeed. Does The Holiday think there is gap in the market for their kind of sound? Daniel Cobb, one of the guitarists, thinks there most certainly is. “There is a lot of buzz surrounding guitar bands at the moment; it’s a bit of a 90’s revival. I’m talking about bands like The Vaccines, that’s what we are like – cheesy pop but with really well structured songs.” Jonathan Royston-Claire, nodding at what Daniel is saying, adds, “I think we have a fresh take on music. At the moment everyone is writing sombre songs and we want to bring the happy vibes.” Jonathan and Daniel’s friendship in particular appears prominent within the band and Daniel reveals that they are house-mates as well as band-mates. Daniel also reveals that he shares Jonathan’s love for Mcfly and that their secret addiction led them to Guildhall to see the band live in action. “My taste in music might not be considered particularly cool,” Daniel chuckles, “I mean my ringtone right now is Michael Buble.” When asked if he has any interesting stories about himself, Daniel tells of how his Great, Great, Great Granddad patented the latex balloon and then lost all of the family fortune by gambling on horses. Let’s hope that The Holiday isn’t so reckless if they end up becoming rich and famous.
James Harding, the backing vocalist and bass player in the band, also had an interesting story that, for some unknown reason, he decided to share - most likely shattering every girl in the room’s perception of this attractive and seemingly quiet young man. “I once went on a three day bender and somehow managed to urinate myself twice during this time,” says James, resulting in uproarious laughter from his band-mates, “I really shouldn’t have said anything, should I?”
Self-confessed musical failures in their teenage years, The Holiday have come from bands with names such as ‘Anal Dave’, ‘Weasel Wedge’ and ‘Nine Months Waiting’ and their advice to anyone who wants to succeed within a band is to know exactly what you’re about before you even start writing the music. From peeing in their pants, to being mistaken for a member of the opposite sex, The Holiday certainly are an intriguing bunch with a bright looking future in this industry. Keep an eye out, they may be more popular than Mcfly one day, who knows?
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