Tyrannosaurus Alan

Tyrannosaurus Alan is a seven piece punk/ska band from Medway, Southeast England.

“We’ve all been involved in music from around 11 years old…just starting by picking up guitars and teaching ourselves to play, forming bands and trying to write songs,” Ben Robinson, singer and bass player of the band, said. “We all started playing music to have fun, using whatever instruments we could get for as little money as possible.”

When starting out, the band found it needed a name and came across it in a unique way.

“We couldn’t come up with a name,” Robinson said. “We didn’t have a name when we started booking gigs. An advert came on TV with a character named Tyrannosaurus Alan…it made us laugh and stuck in our heads, so the next time a promoter phoned us, we told him that’s what we were called.”

The band has been influenced by many artists, but its biggest influence is its experiences.

“With seven members, there are a lot of influences,” Robinson said. “A good tune is a good tune, but we don’t aim to sound like anybody. Our music and lyrics come from things that have happened to us or things that we’ve done. Places we’ve been, and stuff that we’ve seen happen.”

As for Tyrannosaurus Alan’s sound, the band finds that its music is its own and not a specific genre.

“We’ve always thought that rap music and metal music work well together,” Robinson said. “A horn section can make a simple song sound huge. We love the energy of punk music, the honesty of hip hop, the technicality of metal, the groove and feel of ska and reggae music. It’s all come together out of seven impatient young guys. We want to hear our favorite bits and skip the rest, so we wrote songs that make the most of all the things we like about music.”

Tyrannosaurus Alan has performed throughout the U.K., Germany, and the Czech Republic and it hopes to continue to play in other areas.

“We’d love to play in Japan and the USA, Canada and Australia, too, eventually,” Robinson said. “We’re very privileged that we get to travel around and see so many places and meet so many people.”

The band released its debut album, “Campaign,” in 2010, which was a great success.

“We were contacted by Andy B, the producer, before we’d even written the album,” Robinson said. “The studio was on a farm in the countryside in Southwest England. We lived for two weeks in a caravan in the next field over. We slept three in each bed and two on the sofas. The caravan smelled terrible and we were woken every morning by the cows on the farm. We were completely cut off for the whole recording process and it was brilliant. We were initially going to do a 5 track EP. We recorded 5 tracks and we were offered a deal from Moon Ska records to put out an album, which was to be the 5 new tracks plus our old EP put together. The songs are all basically about growing up in Medway and the things that we encountered. A lot of them are about specific people, but as a whole it talks about life growing up in a concrete jungle.”

The band plans to release another album in 2012 and hopes to continue making music in the future.

“Probably looking back, thinking about everything we’ve done and still trying to push ourselves even further,” Robinson said. “This band won’t last forever, but we make the most of every opportunity.”

 www.tyrannosaurusalan.com
 www.facebook.com/talanband
 www.soundcloud.com/trench-foot



Tyrannosaurus Alan Interview with Ben Robinson:

Where are you from?

We're from a place called Medway, south east England.

How and when did you get your start in music?

We've all been involved in music from around 11 years old... just starting by picking up guitars and teaching ourselves to play, forming bands and trying to write songs. Some of us played in school bands and some of us were involved with electronic music and DJing. We all started playing music to have fun, using whatever instruments we could get for as little money as possible.

How much musical education have you had?

A few of us have had lessons on our instruments. It really helps to know the basics... we all have quite different musical histories. We all have some sort of musical education in the form of lessons at school and college but most of what we've learnt as a band has just come from working from the bottom up, repeatedly trying and failing and constantly pushing ourselves.

Who are the members of your band and how did you find
them?

The members are Ben (bass/vocals) Ollie (guitar/vocals) Simon (trombone/vocals) Craig (drums) Chris (sax) Sam (trumpet) and Tom (sax). We basically all met through playing in different bands when we were younger and all playing the same venues in the same towns. Ollie met Simon at college studying music technology, he started rapping over the demos we recorded at college and we got him in permanently pretty soon after that.

How did you come up with your name?

We couldn't come up with a name, we didn't have a name when we started booking gigs. An advert came on TV with a character named Tyrannosaurus Alan... it made us laugh and stuck in our heads, so the next time a promoter phoned us, we told him that's what we were called. The only reason it hasn't changed is because we haven't bothered to think of anything better.

Who are some of your influences?

With 7 members, there are a lot of influences... There's the obvious bands like The specials, Rage Against The Machine, The Wailers, Capdown, Voodoo Glow Skulls... but as a band we're more influenced by places and events than by other bands. We listen to everything from John Lee Hooker and Nirvana through to Katy B, Willy Mason, Slayer... a good tune is a good tune but we don't aim to sound like anybody. Our music and lyrics come from things that have happened to us or things that we've done. Places we've been, and stuff that we've seen happen.

In your own words, how do you describe your music?

Skacore Hip Hop. We decided on that after years of not really knowing how to describe it. We get asked it a lot.. and that pretty much covers it.

Did you always want to play punk/ska music, or did you
try other genres?

We didn't really try to do anything. We've just put together our favourite aspects music that we hear and turned it in to our own thing. We've always thought that rap music and metal music work well together... a horn section can make a simple song sound huge... we love the energy of punk music... the honesty of hip hop, the technicality of metal, the groove and feel of ska and reggae music... it's all come together out of 7 impatient young guys. We want to hear our favourite bits and skip the rest, so we wrote songs that make the most of all the things we like about music. Our music sounds like who we are.

How do you write the songs for your music?

We usually just come up with an idea and it sort of flows from there. We all have a very similar idea of how we want something to sound. If we come up with a short idea for a song, we straight away know how the rest of that song should go, our brains just do it. The hard bit is getting a song from inside our heads and turning it in to music. Lyrics always come last for us because we write lyrics to suit the feel of a song. We're not good at just writing words though, something has to happen to inspire them. Our lyrics are usually written about something very specific, phrased in a way that they're accessible and have a wider meaning.

What has been your biggest success?

When we started the band we always wanted to play at The Underworld in Camden. It was our favourite venue to go see bands when we were younger. We played there at the end of last year to a sold out crowd. It's probably not our biggest success but to us it was everything we ever set out to achieve.

Where have you been able to perform and where would you like to play?

We've been lucky enough to perform all across the UK, as well shows in Germany and the Czech Republic. We'd love to play in Japan and the USA, Canada and Australia too eventually. We're very privileged that we get to travel around and see so many places and meet so many people.

What is the story behind your debut album, “Campaign?”

We were initially only going to do a 5 track EP. We recorded 5 tracks and we were offered a deal from Moon Ska records to put out an album, which was to be the 5 new tracks plus our old EP put together... which we weren't happy to do at the time, but realised there was a demand for an album and that it did make more sense than doing another EP. It also meant we'd have more songs written and could play longer sets... and was an opportunity to write better songs. So we carried on writing and went back to the studio to record 3 more new tracks and 2 from our previous EP. The songs are all basically about growing up in Medway and the things that we encountered. A lot of them are about specific people but as a whole it talks about life growing up in a concrete jungle. Small town mentalities, short sightedness and frustration. The artwork was done by our friend Establishment Arts, who does all of our artwork. We left it to him to listen to the album and do whatever he felt like doing and we were happy with the first things he showed us.

How did you come about the recording process for the album?

We were contacted by Andy B, the producer, before we'd even written the album. He said he'd heard our stuff and would be up for producing and recording it. He did us a good rate at his studio and we went away for 2 weeks to record it. The studio was on a farm in the countryside in south west England. We lived for the 2 weeks in a caravan in the next field over. We slept 3 in each bed and 2 on the sofas. There was no gas or running water, we just had 1 plug and a microwave. There was an outhouse we could use at the farm house and we were allowed to shower in the farm house between 7.30 and 8am... The caravan smelled terrible and we were woken every morning by the cows on the farm. Some nights we walked the 2 miles to the nearest pub and there was a shop 5 miles in the other direction. We were completely cut off for the whole recording process and it was brilliant. We just focused on the songs and enjoying ourselves.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Probably looking back, thinking about everything we've done and still trying to push ourselves even further. This band won't last forever, but we make the most of every opportunity.