Q & A About You Date of birth? Alex - 02/02/85 Hayley - 19/12/86 First musical instrument played, and age when started? A - Probably piano when I was about 14 ish... H - Recorder...age 6 ooooh rock 'n' sandwich. Do you play any other instruments? A - I play electric piano. Sort of play the drums, and the guitar a tiny bit. Very tiny. I'm better than Mr Beggs on the drums though. Ha ha ha H - Just the recorder...... haha kidding, guitar. Who inspired you to become a musician? A - Embrace. And Bob Marley too I guess. H - Robert Plant, Pink Floyd... Who are your musical influences now? A - Embrace (d'oh) Ash, Shed 7, Counting Crows, Bob Marley, Athlete, The Killers. Lots of Indie stuff really. H - Ooooh lots of people. Generally changes on a weekly basis. Evanescence at the moment I think...last week was Phil Collins. What was the first concert you ever went to? A - Embrace probably. I can't actually remember H - Rod Stewart, it was for my 9th birthday I think? was amazing, was sooo tired from jumping around at that gig, that I fell asleep before we left the car park to go home. aww bless Have you had any musical training? A - Studied Vocals and music performance at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford, and gained my HND. H - Erm.....well I learned to play guitar with Steve Askew for a while. Started when I was about 8 or 9. How would you desbribe yourself? A - Fiery, temperamental but occasionally happy and chilled. H - I'm a little teapot short and stout, here's my handle, here's my spout. When blah blah blah la la, you'll hear me shout...tip me up and pour me out. What are your ultimate ambitions and goals? A - To be good at whatever I choose to do in life... H - To have some form of success, to be remembered well. About the Music In your opinion what makes Industrial Salt different? A - I'm the singer and Hayley's the guitarist. No other band has us so we must be different. H - Nobody sounds like us "electro pop rock" and....Alex picks her nose haha How did the band come about? A - Not a bloody clue!!! H - I wrote a song (Kiss U (stalker) with a school friend, we recorded it with Steve Askew for my GCSE, then we started recording more with Steve and Nick Beggs, then things changed, and along came the amazing Alex...whoooyea! then POW everything clicked into place. What are your songs about? A - Love, Hate, Happiness, Sadness, Life, Death and Tiger feet. That's right. H - They vary, Kiss U (Stalker) is about a couple of my friends who fancied a P.E teacher, Not the End is about Alex leaving ACM. I think the songs are self explanatory Where does the band name come from and what does it mean? A - See 'how did the band come about' I assume it means salt that is industrial. H - It comes from a chemistry revision guide haha, I was revising for my GCSE's with a friend, we just opened the book up and it said "Industrial Salt"...TING!!! great band name. How do you approach writing songs? A - Songs usually happen for me when I'm feeling particularly emotional. I start by working out a chord pattern on the piano (or sometimes guitar) and then the lyrics and melody just follow in a random jumble of music stuff. Works though. Sometimes. H - I don't really think about it to be honest, I just play guitar and the melodies and lyrics seem to write themselves. Do you enjoy playing or singing more? A - Depends what/who I'm playing with ;o) H - Hmm...playing. What is the name of the album? A - Don't get me started. No, that's not it. I think it's 'A Pocketful Full of Magnetic letters'. H - It's Definitely going to be 'A Pocket Full of Magnetic Letters', and that's FINAL.... Where did the name come from? A - Mummy Salt thought of it. H - Mummy Salt (Ann Beggs), she had all those fridge magnet letters in her pocket for some reason, and came out with that phrase...ended up being the only name we could all agree on. Where was the album recorded? A - Steve's studio and Robbie's studio. H - Grove Road baby yeh! in Leighton Buzzard innit yeh man! How was it? Any stories to tell? A - Ok most of the time. Nick Beggs is an OTT drama queen though and seems to clash with my personality. This isn't too useful when we're both cooped up in a studio together... H - haha it was fun, took a while, but hurrah we got there. Alex and Nick are highly entertaining when they disagree, and oooh fun and games on swivel chairs! We drank lots of tea. Favourite song on the album? A - Probably 'Gone to the Moon' or 'Not the End' H - Not the End i think...well done Alex Random Questions Favourite colour? A - Brown H - I want to say black because it goes with everything but, I think mid blue. What drink do you order at the pub? A - Malibu and lemonade. Please. H - Apart from VK apple and cocktails, I'm going to go with pineapple juice because it comes in a tiny glass, which I like...I don't know why...they just make me happy hehe. What makes you smile on a rainy day? A - Embrace H - Pigeons walking, their heads HAVE to move back and forth, so if you chase them they go even faster...they must get a huuuge head rush.. Favourite Food? A - Air H - Ooh crispy aromatic duck, with just the pancakes, hoi sin sauce and cucumber NO ONIONS I don't like onions. What annoys you? A - Nick, Traffic, Rain.. H - Not knowing things...for example...knowing a song, knowing the title, not knowing who the hell sings it grrr. Narrow minded, two faced people annoy the f**k outa me!!! I'm sure a lot of other stuff, just can't think of it right now. Favourite word? A - That's just stupid. NEXT H - Ooh, ekelig...which is German and means disgusting. haha just funny how it sounds. however I hate the word poodle...eeww gross word, maybe it's just the oodle bit? but then that'd mean I don't like the word noodle...which isn't true, because I have absolutely no problem with noodle...noodle noodle noodle...see its fine Do you have any bad habits? A - I swear a lot. Is that a bad habit? I also drive too fast. H - Talking too much shit, sticking my tongue out in photos, leaving my clothes wherever i take them off, erm...probably spending too much money on my phone eeek Favourite Lyric? A - Memory lane only get's you one way and that's back to that place and there forever'. or 'We try so hard, to reach eleven on a scale of one to ten'. H - Arghh..... that's hard there's so many. Salad cream or mayonnaise? A - Mayonnaise H - Psssh obviously salad cream, mayonnaise tastes like face cream...not that I've tasted face cream... What disney character would you like to marry? A - None. I like men thank you very much. H - Definitely between Peter Pan and Aladdin...magic lamp....or...being able to fly....see the dilemma?