The Leicester quartet that make up Goldwater may have started life fairly quietly five or so years ago, and let’s face it, Covid didn’t do much to help the live music scene.
But the band, comprising Grant Decker, Jay (Junior) Kenna, John Kenna and Carl Dawson, have not so much as burst onto the scene, as built it, only to discover that the audience will most definitely come and enjoy the show.
Their psychedelic blues rock has built up a firm fan base, making them a popular fixture at festivals up and down the country, including the Midlands.
Decker, who sits beside his wall-to-wall vinyl collection as I interview him, strikes me as a man who will stop the record and start it again just because he was interrupted part way through. Music, he admits is in his soul and has been from a very young age.
“It’s an artform and that’s why we believe in putting on a show,” he adds.
“It’s high energy. We want to bring something special to the audience and leave them with something they can think about. We’re preachers telling a story. We want to evoke an emotion. There’s no ego involved in what we do, we just go for it because that’s who we are and that’s what we like doing. We feel privileged to be playing our music to others.”
The band’s song themes appear to channel this positivity.
“You might be down on your luck,” says Decker, of one.
“You might feel troubled, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel,” and Goldwater will take you there on that journey.
I ask who his influences are and he says “everything”. I can take something from any song, any genre, any artist and find something to celebrate in it, something I like.
“The first record I ever bought on vinyl was The Doors debut album but I’ve got influences from every decade.”
I manage to tease out of him what top five records he’d save in the event of an apocalypse:
He replies: “Off the top of my head: Love - Forever Changes; Betty Davis - debut; Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Monsters Eating People Eating Monsters; Black Sabbath - Paranoid; Dr John - Locked Down.”
Ask him about vinyl though and he doesn’t hold back.
“It’s all about the artwork – so much is poured into it to complement the music. It doesn’t just happen, it’s a whole thought process to marry the music with the message – the creation of an artform. You just don’t get that with Spotify. It’s never just about the music.”
Goldwater aren’t just about the music. You can catch them on August 28 in what is expected to be a late-night set as part of a bank holiday all day free live music extravaganza from 1pm until 4am at Firebug and Duffy’s Bar. They will be joined by the likes of EARLS, Beerjarabbit, Feral State, Lex Pretorius and Projekt Mayhem to name a few.
“We’re looking forward to playing in front of our home crowd, adds Decker.
“It doesn’t get more special than that.”