INTERVIEW: The Savage Hearts discuss their origins and influences alongside double single ‘Speeding Bullets/Only Lovers Left Alive’

Having recently exploded onto the scene with a vibrant array of belters, Irish outfit The Savage Hearts recently returned once again to deliver their infectious double single ‘Speeding Bullets/Only Lovers Left Alive’.

Matching the same fun and lively direction they have been pursuing lately, ‘Speeding Bullets/Only Lovers Left Alive’ make for incredible additions to their ever-evolving repertoire to date. So we caught up with bassist Evan Walsh to discuss his origins and influences over the years.

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What was the first rock song or artist that made an impact on you?

It may seem like a bit of an obvious one to kick this off with but the first band to make  any impact on me was The Beatles, without a shadow of a doubt – they did it pretty  much from birth too since my parents were and are enormous devotees of all things  Fab. So it was never gonna be any other way for me and my sister really (who sings  with the band on occasion) from day one we listened to and watched anything and  everything Beatles-related (with the occasional break to stick on The Monkees’ TV  show on VHS) – songwise I was always drawn to their more outwardly rock ’n’ roll  stuff, when they’re really leaning into the Chuck Berry/Little Richard kinda influences  but also the real heavy acid-drenched psychedelic stuff too, so probably from the age  of about 3 or 4 it was “I Am The Walrus” that I completely latched onto and remains  my favourite song or all time – the psych/hard rock backbeat mixing with the LSD  freakout sound effects, queasy whimsical strings by George Martin and John Lennon  evoking the dark, twisted side of Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland poetry in the  lyrics – that’s about as close to artistic perfection as the human race gets if you ask  me haha!

Who are some of your biggest musical influences within the rock genre?

The band’s influences are deeply rooted in a lot of rock subgenres – garage, 60s  psych, pub rock, 50s rhythm & blues, psychobilly, 70s glam rock, the works! So  influences would include the likes of The Who, Dr. Feelgood, Ty Segall, King Gizzard,  Kilburn & The High Roads, The Undertones, Boomtown Rats, King Kurt, Hoodoo  Gurus, Johnny Thunders, The Sonics, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, John Lee Hooker, The  Long Ryders, The Yardbirds, Animals, The Murlocs, Thee Oh Sees, Jim Jones Revue,  Cream, MC5 – you get the picture!

Are there any non-rock musicians or genres that have also influenced your music?

Yeah for sure! I mean I’m absolutely enormous fan of ska and reggae – mostly the  original late 60s Trojan reggae stuff, Toots & The Maytals, Symarip, Prince Buster,  Desmond Dekker etc but of course we’re also big fans of the later ska revival stuff,  The Specials and Madness definitely influence things as does soul music – we actually  do a kinda garage reworking of a Marvin Gaye song in the set so all that Stax, Atlantic  and Motown R&B and soul is literally some of the greatest music that exists in the  universe.

What is your main inspiration when looking to write new music?

I think it varies from track to track and whether a song has begun with music or lyrics –  if you start with a riff or chord sequence rolling around in your head it’s obviously  coming from some sort of inspiration your musical heroes and influences have given  you, maybe the chords or notes of a song you love end up jumbled around in your  head in a new order, or if it’s lyrics that appear first you could be influenced by literally  anything – something you heard somebody say, a turn of phrase, something you’ve  read about or experienced, an emotion or opinion you’ve held or something you’ve  witnessed other people going through.

What do you enjoy most about performing live and do you have any memorable live performance experiences you’d like to share?

I think it goes for all of the band when I say the energy and the buzz of playing live is  what makes it for everybody – you could go into a long-winded analysis or explanation  but at the end of the day the reason people like us get up and perform is because it is  almost mind-blowingly fun. It’s the same really as if someone loved and adored  playing football or whatever, that’s what I would equate it too. We did have a funny  experience recently when we did our first London shows back in July – we were  playing at a fantastic club and the place was packed out, it was a late gig as well so  probably 1pm at this stage, the crowd was going nuts, we were going nuts, fantastic  atmosphere and there was hot sweat running down at the walls and onto our heads –  or at least we thought, turned out it was the juices from a massive vat of old cheese  and fish from the restaurant upstairs that was soaking through the floor boards and onto the band! Needless to say it was the absolutely horrific smell onstage plus  afterwards on our clothes, instruments and hair that alerted us that there was  something fishy (and cheesy) going on!

What has been a particularly rewarding moment in your musical journey so far?

One particularly rewarding moment with this project was when our debut single ‘Gang  War’ hit No 1 on the Irish Downloads chart the day of release – we hadn’t really even  played that many gigs and had been working away in secret for a while haha so was a  great feeling to finally unleash it on the world. I was in a previous band (The Strypes)  which had a fair amount of international success but that was a few years ago so it  was a lovely, heartwarming thing to know there are still people out there who follow  what we do and are interested in the new music cos at the end of the day giving other  people enjoyment with what you do is the whole point!

How would you define success as a musician?

Pretty much along the lines of the last bit of the previous answer – giving yourself and  other people, family, friends, followers, whatever – pleasures and a buzz with what you  do. Trying to do something fun, energetic and refreshing but also channelling your  creative impulses and choices into an area that excites you personally and is true to  what made you want to make music in the first place – if it ain’t got some or all of  those factors involved then you can forget it, pal!

What advice would you give to aspiring artists who are just starting out?

Once again basically what I said above haha – if you start doing things in the name of  chasing success or attention but forsaking the music you love or what drives you  creatively then you’re completely wasting your time, cos whatever you do then won’t  be authentic – so be completely authentically yourself and make the music that’s  truest to you but in the tightest, most professional way possible – you have to get up  and do a lot of the legwork yourself so it needs to look and sound the business. Also  trying to be different and standing out from the mainstream of what’s going on never  fails to give you a unique edge over other people.

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Listen to The Savage Hearts’ new double single ‘Speeding Bullets/Only Lovers Left Alive’ below.