Creative Spaces | Voodoo Bandits – The Boredroom Store

With a Headline gig coming up in Bristol and a few tricks up their sleeve, Voodoo Bandits have stayed consistent with their magic since early 2016. The bandits started off as a few mates sharing their love of music, and since then they’ve created something special and are bringing a new crowd to their genre of indie garage pop punk. We took a little ride down to Laxey on Sunday to have a chat with the gang and got into their creative space to see what make them tick.

What made you guys start up Voodoo bandits?

This is kind of like Voodoo Bandits version 5! 3 of us have been playing together since our last few years in school and we've had frontmen and bass players come and go over time, but the band name just kind of never changed as people knew us as that band. We've grown up, changed interests and styles and discovered worlds of new music to inspire us in that time, and now here we are, and we're solid homies!

We’re big fans of your visuals as well as graphic artwork. Where’s your safe haven for creating? Because clearly, it’s working.

Just wherever really, mostly at home but sometimes Corey will whip out the iPad on the go and draw some stuff up, like when we’re travelling together and have some time to kill. It’s mostly a collaborative effort with Corey being our illustrator, so often Ben (Vocals) or Char (Bass) will come up with a concept for something like a poster, single artwork or merch design for example, we then discuss a brief together as a group of what we want doing and then Corey (Guitar) will go away and work on a bunch of ideas or in the case of single artwork. Sometimes Char will take a photo of something and edit it for Corey to then illustrate on top of.

What do you find challenging as a creative collective? Do your ideas clash sometimes? How do you overcome them?

Yeah, we're always going to be 4 different people with differing ideas, but ultimately we all get the whole jist of what Voodoo Bandit's essence is. Everything has just kind of fallen into place, and it's all good!

What did you want to be before taking the band seriously?

Don't think any of us have a clue still! With or without the band. Pretty much from writing the first song we were into the band thing. We might not have been good, but we thought it was, and we've always felt there was a potential there. It gives life that extra purpose and we've felt such a big passion for making music and everything around that since the age of like 16-17 when we started doing this thing!

What's your favourite gig you’ve ever played?

There's been a few, like having a big crowd know who we are and shout for us at 2 Door Cinema Club's gig was awesome, and local. But as a band, the vibe was so on point at our last Manchester show on our last England tour. It was small, sweaty as all hell, intimate, and with 2 amazing bands we genuinely love and know personally, and they absolutely killed it. Was such a fun gig with that great community spirit where everyone's so involved with good vibes.

How would you describe your dress sense? Does the music you listen to have influence on that?

Yeah for sure! We really like mostly Aussie and Coastal American bands, and we've taken that to heart to express ourselves with a culture that feels like us, so we love to get in that kind of clobber. I think we dress chill, loose, a bit 90s and skatey too.

What message would you give to inspiring artists or musicians like you?

Honestly just work hard and don't be a d*ck. But like for real, just persevere and try to get better and better at your craft. Have fun and find yourself with it, and build real relationships not shallow ones.

What’s next for voodoo bandits or what are you excited about?

We are going to do at least 1 EP this year, with a 2nd on the cards for the 2nd half of the year too. We're gonna tour some, hopefully get some awesome festival slots again, gig gig gig and do loads of videos! We've got so many ideas and we're gonna really go for it to get them out in 2023.

Is there anything you want to shoutout? Promotion? Friends? Etc

So many people are worthy of shouting out, everyone that has helped us is a legend.

It’s safe to say they’ve created something special here on the island. We’ve been a big fan of Voodoo Bandits for a while now and we’re just excited to be able to work with them again. Their stories and their consistency of individuality are what we’re all about here in the Boredroom. They’ve found their creative space in this forever growing world. Hopefully you’re on your way to find yours too.

You can follow Voodoo bandits progress and watch their music videos over on their socials:

Instagram | @voodoobandits

TikTok | VoodooBandits

Facebook | Voodoobandits

Listen to Diet Punk HERE