Faster and Louder: The Year of The Speedways!

Any regular reader of this blog knows that The Speedways are one of my favorite bands. It's rare for me to ever do interviews, yet this is now my second interview with The Speedways. But there's a lot to talk about as the band finds itself in the midst of a very significant year. The group recently parted ways with guitar player Mauro Venegas and released a fantastic new single called "Visiting Hours" earlier this year. The band is planning to finish recording a new album (its third as a full band) this year and has some really big gigs coming up. I spoke to Matt Julian and Adrian Alfonso about all these things and more!

Rutledge: Let's start by talking about your new single "Visiting Hours." The A-side was the first new song you had released in a couple years. It's a brilliant song and definitely one of your very best to date. Most people would say it's "classic" Speedways. How did "Visiting Hours" come to be, and where there any particular musical influences that helped bring it to life?

Matt: Cheers! Yeah, it's one we all really liked and knew could be a potential single. I wanted to have something with a prominent piano because we haven't really done that yet. It's got a nice hook.

Elvis Costello regularly comes up when people talk about our sound — and of course I'm a big fan and have a ton of his records. But I think Squeeze and Joe Jackson were just as strong an influence when I wrote "Visiting Hours."

Adrian: Matt mentioned he had this song for a while but hadn't gotten 'round to recording one of his usual demos. After a festival gig in Kortrijk, we were at the house of the person who was putting us up that night. He was a classically trained violinist and played clarinet, and his house wasn't the usual English terrace we're used to. Our driver Bernd packed some acoustic guitars, and there was another around the house. We had a bottle of whiskey, which was flowing liberally, so we all were having a bit of a laugh playing stuff. Then Matt mentioned "Visiting Hours" and teased us with a bit of the song, and we all asked for more. Then I found myself singing along the chorus for days after. I knew it had to be a single.

Rutledge: Without giving away everything, can you tell us a little about what "Visiting Hours" is about lyrically?

Matt: It's about waiting for forgiveness after a falling out. "We don't talk, we sleepwalk into each other. God it's boring" — having the exact same arguments over & over again. "I loved you when the screws were on tight, I loved you when you found your appetite — I loved you when things were more secure in the beginning. When we were hungry. "She won't bring me flowers on visiting hours'' — when the apology lacks any feeling after being left to stew in the doghouse for ages. My usual metaphor stuff!

Rutledge: On the B-side, "Now That I Know How" is a nice complement to "Visiting Hours." This is another great pop song, but it has a slightly different vibe musically. What would you like your fans to know about this song?

Matt: It's a three-chord rock n roll song built around a Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers groove. The song's about learning to stand up for yourself. We opened the shows with it on our recent tour of Spain. We're gonna leave it exclusive to this release. It won't be on the next LP or CD. If you want it, then you have to buy this record!

Rutledge: You are now a trio. How, if at all, has this changed the dynamics of the band? Does it feel different to now be a lean "power trio"?

Matt: We're only a trio temporarily! We will find a permanent guitar player at some stage, but for now, we'll make the next album as a trio and have Conor Lumsden on guitar for our 2025 gigs. Conor is perfect for the band, but of course he has Music City & The Number Ones on his plate. He's a good pal and a brilliant artist. It's great to have him on board for the live shows.

Lineup changes aren't easy, and it has changed the dynamic, but I think anybody who's in a band understands how it goes sometimes. Musical differences, a change of heart and a fresh start etc.

In terms of what we're looking for, it's more important that you can sing than play guitar to any spectacular level. If you've got a good voice and understand harmonies but are just a decent guitar player, you've got the gig — as long as you're cool too, obviously!

Adrian: Of course with one less person in the band, it has meant that the three of us have had to step up and try and share the workload as best we can.

We're still very independent. Matt runs the social media and web store. I do the graphics and admin. And of course Kris deals with booking tours.

As far as it goes, a good song can get away with the basic elements. However, a big part of Matt's songwriting is putting in loads of mini hooks, be them vocals, guitar, synth, or otherwise. So in a live setting, we do still much prefer to have a four-piece band, and we have been lucky to have Conor as he lives in London now.

When it comes down to decision-making as a three-piece, it's gotten a bit simpler. It's an easy majority vote on stuff. That being said. we've not hit any disagreements yet. *touch wood*

Rutledge: What can you tell us about your next album and how it might different (or similar) in comparison to the last one?

Matt: It's partly written and partly recorded, but because of the changes in the band, we decided to re-think things a little and go somewhat back to the drawing board. I reckon just over half of the album is written, and there are a few new ideas floating around.

My hunch is it might be a bit more "pop" than the last LP, but let's see how it goes over the next few months!

Adrian: We recorded half of it; we are finishing up writing the other half.

We aren't trying to give too much away, but we aren't shying away from anything influence wise.

Rutledge: I suppose for a band like The Speedways, it can be a challenge when you're writing new music. You don't want to make the same record over and over, but I would imagine you want to still sound like The Speedways. How do you navigate that dilemma from a creative standpoint? Is there still room for this band to continually evolve without people thinking, "Man, they sure went to shit"?

Matt: I think getting the balance right comes fairly easy, mainly because 100% of my songs are written on an unplugged guitar sitting on my bed. Whatever comes out comes out. "Visiting Hours" is something a bit though different, I suppose.

I think bands at our level can maybe outstay their welcome; the novelty wears off whatever you write. I enjoy the challenge of trying to write songs that all different kinds of people will like.

Adrian: I honestly don't know; I think we aren't trying to force something that isn't there.

I think personally we've all been through a lot of different things, which will alter the themes of the songwriting. But we always just write about what we know or see, or things we've heard at the pub.

Rutledge: Can you tell us about some of the live shows you have coming up this summer and what your fans have to look forward to?

Matt: Yes! We play the Stardumb Festival (Stardumb 25) in Rotterdam on June 6th. Stefan contacted us and said he'd love us to play but that he only intended to have bands who had released records on the Stardumb label. So we said, "Well, we're putting a new single out soon if you'd like to be part of the release," and he was up for it. It's a really cool lineup and great to be involved!

We also play the CalaPop Fest in Spain on September 19th. We were due to play in 2020 until everything went to shit, but five years later we can finally make it happen! Antonio is a friend of the band and has supported us a lot.

There are a couple more confirmed dates too but we haven't announced them yet, so I'll keep that under my hat for now. Keep your eyes on our social media for when & where!

The set lists will be similar to what we played in Spain back in February/March: a mixture of songs we hadn't played in a while with all the "hits" and a few off-the-cuff covers!

Rutledge: You will be playing with Exploding Hearts in October. I would imagine you are excited about that. How did you get involved in that tour, and what does it mean to be playing with Terry?

Adrian: It's a pretty big deal. In terms of power pop, their importance and influence in the genre is undeniable. A lot of us assumed we would just never see them live. Then back when Terry and Louie dropped their first single, through a mutual friend Terry got in contact with me about doing the art for their second single, and we ended up becoming friends.

I'd asked him over the years if he had any plans to come to Europe for a gig, and it didn't seem likely. I let him know we'd be in California in September last year, and he mentioned he was living out in Joshua Tree. And we were already thinking of heading out there to see a friend in Palm Springs and also do a bit of Gram Parsons–themed sightseeing. So we went over to the bar Terry was managing to grab some dinner and hang out a little. As we were leaving, he said, "Hey, so next summer, you guys with us." Then true to his word, he got in contact asking if we were free and put our names forward with the booker.

We're all really excited to be playing with them. Just in a personal level, we all already get along with Terry and his band. But as fans, we are also really thrilled to be able to hear those songs live in the UK.

Matt: Yeah, it's an honour for us to be asked by Terry to do this. We're all huge Guitar Romantic fans. Terry's put together a great band (we're friends with those guys too). It will be a special tribute and very special to hear those songs played live. I definitely feel we're the right band to be part of the night.

As Adrian says, we met up with Terry during our West Coast U.S. tour last year. He made us the best cocktails ever and was great company. We sat and talked about music for a couple of hours.

He told us that he planned to bring the Exploding Hearts shows to Europe, and would we want to be part of any UK dates — of course we said yes! Looking forward to that one a lot.

Anyone looking to purchase the "Visiting Hours" 7" can follow one of the links below. And be sure to follow The Speedways on social media for updates on more shows and the new album!