Backyard Casino: The Boys Are Back in Town
‘OPEN-HEARTED EXUBERANCE’: Backyard Casino
The Crow’s Nest, a music column by Russ Litten
Talking tunes with Backyard Casino
Hull band Backyard Casino have a new single out. Nine Lives deals with the bullet-proof bravado of youth. We had a chat about where they’re from, what they’re all about, and how to ride the algorithms to success
In the jungle that is the modern day pop-culture landscape, the “lad” is something of an endangered species. In Ye Olde Hull, most “lads” didn’t so much as set an Adidas Samba-clad foot into an indie rock venue, sticking instead to the terraces and city centre clubs. Most of the bands you saw on the independent music scene were student outfits. Suddenly, post Oasis, you couldn’t move down De Grey Street for guitar-toting mop-tops clad in terrace wear. This was, largely speaking, a good thing.
Tribes collided and colluded, lines got blurred, and that’s often when interesting things happen in music. The best of the bands that came out of that scene evolved into something far beyond the basic template. These days, only Liam Gallagher is left to fly the flag for pure undiluted 90s-style laddism, parading his parka collection around the stadiums of Europe and beyond, whilst offering out his own reflection on the big screen and singing all the fireside favourites.
James McEwen and Gareth “Gaz” Brown, the songwriting duo at the heart of Backyard Casino, are unabashed lads in the grand tradition of getting the beers in, getting the badge in and letting the good times roll (with it). The pair of them see themselves very much in the tradition of early 90s British guitar rock.
They first got together on the school field at Beverley Grammar, skipping lessons and messing about with acoustic guitars, covering their favourite tunes and honing their chops, citing Arctic Monkeys, Oasis and Libertines as early influences. A brief post-school interlude saw them follow the well-worn paths of further education, nine-to-five jobs and all that palaver, but their hearts were forever set on re-uniting to follow the rock ‘n’ roll route.
A music course at Hull University ignited the musical partnership again when James hooked up with a bassist and drummer, and they started breathing raw electric life into the songs. The standard four-square indie rock guitar approach has been their blueprint ever since. Four years and two lineup changes later, it remains a formula that serves them well. Firmly established on the local scene, they have a massive back catalogue of punch-the-sky tunes, and a high-octane stage show complete with football style chants of B-Y-C from the label-clad faithful.
The name of the band is derived from al-fresco poker gatherings round at Gaz’s gaff, and that all-boys-together-bonhomie informs the celebratory spirit of the band. Backyard Casino are primarily about getting the crew together and having a good time. In the past this had, by their own admission, got them a bit of reputation for lax behaviour due to excessive refreshment. Gigs were scuppered, recording sessions abandoned. 2023 has seen some notable reform in this area. These days, they’ve not entirely cleaned up their act, but they’ve definitely given it a good lick, spit and polish.
Gaz: “We’ve built a logo, got a business plan together and we know who our target market is.”
Who is that? The casuals?
James: “We definitely appeal to that scene. It’s a bit like The Who, when they got onto the Mod crowd in the 60s. They were an audience without a band, and The Who became their band. It’s the same with us and the casual scene. I know they can be a bit rowdy and that, but that’s how we want it – high energy and loads of passion. We want people leaping about and singing along. We don’t want people stood at the back.”
I ask the chaps what sort of things they write about.
James: “ A lot of the early stuff was mainly inspired by going out drinking, getting out and about on the scene. Everyday life. It can be the most random conversation. One word will pop, and that will become a song title. My writing style can be quite personal, though.”
Gaz: “I don’t have too much meaning in my lyrics, but they’ll all be tied to a banging tune. Like the next one, My Pleasure, it’s not about anything deep, but it’s full-on rock ‘n’ roll.”
James: “I’ll get drunken voicemails off him at three-am. I won’t know what he’s on about, but it’ll be a killer tune. Gaz’s stuff tends to end up being the singles.”
This strikes me as a good combination, the lead singer’s slightly more inward looking reticence tempering Gaz’s primary colour brashness. They are obviously highly attuned to each other’s strengths and frailties, and look after each other like proper songwriting brothers. Recorded output so far has marked a gradual evolvement of their style.
Current release Nine Lives reminds me not so much of the Brit Pop bands of yore as the transatlantic rockers who followed in their wake, groups like Kings Of Leon and The Killers, that same anthemic glossy American FM rock, ideally suited to a dust-bowl festival bristling with flags. There are also shades of Dakota-era Stereophonics. They’ve obviously spent a lot of time and loving care on these tracks, re-recording the drums on Nine Lives three weeks before release. Backyard Casino still like to have a good time, but these days the happy events are a bit more pre-planned.
Gaz: “We’re cutting back a bit on the gigging and spending the money on recording. We went to Newcastle and came back with £40. It’s a great buzz, and we love playing live, but it’s not sustainable. Fuel, for a start. So we’re spending our money on recording and concentrating on the social media stuff. That’s where all the opportunities are.”
Facebook, Instagram and streaming. Profiles and playlists and breaking the algorithms. Such is the landscape facing the digital-era artist. And it’s a tricky terrain. Millions of voices and faces all vying for your two and a half seconds worth of attention. You need to build a brand, build a profile, go viral. You need ten thousand followers before labels will even look at you.
Backyard Casino have taken all of this on board, and are acting accordingly. Nine Lives is the first release off a three track EP, with each track being released six weeks apart in a staggered marketing campaign. Me, with my Generation X LP sleeve for a head, still thinks in terms of album releases, where you sit down and digest a body of work all at once. Oh no, Grandad. Not the way it works now.
James and Gaz cite The Reyton’s rise to cross-over appeal as the correct way of climbing the music business ladder – self-sufficiency and digital savvy combined with hard graft and a proper plan. Sticking to your guns and steering your own course as best as you can, without getting into debt and signing your lives away.
James: “We’re in this for the long haul. We’ve got this new tune, Blue Sky Dreamer, which we are not putting out ‘til we’ve built up the audience it deserves. We know we’re sitting on a massive song here. One thing me and him definitely know how to do is write a chorus.”
Backyard Casino may think of themselves as a lad’s band but I think they have the potential to transcend such labels and strike out further. Nine Lives is a real grower, revealing different layers upon each listen. It’s also got a headful of hooks you’ll be humming for weeks. Here is a band with passion, commitment and open-hearted exuberance at their core of their being. Such sentiments are to be openly applauded. With their feet on the ground and their eyes on the stadiums, Backyard Casino are well worth a punt.
Find out more about Backyard Casino and listen to their music here