Photo by Karl Livingstone
All Night Dining are a 4-piece band from Manchester that burst into the UK indie scene with their captivating tracks Butterfly and There Must've Been A Reason. I sat down with Jamie, Caleb, Jake and Joel to discuss the inner workings of the band and find out what they're currently working on.
TOTALIZER: You guys have a really cool sound that I’d describe as a blend between nostalgic and modern, who are the artists that influence you musically?
CALEB: We have a lot of individual tastes, Joel’s into funk and heavy drums and stuff like that which is where we get that big drum sound that we love. I listen to a bunch of Fleetwood Mac. I grew up on Led Zeppelin and I think we all grew up on Oasis.
JAMIE: Each of us have got our own circle of what we’re into but then in the middle it kind of overlaps. Each of us takes bits from everywhere else and throws it into that one little bit.
CALEB: It’s quite a blend of inspiration that kind of just fuses and works with us.
TOTALIZER: Where did the name “All Night Dining” come from?
The band laughs and points to Jake.
CALEB: It was Jakes idea, actually!
JAKE: I can’t even remember now… We were arguing for weeks over names and during a rehearsal - one time we were outside and [the rest of the band] were all arguing and I just said “what about All Night Dining?” and they all just sort of stopped and looked at me and said “...that sounds okay!” and then it kind of stuck.
CALEB: Yeah, as soon as we heard it, it was like “that’s it”. It just went literally silent and we just looked at each other like “that’s it!” Before, [the band name] was gonna be Ember which I absolutely hated
JOEL: Oh, I loved it!
CALEB: But yeah, I love “All Night Dining”, it’s weird and interesting.
JAMIE: It definitely sticks in your head.
CALEB: Yeah, it’s different innit? So we love it.
TOTALIZER: In September of 2020, you guys released your second single “There Must’ve Been A Reason”, what was the recording process for this like and did the pandemic interfere in any way?
JOEL: Yes.
JAMIE: Oh, definitely.
CALEB: It was such an interesting time in our lives because just before the pandemic hit we [had our] heads screwed on, we had a system and we were like “we’re gonna go in, do it, it’s gonna be amazing”... obviously that didn’t happen. We managed to go in just before lockdown hit but then afterwards we couldn’t finish, we had drums and then bass done -
JAKE: And guitar as well.
JOEL: Yeah, we had guitar but it wasn’t finished.
JAKE: And the sound was [originally] completely different. Basically, when we were allowed to go back in [the studio] one or two people at a time, me and Caleb went in one day and just basically ripped all the guitars up and re-recorded, and the sounds are completely different. We played styles that were completely different and then by the end of the day it was a completely different song.
Photo by Declan Tyldesley
CALEB: We were so happy with what we came out with because during the pandemic I think we all grew individually, we kind of wanted it more and it gave us a chance to sit down and re-think what we’re doing and I think that really paid off for us, especially as a band, y’know. I know it’s been an awful time for a lot of people, but I think for us we’ve got it well because it was the time off that we needed and we’re so much closer. We’re best mates anyway but it brought us so much closer which is all you kind of want, really, and then the network’s there, the environment’s there and then that’s how you get a good song, just by having the energy there and being able to be creatively loose.
JAMIE: It kind of showed us there’s more avenues to promote down because we weren’t ever- all it was was playing live and getting everything out there, but then because we couldn’t do that, it’s opened up this whole other avenue of us of how to interact with people.
JOEL: We were all rubbish at social media before the pandemic and then we realised that that’s the only way that anybody’s gonna know who we are so we had to learn how to use Instagram and Twitter.
CALEB: We had a go at TikTok but that’s a whole another- we were just getting our heads round Twitter and now we’re like “what? What’s a reel?” So yeah, it’s been interesting.
TOTALIZER: The lyrics in ‘There Must’ve Been A Reason’ are really interesting and they’re kind of heartbreaking in a lot of aspects so I was wondering if you could give us some more insight into what the lyrics are about and any hidden meanings someone might miss upon the first listen.
CALEB: I think I started writing them a year before [the song] came out. I kind of left a situation where I was in a relationship and there was no real closure or anything like that. The way I see it, the song is me giving myself closure and turning the page of the book and just telling this person that I’m still there thinking about them. I think lyrically, I am very much hopeful in the way I write; I’m optimistic because I am anyway. I just try to be honest and real and I’m not trying to be cheesy- I’m not like “oh, I want you back”, it’s just like “listen, I feel this way, this is how you are” and we’re just trying to be real, I suppose.
TOTALIZER: What’s the writing process for you guys like?
JOEL: It’s actually changed quite a lot, hasn’t it?
CALEB: Yeah, in the early days it was like- we was in a room, we’re like “oh, we’re in [the key of] C, let’s just write a song there” but now it’s- I think again with Lockdown, I’ve just started writing more, just constantly having ideas.
JAMIE: It basically starts with [Caleb] coming in with a chorus and a verse, [him] and Joel arguing for 20 minutes about how it should sound, how it’s gonna sound and then saying “no it’s not gonna sound like that” and then “okay” and then it ends up sounding exactly like that and then me and Jake finally get a chip in.
JOEL: We literally just did this like 5 minutes ago, them two [Jake and Jamie] came in here and were like “no fighting, you two!”, we were like “right okay we’re gonna get this part sorted” and then about 5 minutes in we were already shouting at each other like “no! I don’t wanna do that!’
CALEB: Yeah so the writing process is pretty… horrible. laughs
JAMIE: It is until there’s always - and I notice in every single song - there’s always a little magic moment where all four of us look at each other and go “that’s it, everyone just play exactly what you just did and then we’re done, we’ll polish it off, we’ll add in little sounds, that’s how we’re gonna do it.”
Photo by Karl Livingstone
TOTALIZER: As we mentioned before, being in a band during a pandemic is really difficult, what keeps you motivated? Or, even, are you struggling with motivation at the moment?
JAKE: It’s pretty tough. Lately, we’ve had our own ups and downs individually and as a band. It’s hard when every day we have to focus on being on social media and stuff like that and thinking “we have to do this, we’ve gotta do this, we’ve gotta stay out there.” It’s hard to find motivation some days and recently we’ve started to gain it back a little bit more. We’ve took control of our practices, posting online, getting a plan together. It’s quite easy to lose your way in a pandemic, all the days become one long day, there’s no real break up of the timeframe and things like that. But yeah, lately we’ve been getting our motivation back, our plans back, it’s starting to look like we’re coming back out of the motivation hole, so to speak.
CALEB: Yeah exactly, it is hard. When you’re cooped up on your own like a lot of people are it’s- how can you find inspiration in a room when you’re alone? When you go to a dark place it’s hard, and our personal lives bleed out into what we’re doing because we’re all human, y’know. We just try our best and we rely on each other. I was feeling shit last week and the lads were just great. It’s bigger than a band, it’s like family. We can rely on people and people can keep you in check, like if someone’s got a big ego leave that at the door.
The rest of the band point to Caleb and laugh
CALEB: Yeah there’s no chance I can get away with that… I’ll try! But no chance.
TOTALIZER: What are you all most excited for when normality returns?
JOEL: Playing live! I can’t wait to just sit behind a kit and just go mad with people shouting our songs at us.
CALEB: Yeah, it’s the most fun we have. It’s the reason we do it, because you get that energy at a gig.
JAMIE: Nothing matches it, does it?
CALEB: No, I mean we always have that one point where we just look around at the rest of the band and we’re just like “wow”, cause it’s amazing. We love it.
JAMIE: Gig days for us, they’re like the best days.
JOEL: It’s like a holiday!
JAMIE: We meet up, we have a set routine that we do every time and then when you do end up getting on [stage], the whole day’s been leading up to this 45-minute absolute mental rush and then afterwards you just ride it.
JAKE: When you step on stage, whatever nerves you have are just gone. You’re sort of in the proper zone of it. You don’t really think about what you’re doing, you just do it. In parts of songs, we just all lock eyes and we’re like “yeah, that was good”. Then after all the songs are done, everyone sort of comes up - like all our friends and people who might want to speak to us afterwards - it’s weird to ride the high of that. It’s sick.
JAMIE: As soon as we get on with our opening tune that we play pretty much every gig, I don’t know about you guys but I’m still like that *mimics hand shaking* and then you hear the start of the riff and everything just- you’re just not scared anymore. You’re just absolutely hyped up. As soon as you hear that opening note it’s like “come on!”
CALEB: We was headlining this small festival, it was so bad but it was probably our best gig?
JOEL: I mean, you guys thought so but I came off stage like “ugh that was so shit!”
Caleb: What happened was, we was dead nervous, and we got up on stage-
JOEL: We didn’t know we were headlining ‘till a few hours before, we thought we were on first, then they flipped the thing around and we were headlining, it was like… “what?!”
CALEB: No one told us, yeah, and mid-way through the [performance] my amp blew! And it was just coming up to my solo and I’m like that *mimics passionate guitar playing, followed by confusion*
JOEL: So he just kept playing the solo without any sound!
JAMIE: And especially ‘cause of the part in the song, [the rest of the band] all drop our levels down and play dead simple so [Caleb’s] solo stands out.
CALEB: It was basically just Joel. I remember shouting out “Jake! Solo!” and he was like “no!’... but after that, we was like “right, okay, we literally don’t give a shit now” and just had the greatest time.
JAMIE: Yeah, it was like “it can’t get much worse than this, so let’s just go for it”. There was a few people in the audience who had seen us before and they was like “your stage presence that day and the sound was the best we’ve seen of you” just cause literally the only way to go was up.
JOEL: Yeah, what could get worse than your amp blowing in the first song?
CALEB: It was mad. It was also funny though.
JAKE: So yeah just to round up: Gigs!
Photo by Declan Tyldesley
TOTALIZER: There is something quite freeing about getting really hyped for a gig and then making a really obvious mistake and then just not giving a shit and having the best time.
CALEB: Yeah, it really keeps you in check. It’s like “oh, well that’s the worst that could happen so let’s just have fun!”
TOTALIZER: Yeah, it’s sort of a blessing in disguise. So, my next question was actually going to be “what’s your favourite gig that you’ve played?”, was it that one? Or do you have another?
JOEL: I think it’s close between that and that little student pub, it was literally like the size of this room, it was so small.
JAMIE: And it was just the weirdest shaped building-
JOEL: It was like a horseshoe, wasn’t it?
JAMIE: Yeah, so the stage of it - well it wasn’t even a stage, it was just the bit where we was playing - it was facing the front door so you could fit about 30 people but they were all so cramped together. All down the side, we couldn’t see them but when we got off and looked down it was just more rows of people all the way down, so it was weird.
JOEL: Because it was so small everyone was right with you, it was so intimate.
JAKE: They were like six feet away from us on eye-level as well, we weren’t raised up or anything, and there were people queuing up out the door. To top it all off, halfway through the set, two of Joel’s drinks we ordered 20 minutes before came through-
JOEL: I needed a drink to go on stage with so I gave Jamie’s girlfriend some money and just went “can you grab us a drink?” and halfway through a song she just walked on, plonked them down in the middle of the stage, and walked off.
JAMIE: It was brilliant. It was just like the most intimate gig but everyone loved it.
CALEB: My mum was right in front of me and she was like “I’m so proud!” I was like “mum! You’re making me look uncool!”
TOTALIZER: Whereabouts are you hoping to gig when restrictions are lifted? Are there any specific venues you have in mind?
CALEB: I’d love for us to play Ritz in Manchester, it’s an iconic place.
JOEL: We’ve been offered gigs in London and Scotland as well, haven’t we? People who have played us on small radio stations have said “you need to come to Scotland and do this gig” and my dad’s got a radio friend who said we need to go down to London as well, so that’d be amazing.
JAMIE: As much as we love playing in Manchester, that feeling that you can get [when you’re] outside of your home town and people will still listen is just mind-blowing.
CALEB: I think I messaged your band’s page [Cherry & The Fever Dreams] and was like “yous should come down to Machester and put on a gig and then we’ll go up to where you are” because that’d be sick! We’d love that.
TOTALIZER: Yeah, That would be so cool! My band’s been making friends with so many other bands on Instagram and now I’m so hyped to play a gig with all these different people.
CALEB: Yeah, it’s so important to network as well ‘cause you grow with the community and it’s important to have that.
TOTALIZER: Definitely. If you could be a support act for any artist, who would it be?
JAMIE: There’s two ways to look at that question; we could either go iconic favourites OR who wouldn’t we sound like shit playing just before.
JOEL: See, I was thinking that we’re all from Manchester and we’re all big fans of Oasis… Liam Gallagher’s doing amazing at the moment, that would be amazing.
JAMIE: Or The Stone Roses
CALEB: At Heaton Park, oh my God.
JAMIE: That’d be amazing!
CALEB: Yeah, The Stone Roses, definitely.
Artwork for 'There Must've Been A Reason', by Karl Livingstone
TOTALIZER: Finally, what can we expect from All Night Dining in 2021?
CALEB: Well, we’re going into the studio soon and we can’t wait for it, we’re working on some cool stuff. The songs we’ve been writing at the minute are like- we’re trying not to be biassed but I think they sound amazing. So yeah, we’re really excited for that and hopefully new music soon, and then getting out and gigging.
JOEL: In a couple of weeks time we’ve got a demo coming out as well, a little teaser because we’ve not had a chance to go in the studio properly. We recorded something on my laptop and mixed it and then yeah, we’re going into the studio after that to do something a bit bigger.
CALEB: We’re looking forward to this year and trying to make the most of it when we can go at it.
TOTALIZER: It’s gotta be better than last year.
JAMIE: Last year was like… Caleb’s amp blowing; It can only get better than that!
Comments