by Schuyler Lee
If you listen to Brit alternative rock, you have probably heard of the London-based indie/alt-rock group, The Veils. Their new album, Time Stays, We Go was released last month and the band is currently on tour promoting it. A little over half-way through their US leg, The Veils will be making a stop in Philadelphia on May 9th at Johnny Brenda’s.
Band front man Finn Andrews met bass player Sophia Burns while in high school in New Zealand, but she didn’t join the band until 2005- after Andrews returned home from a summer tour, looking for a new direction for The Veils. The other current members, Raife Burchell (on drums) and Dan Raishbrook (guitar) met Andrews and Burns in London, and the group met hammond organ player Uberto Rapisardi up a tree in Italy. Yeah…
“We’re pretty much as geographically muddled as it’s possible to be,” jokes Andrews. Andrews has been a part of The Veils since day one. He was seventeen at the time, in 2001. The band’s original incarnation split in mid-2004. Now, Andrews is still going strong with his twelve-year-old band. “If our band were a kid it would be smoking by now,” he says.
Finn and the band are looking forward to the Philadelphia show, citing that big town shows are considered one of his favorite types of performances. “I think it’s the really big towns and the really remote ones that are the most fun to play. The bigger ones are a challenge cause everyone tends to go to shows all the time and you really have to work harder to make them go crazy. The tiny towns are great because they’ve usually been looking forward to seeing you play for ages and you really want it to live up to their expectations.”
With a new album to promote, Finn says to prepare for “music with a pulse, a brain and a hat.” After finishing up their US tour, the band is back to Europe and hitting New Zealand in July. With a few extra band members along for the ride, The Veils’ pulse will definitely be fast and yours will, too. “We are a seven-piece band this time so it should be an ungodly racket.”
