First of all, tell us about yourself, who are you and what do you do?

We are Plastic Glass, consisting of Lewis (lead vocal and rhythm guitar), Dylan (lead guitar), Ben (bass) and Frazer (drums). We’ve been together as a band for just over a year performing our original indie rock music. We write and record all of our own songs which you can find on Spotify, Apple Music etc. Including a brand new single which will be released on Friday 20th September.

Why did you choose to become a musician/songwriter?

Ben: From a young age I was surrounded by music, not performances but just a family that loved listening to music. I had acoustic guitar lessons in primary school but it wasn’t until I hit the age of 12 at secondary school when I began to have regular guitar lessons and start to be in bands. 

Frazer: I have always been into drums since a very young age. It all started with me playing on pots and pans with wooden spoons when I was a baby and it just escalated from there. After watching videos of drummers and seeing a few bands live when I was younger I decided that that was what I wanted to do when I got older. Joining/forming bands with friends through secondary up to now has given me a way to take my musicianship further and further.

Dylan: It sort of happened by accident really, I was messing about with a guitar at my Grandad’s house and he asked if I wanted one. Ended up with a guitar for my 10th birthday and was hooked from that point on. 

Lewis: As a child Music was the only thing I could relate to, playing an instrument and listening to music was something I thought I was decent at. As I got older I realised that there was a lot more to find out about music. I was so inspired by musicians and wanted to be one so badly from a young age, so as I moved into secondary school I stuck at it and it was an escape route for many things, I felt I could totally chill out and relax whenever I was doing something music related

As a young musician/songwriter, who were some of your biggest inspirations?

Ben: For me I’ve always been into indie music however recently I just love listening to and going to see local music and pinching ideas and inspirations from things they do, bands such as Social Room and Vandebilt. As for bass playing I kind of just stumbled on that and never really took any inspirations from anyone. 

Dylan: From a young age I’d always been a big classic rock and Pink Floyd fan, so David Gilmour and Jimi Hendrix featured heavily. Later on I became interested in the 90s indie scene, eventually finding the Stone Roses and John Squire.

Lewis: As a young musician I had many inspirations: Richard Ashcroft, Noel Gallagher, Vann McCann, Eric Clapton, Micheal Jackson, Freddy Mercury and Elton John! The list goes on but these are my favourite inspirations!

Frazer: I take inspiration from a lot of drummers, some of the main ones being Matt Mcguire and Ben Minal. I found them both on youtube and I was amazed by what I saw. They are both incredible musicians and have really influenced the way I play drums.

What do you feel is your biggest achievement in music so far?

As a band the biggest achievement for us was probably one weekend in December 2018 when we supported both Social Room and Lake Poets in one weekend. For 4 Sunderland lads to support two of our favourite locals acts was great. That’s up there with our Think Tank headline show to a packed out room this July.

What are your biggest aspirations within the music industry?

As a band we believe we have the ability to go far. We are currently expanding out of Sunderland trying to book gigs in other cities and ensure we get on festival line ups at some of our favourite festivals for next summer. Personally Ben is looking into and working towards a career in music and events management, where as Dylan is studying music production at Leeds college of music.

If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice as a young musician/songwriter, what would it be and why?

Probably just to believe in what you’re doing. We’ve debated so many times about going out as a covers band and whether we can get paid and get booked for our own music or not. This past year has started to prove to us that people do want to hear your own music and the compliments you get after gigs make you believe that. So just believe in what you’re doing and know yourself that it’s good. 

Why is music education so important?

For us music education is the most important thing. If it wasn’t for the music department at our secondary school (for Ben Dylan and Frazer) the teachers John Hall and Hannah Jiggins who put on instrument lessons and helped put together bands and gave us a space to practice and put on showcases for the bands which helped us get experience of gigging at such a young age. If it wasn’t for this experience we probably wouldn’t be where we are now.