In day two of this year’s Music Interview Marathon, we speak to metalcore band Next Stop Olympus. They tell us about their love of performing live and how a Disney film inspired their band name.
Band Names: Next Stop Olympus
Members: Conor McEniry (Vocals), Harry Ellis (Guitar & Vocals), Matt Gray (Bass & Vocals), Jeremy ‘Skips’ Scheepers (Guitar) & Josh Williams (Drums)
Genre: Metalcore / Post hardcore
Founded: January 2018
Originated From: Salisbury, UK
Discography: Hit The Ground Running (EP) & Heart, Mind & Hell (EP)
How would you describe your music?
Our music is a mix of Metalcore and post hardcore with a twist of rock ’n’ roll, with big chorus’ and catchy riffs to strong melodic moments.
What is your musical creative process like?
Normally someone will bring something to the table whether it be a riff, the skeleton of a song, lyrics or just a general idea for how they’d like a song to go and then we’ll start to work on it together from there.
How did the band form?
Matt and Conor had spoken about being in a band from years ago and nothing really came from it, but Matt met Josh through a friend and found out he played drums.
They started talking about putting a band together then they found Skips on a musician website and asked Conor to come along and we started working on songs from there.
After trying out a couple of people for a second guitarist and them not working out, Matt remembered Harry was back from university and that he sang and played guitar, so asked him to come along and it all fell together from there.
How did you come up with your band name?
We were trying to think of a name for quite a while, but we wanted one that would stick out and it’s hard to try have a bit of a different name nowadays.
But one Saturday Conor was watching Disney’s Hercules and it’s a line from that film, so when he dropped everyone a message, we all liked it so it’s from that.
Who influenced you within the music industry?
Well, we wouldn’t even be a band if it wasn’t for The Amity Affliction because that’s what started Matt and Conor off talking about starting a band and since we’ve developed our sound, we go down the routes of Atreyu, Escape the fate and Beartooth because they’ve got a rock ’n’ roll twist to their sound as well.
Have you performed live much and what was your favourite gig to play at?
We’ve played a lot of shows for our first EP for a couple of years and our favourite show would be when we played on a tour with Chuggaboom in Huddersfield. The local support band was great and the audience were fantastic from the first note we played and it was a great wrap to the tour with such incredible dudes in Chuggaboom.
What is the best thing about being in a band?
Playing shows would probably be the best thing about being a band because we get to see loads of different places around the country and play to new people at almost every show.
What’s the biggest problem you’ve had to overcome so far as a musician(s)?
Currently trying to juggle our normal working lives and being in a band can be difficult for trying to get time off for shows, recording etc.
What plans have you got coming up this year?
We’ve just released our new EP Heart, Mind & Hell on 9th April so now shows are an option again after Covid. We’ll just be trying to get this out to as many new people as possible and play as many shows as we can.
What is your ultimate dream as a band?
We’d love to get to the point where being in a band is our actual job and tour as much as possible to see the world.
You can find out more about Next Stop Olympus by following them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Spotify and YouTube.
If you’re in a band or a musician and would like to appear on this blog, please contact me and I’ll forward you an interview template.
Like Rock For Disability on Facebook, follow me on Twitter @P94Emma & donate via PayPal
