BBC Derby Introducing

Come on then, sell yourselves...

Sometimes, in the midst of the suburban daily grind, comes a sound worth seeking out.

You can hear its echo through the blandness, drawing you in as it blasts into your subconscious and you start to feel the strength of its dreams.

This is such a moment. Picture the scene. Four Faces plug in a guitar and a bass and add some drums.

The singer swaggers up to the microphone stand and they launch into poignant power pop vignettes about daily living. There‘s social observation, sartorial panache and rhythm and soul. Meet The Souvenirs.

They are:

Dale Dawson (Vocals)
Bobby Cowling (Guitar)
Chris Thomas (Bass)
Padraig Crowley (Drums)

All are Derbyshire boys. And Perry boys to boot. Their songs reflect their influences - The Smiths, The Kinks, The Who and a host of others.

Listen hard and you can hear iconic British cinema and literature in there as well, in particular the kitchen sink drama of the late fifties such as “Saturday Night And Sunday Morning”, “The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner” and “This Sporting Life”.

And of course more than a little piece of Quadrophenia on the way.

Key tunes include 'You Came Home Late', a story of what happens when groovers party hard, 'Dan’s On Drugs, an impassioned tale of a son’s habit, and 'Come And Save Me', boasting the poignant opening line 'Please don’t tell me I’m a failure' - a solid piece of pure power pop.

Listen out for the upfront lead and backing vocals, catchy hooks and impressive guitar work.

The Souvenirs will feed your soul. If you’re anywhere near Derby, they will play a venue near you soon.

Who are your influences?

The bands which all four members have in common are: The Smiths, The Libertines, The Beatles, Sex Pistols, The Clash, Pulp and Blur.

As such we produce quite a mainstream sound, but we don't sound anything like our influences.

Tell us about your songs...

Well, we have a song called 'What A Funny Way To Live Your Life' which is basically about a notorious guy on Derby's music scene.

This chap's sole ambition in life was to become a local celebrity and he would do anything to achieve this.

He had no real talent to speak of, but enormous self-belief, so he tried to play in bands, hung about at all the right places and basically attempted to make himself appear as important as possible.

Our song just questions his need to define himself through other people...

Where do you play?

We're playing in Derby pretty much all the time. If you go on our myspace site you should find plenty of local dates at Susumi, The Bless, The Vic, The Five Lamps and anywhere else that will have us.

What are you plans for the future?

At the moment we're trying to build up a large local fanbase, and once we think we've achieved this, we intend to branch out into the whole of the Midlands.

After that, the whole of Britain, and after that, the world!

Anything else to tell us?

We're not going to be all Noel Gallagher about this, but we are a great band. Come to one of our gigs and you'll see.

Get your band featured!

Want to see a page devoted to your band on bbc.co.uk/derby? Well look no further! All you have to do is this:

Send a jpg of you or your band to [email protected] along with answers to the following questions...

1. Where are you from and what do you sound like?
2. Who are your influences?
3. Tell us about some of your songs?
4. Where do you play?
5. What are your plans for the future?
6. Anything else that might be interesting to read.

Give it the subject header 'UNSIGNED BAND' and feel free to include an mp3 sample of your music (though keep the file size below 5mb).

Alternatively include a link where we can download some of your stuff to include.