01 Apr The Sound of Hastings – Up-and-Coming Indie Band’s Rise to Recognition
The Sound of Hastings – Up-and-Coming Indie Band’s Rise to Recognition
William Parker Academy and Helenswood Academy were both infamous in the seaside town of Hastings for not only being single sex schools, but also being performing arts schools. The teenagers in them were commonly pushed to give it their all in drama and music lessons. For many this was just a lesson that they soon opted out of during GCSEs, but for some students it sparked an interest.
The music GCSE classes were tiny, but full of inspired young adults. Joey Wilder and Josh Jacobs being two of them. In 2017, whilst in Year 11, the band The Don’t Knows (TDK) formed with their current members.
The Don’t Knows are made up of 4 musicians. These members being Josh as the frontman, Joey playing drums as well as Ant Greenwell playing bass and Zac Schulze on guitar. The young lads quickly stood out in the small artistic town. With their easy going personalities and obvious passion for music, people were instantly drawn to them.
Unlike many others their age in Hastings, the boys did not opt to attend university and escape the small town and instead decided to focus solely on their music careers. “A uni course isn’t going to make my band succeed” Joey states.
TDK knew quickly that they wanted to focus on indie and rock music. The boys were close friends all throughout school and often attended concerts and festivals together. They told me they had already decided on their genre, and didn’t even need to explicitly state it to each other. “The lads had already got really into the same music taste as me, so making our band and deciding on our style was a breeze.” Says lead singer, Josh.
Over the years the band have often performed with covers of bands such as The Kooks, Catfish and the Bottlemen, and The Beatles. But, they also have their own originals, like ‘Way Too Far’ which is also very similar to the style of the bands listed above. When listening to the covers and originals you can undoubtedly tell that the band has talent and creativity that makes them very different from the many other bands trying to make a break in the county of East Sussex.
“The reason behind our name is pretty self explanatory.” The cool and collected drummer, Joey, tells me. The band explained how that thinking of a name was too much pressure, and they just didn’t know what to choose, hence being called ‘The Don’t Knows’. The comedic story gives you a peek into the boys’ easy going personalities.
Frontman of the band Josh Jacobs, and to friends – JJ, has a unique but angelic voice.
It can be described as similar to indie artist – Jake Bugg, again making him one of a kind amongst the many other indie bands and artists with a similar style of music.
“We really got into our music when we took music GCSE. It started off with us just doing assignments together and shows for the school – like at churches and stuff… Then we realized we really really enjoy it” JJ explains to me, there is always a hint of enthusiasm in his voice when speaking about his band, but not enough to ruin his cool exterior he’s worked on.
Apart from performing together to pass their music exams, the band also started out playing any venue they could throughout the small town. Often you’ll find them in the old town. The road along the beach includes all kinds of pubs and venues that are always open to up and coming bands performing in.
In 2017 the small crowds would be full of TDK’s friends showing their support and always making sure to sing and dance along to the bands covers.
Fast forward 3 years later, now the band are able to perform to crowds of many people. Sometimes even playing in Camden and Brighton, the homes to all things artistic and indie.
The Don’t Knows’ have succeeded quickly, following close in the footsteps of another Hastings based band, Kid Kapichi, who even had an upcoming UK and Europe tour planned before COVID-19 pushed the dates back. TDK also supported the band as well as the internationally known band, RATBOY.
The boys tell me supporting RATBOY was one of their favourite moments.
“It was mad. We were performing at a sold out festival on Hastings pier that RATBOY were headlining” Joey tells me. “I think that might’ve been one of our best performances, it was a huge crowd of loads of people we know and then people who have never heard of us before… It helped our band out a lot” Josh tells me.
One venue TDK has always regularly played in since they first joined is Blackmarket VIP. With the venue being a popular drinking spot for those of all ages, as well as just being known in Hastings for the range of concerts and events, it’s pretty much the perfect place to play.
“Blackmarket VIP is always open to any bands or singers to perform, whether they are new to it or have years of experience” the venue owners tell me. “The Don’t Know’s are always playing amazing shows for us. They are definitely a crowd favourite, it is always a full venue when they play events.”
Blackmarket VIP always holds popular town events, for example ‘Fat Tuesdays’. It has all kinds of artists playing throughout the day, often with free entry for anyone who is interested in attending. There’s always hidden gems to listen to in Hastings. Only when living in the town you are lucky enough to discover them. A lot of the time you can find artists just by going out for a drink with your friends in the pubs along the beach, named Hastings’ Old Town.
The Don’t Knows had events planned for the rest of the year in Hastings, Brighton and London. Although now due to the Coronavirus pandemic, these are no longer going ahead, meaning this could hinder the band’s career. “Coronavirus has ruined so much for us already. 100%.” Joey tells me, frustratedly. “We rely a lot on our live shows. They increase our audience and expose us to loads of different people and other musicians. Now we’re kind of stuck.” Says Josh. Through performing the band have made friends with more Hastings based bands, like Alibi. You can find videos of them performing together on their FaceBook page.
“It gives us time to work on more original music, but still, that will be hard because of social distancing. It just doesn’t flow as good when you’re discussing and playing together over FaceTime, especially with Zac’s awful internet” Josh jokes.
The bands personalities and stories are easily relatable to aspiring artists around their age. “If you’re looking to try and get your work out there, you need to put all your passion into it and be ready to do that for the long run… You have to be prepared for failure too. We’ve had to go through a lot of that. Like members leaving and having to find someone ideal to replace them as quick as we can” Joey tells me.
Despite the pandemic and the struggles the band have gone through, rest assured, they tell me they are not going anywhere any time soon.
