Switches (band)

Switches

This article is about the rock and roll band Switches. For other uses, see Switch (disambiguation).

Switches are a British rock and roll band from Southend and Guildford

Band members

• Matty Bishop - lead vocals, guitar
• Thom Kirkpatrick - bass
• Ollie Thomas - guitar, backing vocals
• Steve Godfrey - drums

Career

The band initially met whilst at university in Guildford, Surrey. When Matt was young, he wrote songs and made music in his Essex home. After meeting and befriending the other band members, they did some gigs and got publishing interest before finding a manager. The band claim the process took a few years to come together, owing to Matt's unpredictable bouts of depression and mental illness. Meanwhile, the boys where experimenting with different band names in order to "conjure something non-cliché, something simple and bold". They cite many artists as their main influences, all of whom can be seen here: [1].

They released their debut EP on Degenerate Records, entitled 'Message from Yuz' on 10 July 2006. It was produced by Paul Schroeder. Their debut single (limited to 500 copies), 'Lay Down the Law' on September 25, 2006. The band began recording their debut album in August 2006 at Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles, where Prince_(musician) recorded some of his classic 80's material. The album was recorded by legendary producer Rob Schnapf and charismatic engineer extraodinaire Doug Boehm.

Switches toured with The Rakes, The Automatic, childhood hero Graham Coxon and played the Carling Festivals in Leeds and Reading. The band released their second single 'Drama Queen', their first official release with Atlantic Records, on January 29th 2007.

The band's debut album, Heart Tuned To D.E.A.D., was released on 23 April 2007, preceded by their second official single, a re-recording of 'Lay Down The Law', the album reached #64 on the UK album charts, despite gaining little airplay or promotion.

The band made its Glastonbury debut in the summer of 2007, opening Saturday's Other Stage, and have undertaken their first extensive US tour supporting The Fratellis. Now signed to Interscope in the US, they plan to release their debut album there, early in 2008.

The song "Drama Queen" was used on the soundtrack for the game FIFA 08.

The song "Lay Down The Law" was used in Jumper (film).

Discography

• Message From Yuz 10 July2006
• Heart Tuned To D.E.A.D. 23 April, 2007 UK #64

External links

• Interscope Records
• Official website
• Switches on MySpace
• Message from Yuz – Switches single video (Release July 10th 2006)
• Switches in Hollywood caught in a Terra Naomi video (1:05 into video)

Date	Single	UK Singles Chart
October 2006	"Lay Down the Law"
January 2007	"Drama Queen"	61
April 2007	"Lay Down the Law" (re-issue)	51