David Sinclair Trio at The Slaughtered Lamb

The David Sinclair Trio formed on New Year’s Eve 2005 and have been travelling along steadily ever since with their straight up rock tunes, releasing three albums and playing all around the country.

David Sinclair and his band were at the Slaughtered Lamb, London, 19^th May 2012. The Upcoming sat down with David Sinclair – guitar and vocals – for a warm and friendly chat about their music over a (half) pint.

How’s the set list looking for tonight’s show?

Well, we’ve got three albums now so there’s no shortage of material. We’ve got three drummers that play with us so we slightly tailor the set according to the drummer. A band’s only as good as their drummer and good drummers are hard to come by and they’re always busy.

What can a punter expect from a David Sinclair Trio show?

Maximum rock n’ roll. A sound sensation. Stripped back, stripped down songs, no great big guitar solos, we are just a trio but that’s just to keep costs down.

How do your songs come about?

I write them, essentially. George (George Andrew – bass & vocals) helps me a lot. I sit around until some sort of inspiration strikes and then work it up. The lyrics are usually the last thing to come but the first thing people talk about. There’s no real formula, to be honest, some of them come quite quickly and others are a bit of a struggle. It’s mostly just applying yourself.

What inspires the songs?

Well Take Me There is a coming of age album I’ve decided. Now that the dust has settled and the reviews have come in and I’ve had a chance to really think about it, it’s all about coming of age really. Better late than never. You know, where you find yourself and what time does to you. I find getting older is something that informs a lot of the songs. I’m going to try and make the next album about what’s happening around town or something because I’ve explored that subject enough.

How long have you been writing songs for?

About six years or so, since this band started. I played in a lot of bands before that and I would be a contributor to song writing with other people, but I’d never actually sat down and written songs like this until quite recently really. So I’m quite a late developer in that regard.

What have been some highlights for the band? 

Well, getting it started was pretty much a highlight and keeping it going. Just doing it has been phenomenal. We played the lake stage at latitude festival which was a great experience, the worst weather they’ve ever had, lashing rain, howling wind, we had a brilliant time.  Robin Trower (influential British guitarist who played on Whiter Shade of Pale) produced a track for us, which was great.

How do you find the experience of working with a producer?

I find it very comforting. My opinion is once I’ve written the damn thing that’s it.  I’m very happy for someone to take and overview, suggest how it should sound. I’m certainly not someone who takes exception to advice from the wise. George is pretty good at producing he has the ear for music in that sense.

A good producer, they just know stuff that I don’t know. It’s an interesting process. I personally love the studio it’s such a great place to be. You take an idea or song that you have and turn it into something solid.

Are you working on a new album?

Well, we’ve got some new songs coming through. We’re just sifting through possible producers and studios. It takes a while to get the new songs together; we’re about half way there.

What are your plans for your future?

This is a band that lives fiercely in the moment. The never-ending tour obviously continues, we’ve got gigs coming up around the country, working on the new album and aiming for the stars. 

Two hours later I perch in a dark corner of the Slaughtered Lamb, and prepare for the maximum rock ‘n’ roll I was promised. The dapper trio: David Sinclair, George Andrew and Brent Keefe dressed in black suits and red shirts humbly set themselves on stage and as Sinclair introduces the show I momentarily have an image of him giving an awkward speech at a wedding. All fears are quickly dispelled as the band launch into Years Disappear, a heartfelt lament to getting older.

Next the trio plays a rocked up cover of PJ Harvey’s Last Living Rose, the first and better of the evening’s two covers, which was great but seemed lost on the intimate crowd. David Sinclair Trio quickly picked things up with London Dust, the first track from the 2008 album Threewheeling, about the suffocating hustle of life in the city.

New and as yet unrecorded song The Illness and The Cure shows the band has no intentions of slowing down in terms rockin’ out, it’s a solid track and it’s hard to argue with the chorus refrain, “Only love is the illness and the cure.” Sinclair’s lyrics are simple and earnest, telling stories of ordinary people and all the ups and down of our funny little lives.

Second cover for the evening Paolo Nutini’s Jenny Don’t Be Hasty was probably an ill-conceived choice but thankfully they finished up with the boisterous track Living Like A Yo-Yo from the last album Take Me There.

The David Sinclair Trio are probably never going to bother the charts too much but they are a rock n’ roll band with more sincerity and passion than most of the pretentious naff you’ll find on the streets of east London. Definitely worth checking out for a good time.

Patrick Jovaras
Photos: Marco Arias Rua

For further information and future gigs visit the band’s website here.