We had a chat with Michael Smyth and Hayley Norton from Belfast alternative rock band Paper Tigers about how they create their sound Norton’s amazing voice and the music scene in Belfast.

Tell us about Paper Tigers and how you guys formed as a band?

So Id be playing in a few bands at the time, I was singing and playing guitar in THVS and then playing drums in this band Bloody Apes and both bands were like crazy heavy, loud, heavy rock, punk rock kinda thing. But that wasn’t really what I was listening to at all and I had this itch that I needed to scratch, initially I thought maybe I should go to the doctor and get a cream for it but turns out I just needed to write some songs. So a lot of the music I listen to has a female vocal, I’ve always been drawn to it and I really like the female perspective in songs. I mean I like Mastodon and hearing them sing about crystal skulls and drinking blood or whatever but I also enjoy hearing about the world filtered through different eyes, for instance the girl from Purity Ring her lyrics are just amazing and that’s her own very unique perspective. I was listening to a lot of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Wolf Alice, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Lorde, Taylor Swift, Purity Ring, Lana Del Rey and started writing these songs but writing with a female vocal in mind. Id never really done anything before that wasn’t crazy loud or heavy or fast so these songs were a pretty big departure. I was really focusing on the melody, hooks and song writing. Once I had a handful of songs I started trying to pull together the band and eventually gathered together our current band of rebels. 

We’ve already been through a few line up changes but it was important to find the right people to work with. Id a really clear idea of what I wanted the band to be so it was important to get the right people. Michael (drums) and I had a mutual friend that put us together after I posted on Facebook for what seemed like the zillionth time trying to get band members. Michael plays in another band, Ethan Hannah, with Stevey(bass) so after a few bass players didn’t work out he said well what about Stevey. Then as creepy as it sounds I found Hayley(vocals) on Facebook added her outta the blue and messaged her just being like I have this band, here’s what I want to do so do you want to come down and sing. Luckily she realised I’ve a heart of gold and wasn’t just sliding into her DM’s. That all sounds pretty fast and straight forward but this happened over the course of a year and even before that Id tried a few times to get it off the ground with no luck so it took some time but as soon as we got this line up cemented we came out swinging.

Did it take time for you guys to gel and be comfortable with each other ? 

Initially it was myself and Michael but we had other people then and it took a lot of time to get on the same page in terms of what I was trying to achieve and how things were meant to sound and getting parts down. But if you put 5 people in a room the majority of whom have never met each and then all of a sudden they’re expected to interact with each other, be creative together, work together and produce something, rarely is that just going to happen straight off the bat. There’s a lot of personal dynamics, group dynamics you’ve to establish, you need to build up a vocabulary with each other, reference points, you need to get used to how different people work and process things. After Stevey joined things became a lot easier because he and Michael had already been playing together, by then Michael and I had started to reach a point that we were getting to understand each other and our approach to our instruments. Then Hayley joined and it was just like this breath of fresh air and huge sigh of relief, everything just clicked and instantly sounded 10 times better. I felt like finally we could go to work now. So its taken some time to get to the point we’re at now but its all very worthwhile, we learn from each other and its very much an atmosphere of trust I feel, like anyone can suggest something and know that we’ll at least talk through it or try it. This line up is still relatively pretty new. Hayley’s only been with us since September and already we’ve recorded and done a bunch of shows up and down the country so I think that’s a testament to how well we all work together…or you know the reality is that we all hate each other, we travel in separate buses everywhere and need a performance coach like Metallica. I’m only kidding…we cant afford buses.

You guys are from Belfast, what is the Belfast music scene like for an alternative band?

There are actually so many great bands coming out of Belfast right now, I really feel like there’s this resurgence coupled with a real want and desire for alternative/guitar driven music again. Music is always cyclical so it always comes round again but there are a bunch of great bands around right now so its cool to be a part of that. Even where we practice we’ve got Sugarwolf and Mobwife right down the hall. New Pagans are a personal favourite and Fagash McCann are one of the best bands around right now. Similarly for gigs there feels like a lot more opportunity to play shows at the minute where as even last year opportunities didn’t seem as abundant but now more bars are having bands play which is great and more people are stepping up to put shows on. Last year I started my own promotions company, Old Crows Promotions, and that was really born out of not wanting to wait around for shows to land in our lap. If we wanted a show then I can put it on, promote it, play it and get some of my friends to play it too. And also wanting to do my part to help promote home grown talent and giving them a platform and resources to help reach people. We’ve been lucky that people are responding well to the band and offering us shows but I’ll continue to put shows on. So it’s a very healthy scene at the minute, I think its fantastic when your home grown scene can spawn some of your favourite bands.

You guys have a powerful sound with gritty riffs, pummeling drums and floor rumbling bass how did you guys find and decide on your sound?

We just show up plug in, turn up and that’s how it comes out. I’m kidding but in a way that’s kinda true. When I started the band I had a very definite idea of what I wanted it to sound like, then I took them to practice and all that changed. Once everyone brings their requisite skills and talents to it they put their own sonic footprint on the song. Especially from having a few line up changes, singers, bass players, we went from two guitars down to one, you can really tell how much different players influence the sound. So the sound of the band is definitely the sound of everyone hammering away with their respective tools. The band is still evolving and there were a few songs that never made it out of the dropbox folder because they just didn’t fit anymore. The longer we’re together the more cohesive a sound we’re starting to develop, all the songs still sound like us but especially over the last few I feel we’ve taken huge steps forward in song writing and carving out our own signature sound where stylistically its very evident that its us. That’s something I want to continue to build on and further refine but at the same time not be limited by, there may come a time that we want to incorporate some salsa jazz fusion elements into our sound or an aboriginal choir with the philharmonic orchestra and when that time comes I hope we can embrace it. That’ll be our Sgt Peppers record! 

Talk us through your song writing process and how you guys craft your tracks?

I write the songs, so ill have the track written and arranged front to back by the time I bring it to the practice room. So I’ll play through the song and then we’ll start to work on parts, sometimes those will come really quick and we’ll all just click in and everyone’s on the same page sometimes it takes a little more time. Both ways have their merit because sometimes you’re like wow that was easy, new song done! The other way though can give rise to things you wouldn’t have expected or thought of which is great. Especially recently, and because we’re able to communicate with each other well now, we’re able to push each other, maybe a part is a little pedestrian or someone feels a part could be better then we work through that, so a few times now Ill have brought the song in and the arrangement has changed now or new parts have been written in the practice room and its been really fun and exciting that push and pull creating something together. Then lyrically and melodically I’ve wrote a few tracks but since Hayley joined she’s really taken up that mantle and writes the majority of lyrics and melodies now we’ll still work through some parts together but its great she has her own voice and style and that comes through. Again this harkens back to the band evolving and us still figuring things out but the longer we’re together the better the whole process becomes.

You recently released ‘Gucci Smiles’ talk us through how that track came to fruition?

Really this whole band comes down to me changing amps, I used to have this Orange half stack, 4×12 cab and head. It weighed a ton. So I got sick of lugging it around and decided to change to a combo and bought a Fender DeVille 60w 4×10 combo. So straight away my sound changed dramatically and then instead of playing in drop C I was like I bet a Fender in standard tuning going through the DeVille would sound great. So I couldn’t afford an actual Fender so I bought a Squire and started playing around with the amp and looking for different sounds from the amp and during messing around one day I just hit on the riff, it was just one of those songs that feels like its being given to you. Like you’re not really writing it but something is just moving your hands to where they need to be, maybe my house is haunted and it was a rock and roll Ghost type moment with Patrick Swayze guiding me, thanks Paddy! So it was the first song I ever wrote for this band. Then I can’t help myself with pedals so put some fuzz on the verse to dirty it up cause we can’t have it *too* clean. That was one I wrote the melody and lyrics for, I remember sitting at my desk in work and writing the lyrics super fast. I remember thinking I’m so glad I don’t have to sing ‘Dolla Bills, Gucci Smiles’ because it’d sound so dumb if it was coming from me, luckily when Hayley sings the song it sounds totally badass!

You released a video for ‘Gucci Smiles’ which captures the raw live aspect of the band how was the video making process for you guys?

It was so easy and simple, I’ve worked with Bob Logan, who made the video, a lot now. He done all the THVS videos and he does a lot of our photography as well. He’s been working with Tigers from the start so he’s basically the 5th Tiger at this stage! Bob has a great eye and spent time getting to know the song before coming down to shoot the shows so he knows in his head how he wants things to play out. Its great to be able to trust someone just let them do what they do and know whatever they come back with will be great. I think having a live video as the first video lets anyone who hasn’t been to a show yet have a taste of what its like to see us live. Hopefully encourages them to come along and see it for themselves, a video is one thing but actually live in front of you we’re a very different thing. So really all we had to do was show up and play our show and let Bob do the rest. We’ve had an amazing response to the video, we’re in the process of planning our second at the minute!

Hayley , you have strong command over your powerful voice. Although your voice is powerful, it has a cool tone. Have you always had this strong vocal ability or was it something you tried to achieve over time?

Thank you so much! Well I definitely always had a voice, but when I reached the age of 12 I realised that I had a strong one and it did need a lot of work! So year by year I pushed myself, I sang a variety of song genres and styles, participated in competitions, self taught vocal exercises and that allowed me to gain more strength and control over my voice, on top of being a high energy performer – stamina is essential and I strive to improve every day!

What do you guys bring to your live shows?

Instruments, they’re a pretty quintessential part of it. Seriously though, we bring a lot of energy and passion to the stage, from the second we hit the stage to the last chord we don’t stop, we’re in constant movement and I don’t think we could stand still even if we wanted to. The songs illicit that response from us, there’s nothing planned or contrived about it, no synchronised jumps or Kiss style swaying, whatever happens on the night happens. Music is a really emotive thing and it should make you feel something so I’ve always thought if I don’t look like I’m enjoying myself up there then how could anyone else. Playing live is really what I live for and its really where this bands lives and thrives, recording is great and its fun but those 30/40mins when your up on stage is really where we feel the most alive. The interaction between the 4 of us on stage and the interaction with the crowd is what makes shows special. We’ve been lucky in that the shows have been well attended so there’s always that back and forth between us and the crowd and obviously we thrive off other people enjoying the music and cutting loose, dancing, singing along. Its amazing after we play and someone tells you that they really enjoyed this song or that song. No one ever has to do that, so the fact someone feels so compelled to do so is pretty great.

What is next for Paper Tigers?

We’re already so busy this year, we’ve a show in Bennigans, Derry 28th January, then Feb 7th we’re playing the Empire in Belfast and the next night we’re supporting Hundreth in The Palm House in Belfast, March 27th we’re in Johnny B Goode Music Lounge in Antrim, June 6th we’re in Dublin for Rage Fest. Then we’ve a few shows we can’t talk about yet. We already have more songs recorded so we’ll have two more singles out before the end of the year with videos to accompany those. We plan to record again, we’re always writing so the plan is for at least another 2 songs. We’re in the middle of putting some touring plans in place slightly further a field. So we’re super busy, if it was up to me we’d be playing every week but I suppose people need to have lives or whatever..

Watch the video for ‘Gucci Smiles’ below

Author : Danu