Chasing Twisters: Great Catchy Country Pop Tunes From The Heart of the Potteries

Embrace the Nashville sound with this melodic five-piece and catch them at the Artisan Tap and the Newcastle Jazz & Blues Festival…

• Formed in 2021, Chasing Twisters are a Stoke-based country pop rock band who feature former Tara’s Secret guitarist & songwriter Craig Chapman, who seems to have found his perfect musical partner in vocalist/songwriter Laura Holden.

  
  Back in my teenage years and early 20’s, I avoided country music like the plague, mainly due to being brought up listening to trad country on BBC Radio 2 in the 70s and 80s. However, Chasing Twisters prove a little country is good for the (musical) soul with songs like the tongue-in-cheek ‘Different Kind of Country’ (a shoo-in for daytime country radio) and ‘This Atlantic City’, which has shades of Sheryl Crow and features a guest spot from violinist Kelly McCusker. ‘All the Way to Deju Vu’ has a nice southern rock feel to it, no surprise that it was released as a single: it’s a good place to start for new listeners. The band have created a very enjoyable country pop album, proving that you don’t need to hail from Nashville or the US to make good country music, Read our interview with guitarist Craig Chapman below to find out more…
  

• What’s the live scene like for live country music in Stoke & Staffordshire? Is it mainly covers/tribute bands or is there an audience for original music and the odd cover or two, like you do?

  A lot of tribute and cover bands fill the gig listings. Hopefully our catchy, melody-led approach, style of music and mix of at least 60% originals is refreshing and we do get re-booked a lot. There’s loads of outlets to promote, but it seems many only reach a small number of people who get out and support the bands. The internet can isolate as much as it can help to reach out.
  

  Which local live venues would you recommend readers of the Knot check out and support?

  The Artisan Tap in Stoke brings a real mix of genres and gives original music a chance without breaking the budget on hire and entrance fees.
  

  Live highlights to date for the band and why?

  The UK Country Music Awards in Manchester to gauge how far we’ve come, The Brickhouse in St Helens and Nottingham’s Billy Bootleggers for crowd enthusiasm.
  

  How do you go about getting your name more known outside of the local area?

  We’re signed up to CMSM (Country Music Social Media) who get us on local radio all over the place but it is often very limited listener numbers. Lots of Facebook posting in hope, only Laura knows any other social media outlets.
  

  What do you prefer, CD/vinyl or streaming?

  We’ve got a song lyric that “measures the journey in albums, not miles” so we’re definitely old school and at least three of us buy our music. I personally hate streaming, but it seems to be a necessary evil.
  

  Have Chasing Twisters used social media, especially Instagram & Tik Tok, much to promote yourselves?

  Facebook yes and we have an Instagram account with a few pics on show. More than one of the same thing confuses the hell out of me and four of us couldn’t film a reel if our lives depended on it. We obviously need to improve on that, but it would help so much if more people were on the lookout for what we are already posting too. What’s Tik Tok??
  

  What inspired the band to record a full album as many artists currently seem to release singles and/or Eps?

  Again, we’re old school and it means something to us, a concise body of work. There’s nothing to stop us focusing promo on a song at a time.

  
  For someone new to Chasing Twisters, how would you describe your music and who are the band’s musical influences?

  For a nerdy muso like me, my writing is influenced by Georgia/Florida bands like Matchbox Twenty, Sugarland, 38 Special, Zac Brown & Sister Hazel over the more typical Nashville sound, but a lot of comments people make often reference Fleetwood Mac, which we’ll happily appreciate - strong melody without excessive accents. Another reviewer said he could hear a lot of Laurel Canyon country rock influence in our song writing too.
  

  Anything else to add?

  We did start out using ReverbNation and our gigs lists are linked from there. All our links can be followed via our Linktree. Album No2 is mostly written and can’t be far away, as the 12 songs on “Better In A Hat” all featured on our first gig three years ago.
  
  Catch the band on 21/06 at Nantwich Club, on 03/07 supporting Sara Petite at Stoke’s Artisan Tap and at Newcastle Jazz & Blues festival on 26/07, 3pm The Clubhouse, Limelight Boulelvard.