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Good News…it’s Good Shoes.

The University of Kent is not exactly renowned for offering its students the coolest of music acts so the Venue’s new Switch night now offers a glimmer of hope to all indie music fans wanting something a bit different on their Friday night out.

Good Shoes were the first band to perform a live set for Switch last Friday, and the imminent arrival of the band on campus created a positive buzz around the university.

In a brief interview before their live set, lead singer and guitarist Rhys Jones explained that the forthcoming debut album ‘The Way My Heart Beats’ (due for release in January 2010) is heavier than the band’s first album ‘Think Before You Speak’, and there is a definite sense that Good Shoes are pleased with their new offering, even making their first track available for free download on their website. But don’t expect them to give the whole album away for nothing- it was simply done “so everyone could hear the first single” and arouse excitement for the album. The boys are heading off on a tour of England next month, giving Kent University students a cheeky first glimpse at what their gigs will offer to their fans.

Good Shoes hit the Venue stage sometime after 11pm, being welcomed by an energetic and lively crowd. The band played favourites ‘The Photos on My Wall’ and ‘Never Meant To Hurt You’, whilst also throwing into the mix new track ‘The Way My Heart Beats’. It was refreshing to see the band not just performing their music, but also connecting with the crowd, making the atmosphere unlike that ever experienced at the Venue before. The small-yet-feisty crowd appeared to be in their element, thoroughly enjoying Rhys’ numerous stage dives. Their new music was received positively by the audience, who seemed to be itching to hear some new material from the band, who have been slightly absent from the music scene for a while. They finished the set with ‘Morden’, much to everyone’s satisfaction. The sharp lyrics and repetitive beat reminded fans just how good their first album was, and undoubtedly fuelled excitement for the guy’s new album release next year.

How does your new album differs from ‘Think before you speak?’

It’s a lot heavier. It’s all about breaking up with one girl; probably a few of songs are about that. The whole album has a heavier feel.

You’ve been absent from the music scene for a while, what have you been doing since the release of your last album?

When you release an album, you then go on tour for a year. So we toured for a year, but the way we were being managed wasn’t really going were we wanted it go. So we started recording ourselves and got new management. It took a while doing that, but it really didn’t take too long to record the album.

Are you pleased with the end result, especially the new single?

Yeah, definitely. The new music/single sounds how I imagined the first album would have sounded.

Your new tour beings next month, do you have any plans for when it finishes?

Yeah, we are touring the whole of November and December, and then we release the album in January. We are then touring Europe in January and February, and then hopefully America in March. And then we will be playing at festivals from June onwards. But we hope to start recording the third album in between, maybe in March and April.

What venues do you most enjoy playing in?

We want to play in as many towns that we haven’t been to before- venues on a smaller scale that we haven’t been to before. During this year, we’ve played bigger gigs, so we’d like to experience new, smaller venues.

Any particular places you’re looking forward to playing in the most?

I would probably say Leeds and Manchester. Mainly it depends where we’ve got family- I lived in Brighton for a few years, so I always look forward to going back there.

Your new single ‘The Way My Heart Beats’ is available for free download on your website. Is this something you will continue to do in the future?

Probably not. We’ve been away for so long, so we wanted everyone to hear the new single. Everyone can download their music for free anyway, so we might as well try and get someone to buy our new album. It is all well and good giving away music for nothing, but if you want your band to continue making music, they’re has to be money in it somewhere, or who is going to pay for it?

The next single is going be a limited edition vinyl. What we will end up doing is releasing the album, and then we will probably give the b-sides away for free. There seems no point them being hidden away!

Any new bands you’re into at the moment?

At the moment, I’m listening to Bombay bicycle club, Wild Beasts and Feist. Not really new bands, but i love their new music.

On a final note, being University students, we all like a drink; any recommendation for drinking games?

Flip Cup! It was a game we played in America where you had to drink a shot of beer and then flip a cup. We ended up playing it with cake stands and everything.

Hands up to Good shoes, who gave the crowd exactly what they wanted- a first-class night at the Venue. They have most definitely set the standard for future acts set to play at the Venue in the next few months to come.

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