Photos: Izzi Glover
Words: Darci Jackson
DISCLAIMER: not everything in this article may be factually correct.
Manchester based Bayboards are quite frankly unlike anything we’ve seen before. With their biggest headline show to date at Manchester Academy 2 on the horizon in November, the band are taking everything in their stride, recently being added to Spotify playlists peach and Hot New Bands, and getting plays on BBC Radio 1. Despite this, they’re as down to Earth as ever and we sat down with Ben Coley (guitar, vocals) and Javan Carrington (drums) for a fairly strange chat.
“I’m Javan and I do everything, there’s not really much use for anyone else in the band.” A moment of silence before Ben pipes up with “I breathe.”
Moving on.
Coley and Carrington’s story starts in the sleepy town of Chapel-en-le-Frith before making their move to the music capital of the UK. “I saw Ben singing in like, Chapel Primary School’s Got Talent and he had that song with the word sex in it and it went off and I was like, ‘I wanna be in a band with him’.”
From the peaks to Spotify playlists, Bayboards’ recent single How I Wish I Was Cool (taken from their brand-new EP Escape From Madness) has found its way amongst the likes of Two Door Cinema Club, The Wombats and Clairo. “It is really cool to get recognised by Spotify, especially Hot New Bands. A lot of them bands on there I’m like ‘they’re really cool bands and we’re not a cool band at all’.”
Speaking of being cool, Ben explains the meaning behind their new track; “You don’t need to be cool. To be honest, it isn’t about me necessarily, I was just getting in the head of a poser who’s just trying to be someone else all the time and realistically, being yourself is what’s cool.”
Amen to that!
Something Bayboards and Dizzy Magazine have in common is that we’re both huge L’objectif fans. The first time we saw Bayboards was supporting the Leeds four-piece at The Lodge at Deaf Institute earlier this year. “I love L’objectif,” starts Javan. A drunken DM is what secured that support slot for them. Apparently, it was so embarrassing he had to unsend it the next day and wouldn’t reveal to Dizzy Magazine what was said. “I was in Sheffield watching L’objectif support Everything Everything and I went up to the merch desk and I was almost crying and I made a massive embarrassment of myself.”
Honestly don’t even blame you, Javan.
“They’re just like my favourite band, they’re my favourite band of all time. They’re such a cool band and they’re all really nice fellas as well.”
I think you can tell a lot about a person by what their first gig was. Ben answers straight away with Car Seat Headrest at Albert Hall. “I went by myself because none of my friends like them. I was just stood in the middle and they started playing this song called Drunk Drivers/ Killer Whales and I was there just trying not to cry, it felt like a moment out of a film.”
Then Javan pipes up with “I saw will.I.am at Manchester Arena. I don’t know if you can count that.”
“Black Eyed Peas are actually sick. This man [pointing at Javan] showed me their whole discography, it was incredible.”
“They’re creative geniuses.”
Talking about creative geniuses, we think Bayboards may be creative geniuses for everything they’ve got planned for their Academy 2 show in November!
“It's gonna be crazy. Do you know the cannons you get at circuses where you fire people out of them? We’re firing Reece (bass) out of one of those. We’re gonna have elephants on stage, lasers going around.”
Is that even allowed, Javan?
“We’re going to be firing flamethrowers into the crowd. We’ve made an agreement with the venue, and it’s all allowed don’t worry.”
Okay, Ben.
The next few months are looking very exciting for Bayboards. You can listen to their brand-new EP Escape From Madness here.