Getting to Know… Homecoming | Interview

In the 430^th Q&A in our Getting to Know… series, we get the inside scoop from the West Midlands, UK band, Homecoming.

“We have a Matty on drums, and he does stick tricks!” Word, Homecoming! Later, Michael praises Matty’s “technical drumming and major use of the various different voices the kit has to offer.” Sick! Interestingly, the West Midlands UK band intended to be a Disney and musical pop-punk cover band.  They changed course, however.  We get the inside scoop on the band’s genesis, goals, musical influences, and current and future musical endeavors. So, without further ado, let’s jump into Getting to Know… Homecoming: Interview No. 430!

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For those who may not be familiar with you, what would you say makes Homecoming distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off?

I wish we had a simple distinct answer that isn’t generic! We have a Matty on drums and he does stick tricks! We involve the audience as much as possible!

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Okay, let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did Homecoming form, and what were some of your goals or visions early?

The band formed when Michael finally relented to start a band with the previous singer Shawn. We intended to be a Disney/musicals pop-punk cover band. We dropped it quickly. Maybe we shouldn’t have, considering how big Punk Rock Factory is now!

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Let’s talk more about goals.  Have your goals or perspectives changed since starting? What do your aspirations or goals look like now?

Our goals and aspirations have always been playing music and having fun. If we started to give ourselves certain targets that we’d need to achieve it would end up making playing mundane and a chore. Having been in bands where there has always been a specific direction and goal previously, it never ended well, and the bands split. If anything big happens, awesome. If not, at least we’re having fun doing what we’re doing. [It] would be cool to support someone like blink [blink-182] though…

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Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Whom would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential?

For me (Michael) it’s Tom DeLonge of blink-182. I loved his sound, his simplistic playing style, and his guitars. 1 pick up…sorted.

Chelsea has mentioned John Entwistle before and how she likes his tone…but I think her main influence would have been her dad. His passion for music passed on to her.

Matty’s is Travis Barker, he’s a pop-punk drummer; there’s no one else it could be. He shows this through a lot of his technical drumming and major use of the various different voices the kit has to offer.

Paul quite likes the Slipknot dude, Jim Root. But his idol is really Michael.

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Ah, the fun stuff.  What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance?  Feel free to be creative.

We’ve had plenty of fun or stupid stuff happen on tour! Mostly Michael doing something stupid. We started a gig where he jumped and span, knocking his mic stand into the crowd. Our recent EP launch where he recited the song “My Neck” pretty much to Chelsea’s mom in the crowd.

And most notably, at least within the band, was when he had root canal pain so was using a THC vape. Maybe used it a little too much before our set at a festival and got lost in the song, started playing and singing the outro whilst the rest of the band was on the bridge…oops.

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To this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special?

[Our] Current favorite is our latest video release “DKMS”. The song was written by Michael about his experience and feelings going through the stem cell donation process. It’s an absolute swine to sing live, so when it’s done right it’s a great feeling! We are also donating all revenue from streams to the charity DKMS UK. The video was recorded as a “One continuous shot” style video by Ironside Studios. It’s some of our proudest work.

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Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left-of-center we should know about Homecoming? Secret talents or surprising tidbits?

Left of Centre you say…that is us. No really any mega cool talents, but Michael has some interesting Tourettes tics that surprise! And he can do a perfect rendition of the confrontation of Jean Valjean and Javert from Les Mis.

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What is Homecoming currently working on or promoting that you can sha? We love secrets, but there’s no pressure.   

Currently, we’re promoting the absolute balls out of the “DKMS” video and song! When we hit 5k we’re gonna raffle off one of Michael’s many guitars! We do have a new song currently being mixed and mastered that we will be doing a video for too!

Thank you so much for sharing and taking the time to answer these questions, and best of luck moving forward. 

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Follow… Homecoming: Instagram • Facebook • Spotify • YouTube • TikTok

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Getting to Know… Homecoming: Interview No. 430 [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Homecoming; Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Królestwo Nauki, OpenClipart-Vectors, Pete Linforth, Tumisu from Pixabay]

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