Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.

Mat Taylor - Drums

Scott Gear - Guitar/Vocals

Chris Ian Burton - Vocals/Guitar

Gary West - Bass/Vocals

For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to LAPYEAR? How long has the band been around?

I used to write and record as a solo artist up until 2016. Mat used to play in post-hardcore band From Afar and also plays for EDM artist Flux Pavilion. Scott plays in an alt indie band Lunar and also does a decent amount of session work too! Gary used to be a DJ and also play in a post rock band, APPI... so we’re pretty diverse! We have all been active musically for 10+ years before we decided to make music together. - Chris

What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?

So before, we weren’t called anything and wanted to have something completely original as our name. We started looking through alternative dictionaries and came across the term Lapyear. It references the age that you reach in life when your parents decided (or didnt) decide to bring you into the world. So effectively, your Lapyear, is the year you ’lap’ your parents. It signifies a certain level of maturity one reaches with age. We found this to be appropriate to our sound, because we felt that our tastes and musical output had matured over the years and came together in this project. - Mat

Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?

We all collaborate equally, most of the time, we send demos via e-mail to each other and work from there and then we’ll get together and play though our ideas. Then that’s when we really gel with each other! - Chris

Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?

To be honest, we all have varied tastes. When the band started, I was listening to a lot of Ride / Teenage Fanclub and Oasis, but i come from an emo/punk background, so i wanted to combine britpop/emo. But we all discussed making music together at a Turnover show at the end of 2016! - Chris

Same with Chris, but the other way round, I grew up with Oasis and Blur and then later on, in my early teens i started listening to emo/punk bands. - Scott

What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, ect …

I watch ‘8 mile’ backstage to get me pumped. - Scott

Beer, stretching and listening to all 3 albums by The Story So Far. - Mat.

I literally tune my guitar 3 times 10 minutes before we start. - Chris

Also beer, and making sure I’ve got spare picks because I always lose them. - Gary

What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?

Definitely our EP release show, having that amount of people come out to see our band was incredibly overwhelming. - Chris

I would also agree with Chris, I was honestly overwhelmed at how many people turned up. We smashed the set, and even had people shouting the end of ‘Sunday’, it gave me goosebumps. - Mat

Agreed, but also for me it was the process of making the EP, going up to Leeds and living in a studio for a few days was a great experience in itself. - Scott

If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?

I’d freak out at the chance to play with The Cure. Disintegration had and still does have a huge influence on my writing. Every song I write is in some way shape or form influenced by Robert Smith. - Chris

I think Turnover is a big one for me. I also adore Paerish and think we would be a great opener for them. - Mat

Title Fight or Citizen, the crowds at their shows are always super energetic so would be wicked to play with them. - Gary

I’d love to play with Slowdive, i got to see them at The Roundhouse last October and they’re now up there with one of the best live bands I’ve seen. - Scott

Is there anything else you would like to add?

We will be playing a bunch of shows around the UK this summer so look out for us!