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

Willowside Park is:

- Chris McQuire (vocals)
- Aaron Bisset (lead guitar)
- Sam O’Donnell (guitar/vocals) (ANSWERED THE QUESTIONS)
- Jonny Turner (guitar)
- James Day (bass)
- Tyler Bisset (drums)

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

We all previously played together in a pair of local bands that gave us an excuse to cover the kind of music we liked, such as Blink-182, Green Day, New Found Glory and more. A few years back we decided both bands should come together to write some songs in a heavier style than our usual sound. Eventually we realised how well we worked together in these new circumstances, and decided to carry on as a six-piece all together. We released a demo, and in 2014 we released our first proper EP.

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

Originally, we were only in it for goofs. We went by "Superheroes Without Superpowers" and after a while we decided to change it because we wanted to start taking our song writing a bit more seriously, and a new name would serve that purpose better. We chose "Willowside Park" because it's the name of the road where we wrote and recorded our very first song. It has connotations of home, and we felt it rolled off the tongue a lot better than our previous tag.

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?

- Aaron & Sam (guitarists) usually come up with some rhythm/lead parts to base a song from, while Sam and our vocalist Chris will write songs using the music for inspiration (or off the top of their head). Then we all jam together, we'll usually write entire parts of songs and fit them together like a puzzle piece or improvise entire tracks while using each other for guidance. We base a lot of our song writing from our own personal experiences in life, from past romantic relationships and positive memories, to a more personal perspective of life. We've been trying to experiment with our writing by choosing unorthodox subjects in the past, but I feel that the best way we can express ourselves is by writing down our thoughts and feelings at the time we experience them.

What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?

We all have a wide range of inspirations between the six of us. There are a few artists which we can all share a similar opinion on, but also I feel our individual influences help bring something to the band that you don't usually find in other groups.

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

Watching tour documentaries and live performances of punk bands when I was a kid really inspired me to just pick up an instrument, write some crappy songs and raise hell. As I've matured, I've taken all the music I've listened to in my life and put it into writing music with a little more serious attitude towards it. That, and spending years watching some of my close friends shred on the guitar really pushed me into picking up an instrument and teaching myself how to play completely by myself. It's probably why I'm still average at playing guitar haha.

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

Flexing? Please. To settle our nerves before hitting the stage, we give each other outlandish doodles to draw on our set lists. We all make each other laugh so it's a nice little activity we do to take our minds off being uptight on stage. That, and we usually drink a few beers and chill out.

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

We played Fury Fest 2015 in Liverpool alongside some of our current favourite bands (Man Overboard, Moose Blood, Boston Manor, Decade). A lot of our friends travelled to support us, so that was pretty cool.

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

- That's easy. The Pop Disaster Tour in 2002. Blink, Green Day & Jimmy Eat World at the height of their popularity. The behind the scenes tour documentary is almost entirely the reason I wanted to play in a band when I was young.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

- You can find all of our music on our bandcamp (willowsidepark.bandcamp.com) or on iTunes and Spotify! Keep your eyes peeled because we have a new record out this year with a new single out even sooner!