Luke Owain Boult speaks with Skindred lead vocalist Benji Webbe about playing Steelhouse Festival and how to protect live music in Wales.
What drew you to playing Steelhouse?
I love to play shows in my beloved Cymru and our Welsh shows always mean a lot to me and the boys in Skindred and for me being born in Newport, it feels like we’re coming home to play.
What have you got planned for your set?
Destruction, beats, pain, sex, terror, and all of the classic dred anthems and plenty of twists and turns and a few mashups that we are known for. There’s no band like Skindred, love us or hate us you cannot deny we bring it live every time and it doesn’t matter if it’s in a club or a festival at the top of a mountain, we are Mike Tyson in his early years, whoever you put in front of us we will knock the fuck out.
Are you working on any new material?
Always, always, always. We’re a creative band of brothers and writing never stops for us as we always try to be better.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
Planet Earth my friend. It’s been an inspiration to me from the day we were born and it will continue to offer us inspirations vast and wide.
What do you think it is about your live shows that people love so much?
From the very early days I’ve always enjoyed myself on stage. Fuck, I’ve been sat in a van cramped up for five hours and got to a club with 18 people in it and I always thought no matter what, I’m going to enjoy myself and I think that spirit is contagious. It pours from the stage to the audience. We never perform just another gig, we perform every show as a celebration of life.
Are you working on any other projects?
I’ve just finished my first ever full-length reggae album that you can order online from my website, Spotify, iTunes and a few other places like that, but, if I were you I’d get the hard copy. It’s got some great artwork worth having in your collection. If you want to hear the true roots of where my vocal inspiration comes from you’ve got to get that album. It’s called I Haven’t Been Nicking In Ages. I’ve always wanted to do a record that was straight-up reggae, that had real summer vibes perfect for BBQs. I guess a little part of me thinks I’m black or something!
Are there any other bands at Steelhouse you’re looking forward to seeing?
I like to catch most of the bands that we play with, support or headliners, but I’m quite excited to see a Welsh band called Florence Black. I believe they’ve got the goods and I’ll be there to catch them if I can. We’re playing a festival the night before in Germany, so we’re going to get on the tour bus as soon as our set’s finished and high-tail it to Wales.
What’s your creative process like?
Get it done! We don’t do anything the same, it changes every time. The outcome always seems to be a rocking set of tunes.
There’s been a lot recently about threats to live music in Wales. What do you think the best way of protecting these venues and live music in Wales is?
It’s the same all over the country, it turns my stomach that venues that gave birth to the biggest bands in the world aren’t protected, but shut down for one piece of nonsense or another. Rock and roll ain’t noise pollution, it’s an industry that brings millions of pounds worth of revenue into the country and the local councils need to wake up to the fact that they’re killing the opportunities of tomorrows superstars to play and learn the craft and they’ll never get to play in a dirty horrible dingy club.
What will you be doing after your set at Steelhouse?
Going to Church and getting pissed but maybe not in that order.
Steelhouse Festival, Ebbw Vale, Tickets: ÂŁ50-ÂŁ85. Sat 29 + Sun 30 July. Info: www.steelhousefestival.com