Get your motor running, head out on the highway, looking for adventure in whatever comes their way...
Pushing the pedal to the metal and heading south to London on Friday are up and coming Stevenage four-piece N.O.V.A, a band first formed for a 2014 charity gig which quickly developed a taste for the spotlight and has been building its fanbase ever since.
Throughout last year they ticked off important landmarks for any band – a debut EP was followed in December by a track called Crash And Burn which has so far found its way into the ears of 200,000 online listeners.
They’ve been familiar faces on the bill at venues such as Hitchin’s Club 85 and festival line-ups including Balstock in Baldock and Borofest in Stevenage.
And now London is firmly in their sights, with a headline slot at Pentonville Road’s Surya venue tomorrow night.
Their capital adventure isn’t a one-off, either – next Friday, February 5, they’ll be taking to the stage at 229 The Venue on Great Portland Street.
Jamie Drackford, the band’s vocalist, said: “We formed for a one-off charity event at Stevenage’s Marriotts School and we had so much fun – and some glowing feedback – that we decided to keep it going.”
Joining him in the line-up are Myles Hamilton on guitars, Danny Scarott as the ace of bass and Richard Emms slapping the skins.
Myles and Danny were part of a band called UNIX when they were teenagers and Rich featured in the the original line-up of Headswim, who went on to play Donington and appear on Top of the Pops in the mid 1990s – sadly long after the Stevenage drummer had left the band, then known as Malicious.
The name has nothing to do with the compact Vauxhall motor – it was inspired by a comic book character, as Rich is a big fan of the format and is one of the owners of Limited Edition Comix in Stevenage’s Market Square.
Jamie said: “We’ve been offered several London gigs in the coming weeks.
“We’re headliners this week and the following Friday, and we’ll be on stage for 40 minutes, sharing the bill with three other bands from around the UK.
“We’re having great fun playing our own brand of music – our dream is to play one of the bigger festivals in the years ahead.”
Although they’re excited by the capital challenge, they’re full of praise for what’s on offer to bands and audiences in North Herts.
Their EP was recorded at Baldock’s London Road Studios and their track My Bitter Blood was adopted as Balstock’s official song in September, where the band played the SX Pro stage on the Saturday night.
They’re also regulars at Club 85. “The crowd is just awesome,” said Jamie. “The sound and production there is second to none and it’s fast becoming the place to go for live music and up and coming bands in Hertfordshire.”
And after the success of Crash And Burn, the band is also itching to get back into the studio to record a string of new songs. Find out more about what they’re up to online at www.nova-band.co.uk.
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