Ahead of their Oxford Mail Autumn Jamboree gig, Tim Hughes talks to The Dreaming Spires

Sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll. It’s the stuff of music legend and, for one Oxfordshire band, is the inspiration behind some of their best music.

They may be impeccably well-mannered and charming, but for their latest EP, The Dreaming Spires have swapped the pastoral charms of their home county for the seamy side of rock.

The record, Darkest Before the Dawn, is inspired by the misadventures of a musician friend in California who fell victim to the vagaries of the industry; his plight striking a chord with the band’s co-frontmen Robin and Joe Bennett.

“It’s about a friend who was going through terrible drug problems and was struggling with his life,” says Robin. “He introduced us to the music that inspired us and really shaped our sound – so we owed him.

“What was happening to him became an obsession. I’ve always felt music is therapeutic though, and hoped there was a cosmic element that if we wrote music for him, he would get better.”

The Dreaming Spires are an Oxford institution with a name to match, but their music is informed as much by the wide open skies of the American West as the rolling pastures and water meadows of the upper Thames.

Brothers Robin and Joe spent their youths listening to the laidback country-rock tunes of Gram Parsons, The Band and The Byrds, and honed their craft in California and New York – on long desert drives, seedy motels and late-night jam sessions with new friends met on the road – such as the unnamed ‘hero’ of their latest EP. The result is an irresistible mash-up of British pop, indie-rock and Americana, with hints of The Kinks, Beatles, Teenage Fanclub, Big Star, Dylan, Tom Petty and Neil Young.

On Saturday they launch their EP at the Oxford Mail’s Autumn Jamboree – a showcase of Oxford music with country-rock band The Knights of Mentis, and Oli Steadman of folk-pop legends Stornoway. The night promises moments of suitably mellow fruitfulness, but also enough dangerous dancing and adrenaline-soaked exhilaration to keep gig-goers on their feet through till midnight – after which they get an extra hour in bed (or perhaps in a late bar) to recover.

For fans of The Dreaming Spires, the show will be the last chance to see the band’s drummer Jamie Dawson, before he moves to California.

“This is the second drummer we’ve lost to California,” says Robin. “He’s going off to LA to live out Tom Petty lyrics – and he Won’t Back Down. I just hope he isn’t Free Fallin’!

“For him it was a choice between Didcot and California. But this will be a great chance to see him before he goes.”

The band are also handing out free tunes – with a download code issued to ticket-holders for new song Hype Bands (Parts I&II) – a funny, and gorgeously melodic broadside at flash-in-the pan fame (something no-one could accuse The Dreaming Spires of) and the rigours of working one’s way up the hard way.

The show also comes ahead of the release, next year, of their second album, the follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut Brothers In Brooklyn. That album was itself inspired by a road trip through the US West with their previous group Goldrush, while supporting another Oxford legend, Mark Gardener of ’90s ‘shoegazing’ band Ride, and through the brothers’ experiences in New York, where Joe lived for two years.

Oxford Mail:

Autumn almanac: Dreaming Spires headline Oxford Mail's showcase of Oxfordshire talent (credit Megan Bennett)

“We’ve been recording for a while,” says Robin, speaking from his home in Dorchester. Joe lives nearby in Steventon, where they also have a recording studio on the site of the annual Truck Festival, which they founded.

“We’ve been recording on the farm – which is always nice – and as a result we’ve put more time in ourselves. There’s a lot of detail in the new material and we are very happy with it.

“This EP carries on from the last album. The first song Hype Bands actually came from an encounter in LA with The Thrills back in our Goldrush Days. It’s about a band trying to make it through multiple failures, and how that helps you find out what it’s all about and the friendships you make on the road.

“The other tracks, Darkest Before the Dawn and House on Elsinore, are about our friend, and came out of what was supposed to have been a holiday, but ended up being a rescue mission.”

The show follows a series of live shows for Robin and Joe with their own band and alongside cult ’90s act St Etienne. The brothers joined Oxfordshire girl Sarah Cracknell’s outfit to perform their live soundtrack to the film How We Used to Live, as well as the band’s hits onstage at London’s Barbican.

The Autumn Jamboree also reunites the artists, who previously shared the bill at Wood Festival – the environmentally friendly music weekend founded by Robin and Joe and held each year at Braziers Park, near Wallingford – and it retains that gathering’s folk-rock and country feel.

“If you are in the rural surrounds of Oxford it seems the right kind of music to play,” says Robin.

“It’s as much English as American,” he smiles. “We are what used to be described as an ‘English popular beat combo’ – but with a bit of lap steel here and there. We haven’t even got a banjo – though we can get quite psychedelic.”

And as for their own experience of sex, drugs and rock and roll?

“Errr...!” Robin laughs.

“It hasn’t been very glamorous. We have had our moments, but there has also been a lot of sleeping on floors. Actually, there still is!

“There have been many ‘nearly’ moments, but also lots of adventures – like driving across the States in a beat-up Chevrolet van with no mirrors and breaking down in the desert. But there’s still nothing quite like spending the night on the floor to keep you grounded. I quite like it.”

FOLK ROCKERS KNIGHTS OF MENTIS AND STORNOWAY'S OLI JOIN LINE-UP

Bringing together three of Oxfordshire’s best acts, the Oxford Mail’s Autumn Jamboree promises to be one of the year’s most enjoyable nights of new music. 

As well as The Dreaming Spires, Saturday’s line-up features bluegrass folk-rock party band The Knights of Mentis and a solo set by Oli Steadman of folk-pop act Stornoway

Since coming together “by happy accident,” seven years ago, The Knights of Mentis have earned a huge following in the city, and beyond, for their beautiful acoustic melodies, soaring three-part harmonies and mischievous sense of fun. Mandolin player Francis Leneghan, fiddle player Sally Baden, accordionist Jem Bourgein, double bassist Malachy O’Neill, harmonica player Simon Baker and singers Peter Graham on guitar, Keith Birnie on banjo, and Jed Dale on lap steel will be playing favourites from their first album and a clutch of new tunes – with the odd fun cover thrown in for good measure. 

Oxford Mail:
Outstanding in their field: The Knights of Mentis

As a member of Stornoway, Oli Steadman has played everywhere from Glastonbury to London’s Somerset House and the Roundhouse. His own band Count Drachma are also a huge draw, with their blend of English folk-rock and Zulu music reflecting Oli’s South African heritage. Saturday’s show will see him playing a mix of solo and Count Drachma songs and the odd tune from Stornoway – who are responsible for such delicious hook-laden hits as Knock Me On the Head, You Take Me As I Am and Zorbing. 

Oxford Mail:
Calm before the 'Storn': Stornoway's Oli Steadman with his other band Count Drachma

The show will feature very special guests – including, it is rumoured, members of a lucky local jump-blues and vintage jazz band, as well as DJs spinning old-time floor-fillers and feel-good bluegrass barn-stormers. 

The fun takes place from 8pm-midnight. Tickets are available for just £8 in advance from wegottickets.com. Tickets include a free Dreaming Spires download code. 

CHECK IT OUT
The Dreaming Spires, The Knights of Mentis and Oli Steadman play the Jericho Tavern on Saturday. 

Tickets £8 in advance from wegottickets.com. click here

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