The New Look Lucky Number 7s!

Kerry Coogan catches up with the band after their packed out charity gig in Moseley.

“Only a few months being back as our new life as the Lucky Number 7s and I can’t actually believe how well we are doing!” said Jonny White (lead vocalist). Jonny is one, out of the five members in the Lucky Number 7s band which are based in Birmingham. The band has just recently had their comeback gig in February, at The Pat Kav’s (The Patrick Kavanagh Bar) in Moseley, Birmingham. The gig went so well, that they followed it up in March for Macmillan Cancer, again at The Pat Kav’s. The indie cover band, who got together 3 years ago, have just come back after a long break, are now covering a variety of indie and rock songs to suit all comers. Their influences for their songs mainly come from Killers, Oasis, Kings of Leon, The Beatles, Kasabian, Stone Roses and U2. “We enjoy covering songs from these bands and artists because we all love this genre of music and we all enjoy covering them,” said Chris Webb (lead guitarist). “Even if their obviously nowhere near as good as the originals,” laughed Jack Reilly (bass guitarist) followed by the rest of them. “We are quite good with our covers if I’m honest, even though we cannot replicate the originals we try our best and we enjoy doing them. The best thing is that people love the way we sing them as well which gives us all a great buzz, especially when we’re on stage and after because it makes us just want to play more songs!” stated Jonny. Jonny who fronts the band cannot believe how far they have come in the past few months as the new Lucky Number 7s. He’s also stated how many gigs they are getting nowadays and this is the best reaction they have had off people over the 3 years the band has been established. The band has even surprised itself over the past few months at how well everything is coming together with the new addition and reaction to their gigs. “The amount of support that we get off people is astonishing and great to know that people love what we do!” says Jack with Martin Bodman, another lead guitarist and Simon Pearson who plays the drums, nodding in agreement.

The Lucky Number 7s themselves span several generations with their age ranging across nineteen to thirty-nine. This shows that age is just a number to their band and it doesn’t matter, it’s the music that does. In fact this strengthens their musical knowledge and diversifies their tastes with an eclectic cohesion. The youngest band member, Jack, looks up to the others not simply because they are older but can also benefit from their experiences within a hostile music industry. “I look up to the other lads and I learn things that I never knew which will help me in the future. They don’t treat me like a kid either.”

Here’s the rest of the interview…

Lucky Number 7s is quite a unique name for a band, how did you come up with this name? Jonny – “That’s a funny question actually. We basically took ages to come up with an original, unique, quirky name for our band. We didn’t have a clue to be honest and then all of a sudden Simon realised we all had the number 7 in our birth dates.” Simon – “I don’t know what made me think of that, it was just so random! Then Chris came up with the Lucky Numbers bit because his lucky number was 7. It all just came together then that the name would be The Lucky Number 7s.” Chris – “Yeah, we all loved the name and agreed it was the perfect name for our band!”

Have there been any members that have left the band and any new people that have joined it in the 3 years you have been together? Jack – “I’ve only been in the band a few months, but I’m so glad I had the opportunity to join it! I really love the atmosphere of it and I always enjoy rehearsing and playing on stage with all these lads, we have a right craic and a laugh with each other!”

To the rest of the band, what impact has Jack had since joining? Jonny – “If I’m totally honest the band has come so much further in these past few months that Jack has been in it. It took some time to get used to a new member but because some of us knew him and knew what he was capable of, we knew it wouldn’t be long until we felt like a proper band.” Simon – “He has had such a great impact on the band; he’s opened minded to every song we suggest and always gives it a try. He is definitely a hardworking kid and we’re glad to have him in our band.”

So Jack, had you been in a band before joining the Lucky Number7s or..? Jack – “I was in a band before called ‘Red Morning Light’ and I really enjoyed being in it. I started playing in that band when I was 18 and I loved playing bass and singing some vocals. However I must say I am so much happier and glad that I’m playing in this band now.”

Why did you leave ‘Red Morning Light’ then Jack? Jack – “Knew you would ask that! Basically, even though I wasn’t running the band, it felt like I was. I was devising the set lists for our gigs, trying to arrange rehearsals etc because I just wanted to play to people. It got to a point where the other members just couldn’t be arsed and I don’t know why, maybe they had other things which were more important but even having a job I always used to find the time to fit in music because it is what I love. A charity event that we was supposed to be playing at the ‘Sedgemere Sports and Social Club’ got ruined because the night before it, one of them rang me and said they couldn’t do it, which weren’t on. So I stayed up the whole night practising on my own what songs I could do for it because I didn’t want to let the event down. After that, I knew that weren’t the band for me to be in.”

Let’s hope you haven’t jinxed it now then Jack by saying that, you won’t let him down will you? Jonny – “Definitely not! We are not like that, music is our passion and it’s what we love as well so whenever there is time to fit in music, we do it!” Simon – “I think Jack’s last band was just a bit immature, as we are older and more mature we know what we want to do so when we do it we love it! I really think Jack fits well in this band with us and we can tell how much he enjoys himself!” whilst putting his arm around Jack.

So enough about you now Jack! Is it hard to inform people about upcoming gigs? Martin – “My job of the band is to put the information on our Facebook page and make posters for Facebook so it will attract people’s attention. Facebook is a great way to let people know of our upcoming gigs by devising invites events on there, which people can join or decline. We can then guess how many people will be turning up to each gig which is great.”

Here is your chance now to tell people and your fans of your upcoming gigs now! So go on…. Simon – “To be the first to know about our gigs just like our Facebook page, ‘Lucky Number 7s’. We put all the information on there where our next gigs are happening! But I do know we have got quite a few gigs coming up in the next few weeks in Kings Heath, Digbeth and Yardley. So, for more information on that just like our page!” They all laughed.

I also see that you post some videos on Youtube, are they doing well? Jonny – “They are actually doing really well to be honest, which we’re glad! We have posted them on Facebook as well for people that don’t know they’re on Youtube. I think it’s a great way to listen to the type of music we do before you come to one of our gigs, so then if you like us then there is no hesitiation to book us!” Jack – “The more the merrier!” They all laughed.

People that have came to see you play and loved it, will go and tell their friends and then follow you to your next gig. Obviously this a great help to you? Martin – “Of course it is a great help! The amount of support we have off people is amazing, they just love a night out listening to their favourite songs because we cater for everyone that loves indie music.” Jack –“My mates always come along to our gigs which is amazing, the amount of support they bring us every time we play. Every time we gig there’s even more people with my friends telling friends of friends they should go too. I am really grateful to have such good friends who support us and our love for music! My family are also very supportive because they always try to arrange gigs for us and put a good word in for us to play at parties.”

So what do you expect from the future? Jonny – “I honestly don’t know. But I do know that we won’t be giving up.”

Throughout the interview I could tell how down to earth they all were. They also showed how much respect they have for each other but could see how well they all get along with them having a laugh and the banter.

You can catch the Lucky Number 7s at their gig at The Old Crown in Digbeth, Saturday 6th April. To find out more about their upcoming gigs you can follow and like their Facebook page, ‘Lucky Number 7s’.