A Dirty Dozen with ROBBIE McSKIMMING from DANCING ON TABLES – October 2022

According to a recent press release: “Scottish band Dancing On Tables have released “So What” the second single off their upcoming debut album Colour In The Grey, out October 14 on Enci Records (Fences, Kulick, The Joy Formidable). Of their upcoming debut full-length, the band says, “It feels like the last 3 years of our life have all been building up to this album. You can hear the journey that we’ve been on as a group as you go through the tracks, with stories of love, happiness, loss and frustration sang on top of a sound that we have worked hard to define by combining our original rock influences with our favourite modern music alt-pop styles.” We get Robbie to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

“So What” takes us a bit out of our comfort zone musically, which makes it one of our favourites that we’ve released. It really embraces the rockier edge of the band. We played about with the dynamics of the track a lot when we were recording, so there’s parts of the song where it suddenly drops and builds back up, which is something  you might not appreciate first time round.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

I always loved performing on being on stage, but I had only ever played piano till I was 15, which didn’t give me any hope of being in a band. I had friends that were in bands, so I decided to teach myself guitar and try to learn how to sing as I realised that was the best chance I had of joining in with them.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

The first album I ever had on constant repeat was my Dad’s copy of AC/DC’s If You Want Blood You’ve Got It. The music, mixed with how the crowd was reacting to it, captivated 7 year old me. The fact that it was recorded in Glasgow (near where we grew up) made it even more special.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

I would love to work with Albert Hammond Jr from The Strokes. I’ve always loved their music, and the albums that he has both released himself and produced are always playing in my house.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour?  What do you like to do to unwind?

Any kind of sport. If it’s not playing, then watching. I’ve got really into the NFL recently and am dying to get to a game next time we’re on tour there.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

We got described as ‘Power Pop’ recently which I enjoyed, probably because I’ve never heard the phrase before. I normally say that we are radio friendly music with guitar solos…

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

We all good cooks apart from Reece the drummer who can only make toast. Hamish (guitar) is always the one getting drinks, which is normally to everyone else’s detriment the next day and Cal always has a guitar in his hand.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

I met my local football team’s manager in a shopping centre a few weeks ago. That is a big deal for the young version of me!

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

I should probably say something cool here like an astronaut, but I would love to work on a farm with the animals.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

I hate answering why we are called Dancing On Tables, as none of us can actually remember. We always play versions of ‘Kiss – Marry – Kill when we are in the can on tour, so would always enjoy those questions.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

Write more music earlier. We are constantly writing now and have no idea how we managed to release any music when we started 3 or 4 years ago and would write a song a month at most.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

If You Want Blood You’ve Got It – but I would be singing along in the crowd.

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Category: Interviews