YOUNG, dumb and full of fun, melodic punk-pop quartet State Of Affairs will represent Edinburgh next week at T in the Park when they headline Friday night's unsigned band T-Break stage.
The Leith-based band earned the right to play the same festival as some of their heroes after impressing the judges at this year's T–Break competition in the Capital.
But, as singer and band guitarist David Latto says, there was a moment during th
e band's showcase where he thought they may be over-looked.
"On the night, we had a few technical difficulties. The bass drum pedal snapped, I couldn't see my guitar fx pedals properly, nor could my guitar stay in tune at some points, either.
"Thankfully we won the heat alongside another Edinburgh band, Come On Gang!, but the wait between winning the heat and finding out if we would get to play T in the Park was about three weeks long. It seemed like we were waiting forever. Then I got the call to say, 'Congratulations'."
Despite being in their early 20s, the band have been together since they were approximately 12 years old. There's such a strong bond between them that, just like in The Monkees' TV show, the entire band decided to live together, which, Latto reveals, worked wonders for their songwriting - even if it meant annoying the neighbours.
"We all live in the same Leith flat," says the 20-year-old, who also works as a room attendant at the Hilton Hotel. "We rehearse there, too, so, as you can imagine, with all the drums banging about we've had a few complaints from the neighbours. Thankfully one of the other band members studies at Stevenson College, meaning we can rehearse at the college's studio sometimes."
Also featuring Grant Jeffrey (bass and backing vocals), Hands Hannigan (guitar and backing vocals) and Andrew Lennie (drums), the band cite The Smiths, The Clash and Billy Bragg among their influences.
Yet despite being together for more than seven years,they only recently got round to embarking on their first tour which, Latto recalls, meant camping on the outskirts of London.
"We played places like Reading, Islington and Hastings. We all piled into the van and set off, so, to cut costs, we brought tents and pitched up just outside north London. It was a little bit scary but there was eight of us, so we weren't too frightened."
The next van trip for the lads will be a shorter one, when they journey to Balado next week. However, says Napier music student, Latto, the lure of seeing much revered Brit-rockers The Verve on the Main Stage may result in losing out on attracting potential new fans.
"We're on at exactly the same time as The Verve, which is a bit unfortunate, but we're still absolutely delighted to be there.
"The organisers gave us one spare ticket each, so I better give one to my girlfriend or I'll be in the bad books. And who knows – maybe I'll even get my photo taken with Michael Stipe."
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State Of Affairs, T in the Park, Balado, T-Break Stage, next Friday – Don't Miss The Guide's Guide to T in the Park next week.The full article contains 542 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
