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Sparrow & The Workshop

Glaswegian trio Sparrow & The Workshop have just got off tour with Idlewild...

Glaswegian trio Sparrow & The Workshop have just got off tour with Idlewild, and they've just (all in November) released a new single, 'A Horse's Grin', and a seven-track EP, 'Into the Wild'. They have a lot of material, so it only follows that they must have a lot of influences, right?

So, without further a do, over to Jill, Nick and Gregor to tell us about them.

"Thanks for asking us to write this, we will try to give you a brief idea of what excited us about music and makes us wanna play the stuff. There are so many influences that we had to leave a bunch out for the sake of brevity. Nonetheless, three things from film, books and music that made us each wanna bang around on some instruments were the following:"

Dad's Old Tape Collections

Jill: I found Tom Waits, Van Morrison, Talking Heads, Jimmy Cliff, the Jam and plenty more to get me thinking music was better than jolly ranchers.

Jim Jarmusch Flims

Jill: The soundtracks to his films made ordinary events like walking seem amazing.

The Short Stories Of Flannery O'Conner

Jill: These ethical dilemmas of mankind told in a southern gothic style kinda get you thinking about your own life and the people around you. Inspiring for lyrics, to say the least.

Southpark

Nick: I like poo jokes.

Sebadoh - Harmacy

Nick: Sounds like three guys who really enjoy making music.

Walter Sickert

Nick: For his grubby paintings flickering with tiny elements of abstraction.

The Movie 'Fandango'

Gregor: Mostly because of the cinematograpy, soundtrack, sense of fun and escapism.

Metallica - And Justice For All

Gregor: For the sheer buzz and energy and the effect it has on a teenage boy.

The 'Sin City' Series

Gregor: The confidence, darkness and simplicity of Frank Miller's artwork blows my mind.