Celebrating the 20th anniversary of their pivotal debut album Thunder, Lightning, Strike this year, The Go! Team are set to bring their joyous energy and fizzing genre-defying sounds to the main stage of Deer Shed festival on Sunday 28th July. With seven albums under their belts, their live shows are a pretty uniquely euphoric experience to be a part of; so prepare to be swept up in gleeful ecstasy by their soaring funk-fused cacophonies and swirling sunny charisma.
We caught up with the band, fresh from their set at Glastonbury last weekend, to find out more about their live shows, kids on tour and the challenges of the industry today… Have a read, then check out our playlist of bands and artists – including The Go! Team – that we’re most looking forward to checking out at Deer Shed Festival at the end of this month.
You’ve just played Glasto, for the the fourth time! How was that for you?
Yeah, it went like a dream! We were up against Shania Twain, I believe – clash of the titans.
And how did the experience compare to the other times you’ve played the festival?
The first time we played in 2005 the PA died, so that was a disaster, so anything is an improvement after that… We have seven albums of songs to pull from, so we can kinda do a “greatest hits” set!
As a band known for the joyous energy of your live sets, how do you normally prepare for your performances? Do you have any sort of special routine that you do together before playing?
Well, we don’t do a Madonna-style prayer circle or anything! It’s always been an unspoken thing that we bring it in the live shows – it was never discussed really. Ninja can be asleep five minutes before show time and the next moment she’s doing cartwheels.
I was lucky enough to see you live back in 2018 at Electric Ballroom in Camden, after having been a massive fan as a teen in the early noughties, and it was such an uplifting experience! Is there a particular show you’ve played over the last twenty years that stands out as a highlight or especially memorable for you?
Selling out the Roundhouse in Camden was a big one for me. We still feel like a cult band to me – a well kept secret. So, that was a big deal.
And you have a few more festivals coming up this summer, including lovely Deer Shed Festival at the end of this month – are there any particular festival essentials that you like to take with you to get through a weekend of camping?
Just an olympic weight frisbee.
As I’m sure you’ve seen, Deer Shed Festival places a particular focus on being as family friendly as possible, with loads of amazing activities for children, and just a really lovely intimate and safe vibe. With some of you being parents of small children, is this something you think is important for festivals to try to embrace?
Yes, Ninja and Nia in the band have young kids. They actually both took them on a West Coast USA tour recently – from Vancouver down to LA. Touring and kids aren’t really supposed to go together so I can’t believe how they made it happen! As you can imagine, we come off stage late, but the kids will still be up at the crack of dawn, so it pushes you to the limit. So, respect to them.
For children and young people who want to get into playing music or start a band, what advice would you give?
Less shredding – more angle. It doesn’t matter about being the best player, but bands should take an approach and decide what they are. I love the idea that bands exist in their own unique universe.
And what is your opinion of the opportunities that are on offer for young people in the arts at the moment? Would you say it’s got any easier or more difficult to get involved, and be heard, in the music industry now than when you started out?
It’s kind of mixed. The barriers to making music are down in some ways, as you can record at home cheaply and stick it up on streaming, but it’s easy to get lost and it can feel like everyone is clambering to be heard. For a minute it looked like the majors were fucked, but they were shrewd enough to just own the streaming world…
As we’re an organisation with a focus on supporting women and queer people in music, I just wondered how you feel the industry is for them today? Do you feel much has changed over the years in its treatment of them, and other marginalised groups?
When we started in the mid noughties it did feel more like a ‘boys club’ to me, and The Go Team was a kind of response to the bullshit NME ‘lads-on-tour’ fantasy they were peddling. I’ve always loved bands with mixed genders, and am always a bit put off by bands that are just full of blokes.
And are there any new artists or bands that you’ve come across recently that you’d recommend we check out?
I really like a fella called Charif Megarbane – he does amazing kinda library inspired groovy instrumentals
Finally, in addition to playing lots of live dates, what else does the rest of 2024 have in store for The Go! Team?
We’re heading back to East Coast USA. We’ll be there around election time, ending up in Washington DC the day before, which will be terrifying but pretty interesting! Will be steering clear of the Proud Boys, but apart from that I will be continuing my life long mission of trying to make schizo channel hopping sounds – I really want to push harder with wildly different genres sellotaped into the same song.
Massive thanks to The Go! Team for answering our questions! Check out their special 20th Anniversary edition of Thunder, Lightning, Strike, which is out now on translucent red vinyl via Memphis Industries. We can’t wait to see their set at Deer Shed Festival, along with an eclectic range of other awesome bands and artists that we’re excited to be seeing, including CMAT, Los Bitchos, Liz Lawrence, Personal Trainer, Jessica Winter, Cerys Hafana, Nana Benz Du Togo and Picture Parlour. In addition to loads of lovely music, Deer Shed also prides itself on its family friendly focus, hosting a variety of activities such as kayaking, skateboarding, tree climbing and a ‘nurf gun arena’! There’ll also be some great literary voices featuring at the festival, including John Niven, Simon Armitage and Vanessa Kisuule. Something for everyone, basically. Plus Get In Her Ears will be DJ-ing at the In The Dock stage on Friday night, treating y’all to some of our favourite danceable tunes by women and queer artists – not to be missed!
Deer Shed is just a few weeks away – from Friday 26th July to Sunday 28th July – and tickets are running very low, so nab yours here now! And listen to our playlist of bands and artists that we’re most excited about seeing at the festival to get you in the mood here.
Photo Credit: David Richardson
Get In Her Ears 