The Scottish-Alternative Band, THE PHANTOMS Reveal Their Inspirations, What’s Been A Favorite Memory and More!

The Phantoms formed in 2012 in their home of Scotland. They quickly earned an army of fans with their huge sound and infectious on-stage energy.

Influenced by Kasabian, Royal Blood, Catfish and the Bottlemen and Arctic Monkeys, their new single “Wasting Time” is a perfect example of the sound that has earned The Phantoms the reputation as one of Scotland’s most exciting prospects! The band consists of Colin Simpson, (Lead Vocals/Rhythm guitar) Colin Mckillop, (Lead Guitar), Peter Stewart (Bass) and Blair Cullen (Drums)

Learn more about The Phantoms in the following interview:

How did the band come together? How did you all meet originally?

We all knew each other through school, Myself(Colin Mckillop) and Colin Simpson had both been in a band together before this started and we knew the other two from schoo so it was kind of a progression.

How did your band’s name come about?

The band name came about from an old record I had. Miles Kane used to front a band called The Rascals who had a song called “Freakbeat Phantoms” that I had on 12-inch, and it came out of that.

How have you grown since you started?

From listening to some of the early stuff we wrote for our first EP, and comparing to the last single, and this one, you can definitely see a progression in the way we write, and the way we sound. Our influences have changed a bit over that time, but it just seems like a natural progression from the EP to where we are now.

What sets you apart from other bands?

We’d like to think we’re doing something unique, a lot of bands just try to copy their influences, and I think more than anything doing something a bit different definitely sets us apart.

On your Facebook page, your influences range from The Beatles to the Artic Monkeys. Can you explain those very different influences?

Those are a bit outdated! The Arctic Monkeys one probably still stands a bit. But in terms of this single, we wrote it when the “Royal Blood” album came out and we were listening to that a bit, it’s quite heavy and this single is probably the heaviest track we’ve done so that’s definitely influenced us.

Since you formed in 2011, you’ve gone on a UK tour and supported bands like Catfish and the Bottlemen and We Were Promised Jetpacks. What has been the most surprising thing about touring? What’s your favorite thing about touring?

The tour was insane, being in a different place every night and stuff, it was brilliant. Catfish and the Bottlemen are a band that mean loads to us, Me and Colin Simpson have been listening to them for ages and in the past year they’ve grown so much, so to say we’ve played with them is amazing.

Are there any plans to tour the US in the near future?

We’d love to, but unfortunately we have no plans to at the moment!

What is the music scene like in Scotland? Are you getting recognized over there? What’s that been like?

There’s loads of bands doing exciting stuff just now, Glasgow is definitely where it’s at. I think where we’re at right now as a band is probably as good as it’s been for while, but it’s been a while since we’ve released something as well.

Let’s talk about your current single, “Wasting Time”. Where did the inspiration for this song come from

I kind of answered this already but we wrote it when the “Royal Blood” record came out and we listened to that a bit. Its a pretty heavy album and this is probably the heaviest track we’ve done so far so it definitely influenced us in that sense. We always listen to Catfish and the Bottlemen as well so that always influences a bit. Though we want the track to be individual, we don’t want to copy other bands, we wanted it to be better than our last single.

What would you say the band has already accomplished and what do you have your eyes set on next?

When we first started it was always like, if we ever play King Tut’s we’ll be happy with that. And now we’ve done it, and we’re about to play it for a 3rd time. I think every time that happens you just move on, and aim for something a bit higher. For us now its like, we need to play T Break. I think every unsigned band in Scotland is aiming for the same thing, they all want to play T in the Park.

Thus far, what’s a favorite memory or something quirky that’s taken place with the band (in-studio, onstage, or elsewhere)?

Like I said before for us when we started we set ourselves on playing King Tut’s. And then we got there and you walk up the stairs and see “1993 – Oasis” “2003 – The Libertines” “2005 – Arctic Monkeys” …And you realise you’re playing in the same place they’ve all been, it’s insane.

Any pre-performance rituals?

None really, our last show was headlining Sneaky Pete’s last year and we walked onto a remix of “Hey Now” by London Grammer. Is that a ritual? We’ve only done it once…

Is there anything in particular that you’d like people to take away from listening to your music?

We just want people to remember something, whether it’s a riff or the lyrics, we just want to catch people with something and give them something to hold onto.