As the Recent Opener For The ROLLING STONES, The British Alt Band THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT Are Pinching Themselves!

THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT fuse inspirations such as The Rolling Stones, Faces, Little Feat, Bobby Womack and The Black Crowes into their own authentic blast of blues ’n’ soul drenched rock ’n’ roll. They just completed a headlining U.S. tour as well as shows with Blackberry Smoke, they were asked to be the special guest artist opening for The Rolling Stones on June 12th at the Orlando Citrus Bowl.

“Our band formed on a shared agreement that nobody could ever touch the Rolling Stones. ‘Sticky Fingers’ alone contains some of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll performances of all time. To open up for them is an honor beyond all our expectations and to watch them still killing it is just pure black magic,” said the band.

Learn more about the band – Phil Campbell (vocals), Paul Sayer (guitar), Luke Potashnick (guitar), Nick Fyffe (bass) and Damon Wilson (drums), their latest release and more in the following All Access interview:

(From Damon Wilson – Drummer with The Temperance Movement)

Where does this interview find you all today?

Strangely enough, we’re all at our homes in London and in the case of Phil, our singer, Glasgow. This band was formed, because we all met in London. It’s a musician’s city and it’s unusual for us to be at home. Since things started to go big for the band about 18 months ago, we’ve hardly been home!

Do you recall the moment that you all decided to start this group? How did you come up with your name?

The band actually started in phases with Luke and Paul and Phil deciding to write some songs for a new band. Nick and I were added on bass and drums a few months later. I remember three of them coming to my house one day after we’d done a handful of shows and laid it on me. “We want to take this band seriously and we want you along with us.” Up until then the whole thing was pretty casual. Very much a part time affair. I was already feeling that we had something special going on so to hear that everyone else was feeling it too was killer. There’s nothing better than the excitement of expectation.

As for the name The Temperance Movement, it was an idea from one of Phil’s pals. We all liked the tongue in cheek idea of a rock ‘n roll band that preaches abstinence from drinking. Plus it sounds good as a name. And let’s face it, that’s the most important factor in a band name. 

How excited are you to be opening for the Rolling Stones in Florida next week? What was it like getting that call that they wanted you to open for them? What was it like opening for them last year in Europe?

To honest I was pretty annoyed! There I was by the pool getting my shoulders rubbed and the next thing I know I’ve got to take a call from Mick Jagger. Doesn’t he know how important our relaxation time is?!? But seriously, we’re super psyched to be doing this show in the U.S., partly because The Stones are rumored to be playing all of Sticky Fingers. That’s gonna be special. But I think more importantly for us, it’s our first enormous American stage and we follow in the great tradition of invading British bands. So to open for one of the first UK bands to ever do that in the States feels surreal. And hopefully a damn fine omen. Yes, we’ve done some big shows with them before, but not somewhere where you can walk off stage and go buy a hot dog right after the show. Now that’s cool, right?

How was your previous headlining US tour? What were some of your favorite venues and crowds?

We kind of started this band so we could tour America. The musical landscape of the band is shaped more by the blues and rock ‘n roll which all stems for the U.S. It felt right to be playing our music there. Favorites? That’s tough. There were so many good shows. And there’s a whole bunch of different reasons why. Detroit, because they looked like they wanted to eat us alive. New York, because they didn’t act at all like an NYC crowd – instead they went wild. Louisville, because they took us to their hearts.  Green Bay. Amazing venue. Brilliant people. If I left out your city it’s only because there’s too many to choose from. Seriously! America is way too big! Have you ever considered selling off some of it to Cuba? It would make our job a whole lot easier.     

A few months ago, you released your self-titled debut album. What are some of the emotions that go along with releasing an album?

Wow that’s an excellent question. Relief. Panic. Self doubt. Hope. Excitement. But overall, it’s a sort of therapy that us musicians need. It’s either release an album or sign up for electro shock therapy.

“Take It Back” is the album’s first single. What was the inspiration for that song? What are other songs on the record that you are particularly proud of?

I’m super proud of every song. It never would’ve occurred to us that “Take It Back” would be a single or get played on the radio. That song has been turned inside out, because it’s written about going on the road and trying fit back in to home life when you return. So now that we’re touring so much we get to see that song commentate on our lives as we’re living them.

Tell me about being selected as the iHeartRadio On The Verge Artist earlier this year?

Well, it was a shock and an honor at the same time. The other bands that have been previously chosen like Royal Blood and Arctic Monkeys are fantastic so we were just happy to be in good company.

So far, what’s been the most surprising thing about the music industry?

That it’s still here! Sometimes I look around and think, “Surely people don’t want more new music do they?” But it turns out that people are as excited about new music as they’ve ever been. And that makes us very happy. I’d say it’s the fans that are the most surprising.

What bands have consistently inspired you as a band? Do you have many different music tastes?

The Rolling Stones for never giving up and never changing. Radiohead for almost giving up and always changing. The Black Crowes for pushing through the hard times. This band has a pretty wide range in musical tastes. Everything from Alt-J to Bonnie Rait to Parliament to White Denim to Dungen to Tame Impala to War on Drugs to Led Zeppelin. I’m amazed we sound the way we do!

Anything else you would like our readers to know about the band or your music?

This feels like that question at the end of the job interview where you really want to say something inspiring like, “Well my friends say I work too hard” or “My biggest fault is my loyalty to the company.”  I guess if this band had to have a motto, I guess it’d be, “Putting the soul back into rock ‘n roll” or something to that effect. That sounds kind of cheesy, but we do care very deeply about making incredibly good music in the studio and out on the road and we know that takes an awful lot of work.

And we’re OK with that!