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The Backline Newsletter - Issue 2
Issue 2
Allan Watson
May 29, 2025
The Backline Newsletter
Issue 2 - Thursday, 29th May 2025
What’s This All About?
Welcome to The Backline Newsletter - your weekly fix of Scotland’s loudest and proudest. We’re here to spotlight the local legends, the DIY heroes, and the bands you need to know before everyone else claims they were first.
Each week, you’ll get:
A no-BS Q&A with a rising Scottish band
A must see gig of the week
Other shows worth leaving the house for
Gear picks, rehearsal room mayhem, and more
This is just the beginning - as we grow, expect deeper dives, more wild stories, and exclusive interviews not just with bands, but the venues, promoters, and characters who make Scottish music tick.
Let’s get loud.
Spotlight Q&A
This Week’s Feature Band: We’re Not Scared of Robots
1. Who’s in the band, and what do they play?
Adam Culley – Lead vocals & rhythm guitar (when he can be bothered learning the parts)
Marty Guyan – Bass
Gordy Jarvie – Lead guitar
Al Morris – Drums
2. Describe your sound in 5 words or less.
Energetic, Alternative, Unapologetic, Relentless, Rock
3. What was your first gig as a band?
Vibe nightclub in Airdrie. It was doing band nights. Wasn’t actually terrible.
4. Biggest show so far and how did it feel?
Headlining the Banshee Labyrinth in Edinburgh. Small venue, massive energy. The place was absolutely bouncing.
5. Which Scottish venue feels like home?
Banshee Labyrinth. We've got another show there for What The Actual Fck Fest* on June 29th - an all-dayer raising funds for Gaza and Ukraine.
6. If someone’s never heard of you what song should they start with?
Sway - our latest single. That’s the live show in a nutshell.
7. One band or artist you’d love to open for?
Tough one, but Offspring, Biffy, Green Day or Soulfly would do the trick.
8. Ever totally bombed live? What happened?
Not really. Early gigs had a few duds in the set, but we always had fun—whether 5 folk showed up or 200.
9. What’s a trend in music that needs to die immediately?
AI-generated music. Fk that and fk any industry using it to shaft real artists.
10. What venue do you pretend to love but secretly hate?
We love everywhere that books the Robots.
Essential Gear
Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner Pedal – “Unsung Hero of the Pedalboard”
It’s not flashy, it’s essential. The Boss TU-3 is built like a tank, works in any venue lighting, and its mute function allows you to tune up subtely. Should be the mainstay of any pedalboard.
Gig of the Week
THE HAUNT 5th June, King Tut’s, Glasgow
Dark, moody, and unpredictable. The Haunt roll into King Tut’s with a sound that smashes together glitchy synths, gritty rock, and noir-pop swagger. Florida siblings Anastasia and Max Haunt lead a band that feels like the soundtrack to a beautiful breakdown. Miss this, and regret it.
Best of the Rest
Electric Sunrise
2nd June - Bannermans, Edinburgh
3rd June - The Record Factory, Glasgow
4th June - The Bungalow, Paisley
5th June - McChuills, Glasgow
Straight from the US, this high-energy four-piece brings a genre-bending live set that bounces between funk, blues, rock, and full-tilt showmanship. Their sound constantly shifts but the intensity never drops.
Iggy Pop 29th June - O2 Academy, Glasgow
The Godfather of Punk needs no intro - raw, ragged, and still dangerous, Iggy Pop storms the O2 with the kind of swagger that most frontmen can only dream of. Expect chaos and classics.
Get Involved
Got a story from the rehearsal room, a feature you would like to see, a gig pick, or a gear review you want to share, or just want to plug some great Scottish music, suggest a band or get featured? Have you attended our gig pick - write a review we may feature it a future issue.
Hit us up at [email protected]
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