Years ago, DAKESIS members Amie Chatterley and Gemma Lawler had a conversation in the middle of a field about putting on a festival in the UK that was dedicated to showing power metal bands. Fast forward to today; the festival is in it’s 5th year and it has sold out. Rock Out Stand Out’s Lotty Whittingham spoke to backing vocalist/bass player and festival organiser Amie about the balance between performing and running a festival, mental health and who she would have in her fantasy super group.
Hello Amie, how are you?
Not too bad and thanks for having me again. I’m gearing up for Saturday.
The past couple of times I interviewed both you and Gemma [Lawler], you were solely running the festival. Now, not only are you both running the festival, you’re performing too. How do you balance that time?
It’s very difficult performing and running a festival. It’s something we do try to avoid but as you may be aware, we cancelled our HRH Birmingham show earlier on in the year. A lot of fans were quite upset and disappointed that they weren’t going to see us so we made the executive decision to give ourselves a slot at our own festival as a thank you for supporting us and please come see us. We had some limited ticket transfers for people that were going to come to us if they got in touch with us and showed us proof of purchase then we would offer those tickets to the fans.
In terms of on the day, I have a fantastic crew so somebody will be depping for me whilst I’m on stage. It’s very go go go but by the time we get to performing, all the hard work should hopefully be done and we can focus on playing some awesome music.
It’s Power Metal Quest Fest’s 5th Anniversary, I suppose Dakesis performing as part of this is special in itself really.
Yes I suppose so. Technically, it’s our 6th anniversary if we count virtual Quest Fest but yeah that’s why we have our double headline feature this year because we wanted to do something a little bit special. So yes that is one we could see it that Dakesis playing their own festival for the 5th year anniversary is a bit special.
I had the pleasure of catching you at Bloodstock this year, I really loved your open support for the LGBTQIA + community during this set. Will we see the pride flag again at Quest Fest?
Maybe, it depends what flag we take with us. I feel the pride flag might be a bit too big for The Asylum but I’ll see what I can do, I’ll see if I can convince Gemma to pull one out. That was a great set and a lot of people enjoyed our nod to the LGBTQIA +.
I know a lot of people say bands shouldn’t get involved with politics but for the most part, we’re very professional and we don’t talk a huge deal about ourselves individually. We tend to put that into the music but you know at least half of us are part of the LGBTQIA + scene. Some of our crew are non-binary, we’ve had a lot of trans people working for us before and we’re really passionate about supporting diversity and inclusion.
As we have spoken before in interviews, at Quest Fest in general we really are passionate about creating safe supportive scenes and we decided a big show like Bloodstock was a platform to let people know, we’re go their backs.
I experienced that inclusivity last year at the festival. I loved that even when busy, you were checking in on people and keeping them up to date with news that could effect their festival travel like the train strikes.
Thank you. We’ve had train strikes before in the past and it’s completely outside our control but if there is anything we can do to give people information and to support them getting to the festival, we will always do that. We will always look at other avenues we can use, we have people messaging us about accommodation and where they can go. We do try to respond to people as often as we can, sometimes it is difficult when we get super busy. The fans are what make the festival and without the fans, we wouldn’t have made it to our 5th/kind of 6th year.
And it’s sold out, which is amazing.
I know, that crept up on me. I was actually in Europe for Ayreon when that news came up. That’s the thing with event management; you have to go out and do all your other things like going to see awesome shows but the whole time, I am checking on tickets, capacity and ensuring we’re not breaching health and safety. Then suddenly, you have to let everyone know what’s happening so it was a nice surprise for that to happen and watch the countdown of the last ten tickets go. It’s really great we managed to have another sold out show and it means there is hope for us expanding in the future too.
If bands this interview are interested in applying to play for Power Metal Quest Fest, what do they need to do?
We have an application form on our website, which can be found by clicking here. So bands can apply that way. We are really passionate about giving a platform to new, independent artists. I do personally vet every single application and I am always looking for those hidden gems but we are a currently a power, prog and heavy metal festival. Everything we do is very melodic so we don’t accept applications from Death Metal and other heavier bands on the scene. It’s not because we don’t like them, I love Death Metal. It’s because we are trying to build a niche part of the metal scene for the melodic part of the scene that we don’t get in other places.
Going back to Dakesis; for those who haven’t heard you before, how would you describe your sound?
If you have big emotions and can’t express them, we cover a vast array of emotions through the medium of really epic metaphors. There’s a lot of delving into dark mental health, bereavement and struggles with making it through the metaphors with battling space dragons, space ships and space wizards. It’s a lot fun, very cinematic and soundtrack based. A lot of people describe us as pompous progressive power metal but with Disney style choruses and I’m really into that, we do bring a lot of Disney choruses into the mix.
You mention Disney, would you consider covering a Disney song or a Disney medley?
Maybe, a lot of work goes into that. So it’s either should we work on our own album or should we do a Disney medley and that’s how we get into situations like Womenowar or Quest Fest. We have these crazy ideas and run with them.
For those haven’t seen Dakesis live before, what can they expect?
Probably some sparkles, I’m not sure what Gemma’s costuming is going to be for this show but there is generally sparkles. Lots of widly, progressive riffs and soaring vocals. Also just a good wholesome time.
Going back to mental health, what’s the most important lesson you have learnt with regards to taking care of your mental health?
There are so many. I think the biggest one is having an awareness of yourself in general. Being working musicians, we spend a lot of time on the road or in the studio which is dark and there no light. We work long hours and we also teach, so there is a danger to burning out really quickly. Particularly as some of us are from the neuro-spicy side of things, we tend to get hyper fixated on things and being able to recognise some early warning trigger for yourself to keep yourself on track is very important.
This week I know is going to be super busy for me, I also have my daughter at home with me so balancing my full time teaching and running a festival. My house looks like a Cash N Carry, Sunday I spent all day batch cooking to put in the freezer so I don’t have to spend mental energy to think what I am going to feed myself. Otherwise I won’t eat and I won’t feel great.
What tips and suggestions do you have for people in the music industry about taking care of yourself mentally?
Eating well, recognising how you are feeling which can be difficult sometimes. I always say this to my students that we are the only industry where taking drugs and drinking is acceptable when you’re at work; that can have a monumental effect on your mental health. Staying up late, partying, drinking; it’s not something we do as a band and absolutely no shade on anyone else doing that but those that are new to the industry, it’s really important to treat this as what it is; a job and a professional career. You wouldn’t behave that way if you worked in a local bank so don’t do that to yourself here either and give yourself a break.
You mentioned Ayreon earlier and they have lots of guests. Who would be in your dream supergroup?
In our dream super group, obviously we would have Floor Jansen, we would definitely have Russell Allen, Michael Romeo and Tom Englund. I’m very aware I’m just reciting the Ayreon cast right now. I would also have Brittney Slayes, she is now top of my list as she was amazing. Not sure of any other instrumentalists, I will get back to you on that but those are definitely some of the people we would love to have involved.
Do you have a message for Dakesis fans, Power Metal Quest Fest goers and our readers?
As always, we would love to give a shout out and thanks to anyone who supports what we do. Also keep on supporting your local, independent artists. Those of us that are independent, DIY or people that are new to the scene, give their music a chance because you never know if they’re going to be the next best thing and they really value your support; whether that’s through attending gigs, buying their merchandise, sharing their stuff online or commenting on their social media posts. Support your independent artists.
Thank you so much Amie for speaking with Rock Out Stand today and best of luck with the festival.
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