On Thursdays Del Osei-Owusu sits down with an artist on the Fresh On The Net radar and gets them to tell their origin story over a cup of tea and biscuits. This week it’s the turn of FOTN moderator and poet Chris Ingram and he brought digestives for dunking!

Hello Chris, how are you?

Hello Del, you delicious being! I’m good, I’m buzzing, I’m fuelled by Eastern European Coffee.

Congratulations on the release of Jawbreaker how does it feel?

JAWBREAKER was a nice track to get off my chest and it’s got a very different feel to the stuff I do solo. It’s a very band track.

What’s the story behind the song?

The song is named after those horrendous gobstoppers from my childhood. They literally shut kids up though so I suspect that’s why my folks were so keen to buy me then! The peelings and gristle behind the whistle though is a lovely moment where my fellow band member, Richard Geraghty got a ferry over from Ireland last year. We had a tidy gig booked in Sneaky Petes in Edinburgh. So I got him off the ferry and as we are doing the midnight drive to Edinburgh he get’s his laptop out and says I’ve just written this into to a song…2 hours later the lyrics were down. We rehearsed it with Andy Duncan who performs drums and vocals and did it that night!

It’s with your band Trandoshan Hunters how did they come into being?

I’ve known Richard and Andy for many years. Go too guys. Imagine if Glastonbury or 6 Music Festival came calling like those heist films and you need the go to guys who you know got your back and are superior talents in their field then you get the gist. There’s also massive honourable shouts to Hazel Sian, John Ramm and Terry Allen who help step in on big gigs when those boys are ill or off on other adventures.

You’re a poet originally from Scotland now based in Wales how did it begin for you?

Walking dogs in fields with my Dad and asking him to help me remember lines for poetry competitions at school. He had an amazing ability to perform and recite but never took it further than the fireplace or family event. His pride in seeing me evolve was a reward in itself.

What did you listen to growing up?

My Mum was a massive fan of David Bowie and allegedly broke in back stage with my Uncle Shep back in the day to meet him when he did a show in Edinbburgh in the 90’s. I always chomped on CHANGES as my favourite tune of his. There was Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, David Essex (Listen to his track ROCK ON), Nina Simone and my aforementioned uncle was “into” music and his cassette collection had folk like Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Leadbelly and Lloyd Chandler.

Are there any lyricists that were the catalyst for you combining poetry to music?

I’ve always admired people who stood up against the bully. SO I was into the lyrics of obvious folk like Marley, Dylan, Lennon but I loved Gil Scott Heron (interesting fact, his father was one of the first black players to play professional football in Scotland). I felt a connection to his rage and intelligent expression against systems of government. Whilst his journey is obviously far darker than mine ever was I see society turning more dystopian and the need to fight and love as ever he did. I’m also huge fan of Scottish poet and singer Ivor Cutlor and have loads of time for Beta Band and Arab Strab.

You’re currently on tour, how’s it going?

Very good, done some busking and was paid by a child in wild flowers in Stuttgart. Met friends and done short sets in bars along the way, dive bars, pubs and a theatre. It’s been very diverse in terms of audiences and stuff I perform.

Tell us a funny story from the road.

Second day of the tour we were driving from Wrexham, into England, France, Belgium and finally needed to find fuel abroad. Sat nav and google translate sent us on a wild goose chase, involving, an empty tanker by the road, a clearing in the hills then into an American Army base where I was so disorientated I drove on the wrong side of the road whilst armed guards just laughed at us! HOME OF THE PANTHERS banner across the walls said it all 😀 Honourable mentions to POT HOLE FEST in back hills of Bulgaria and RAW MEAT ROADSIDE BBQ…enough said.

The name of your band is a deep cut reference that non Star Wars fans would find… unorthodox. But not from a true nerd. What’s your favourite film of the entire series?

Lets brass tacks this to EMPIRE or R.O.T.S. I’m an Empire man because before all this tv stuff, BOSSK was the man, his one line in the film was “hhhhhhwwwwwaaaallll”.

You’re one of the long serving members of the moderation team, what’s been your favourite musical discovery while being part of this rebel alliance?

That’s a set up! Hahaha! I think the team are so good that rarely does a bum tune get in. I value that the public vote, I value that I get to be pushed into realms my comfort zone wouldn’t try out and as such I can’t possibly say! ***flutters eyelashes behind fan***
p.s. My back catalogue of notes and reviews tells it own story anyway as does my choices for previous FOTN LIVE…more of that to come…

Being a poet, you can get writer’s block what are your tips for overcoming this?

I have two tips. When you are forcing it rehearse what you have and stand it up and perform it. You’ll instinctively know what’s wrong and where to go next. Try it to friends or public or even in a story to a pal to suss it.

Next buy a thesaurus. Flick through it. Find unusual language and stretch your vocabulary and link it through the journey of the words. Etymology is cool and quite fun. At the root of it all is the meaning and purpose. If yours matches that then your onto something.

Who are your top three poets?

Off the top

Robert Louis Stevenson, wrote Treasure Island and his compilation a Children’s Garden of Verses has given me lots of inspiration.

John Cooper Clarke, brilliant live, met him twice. Is who is he is. I admire that.

Carol Ann Duffy, her poem I give you an onion is tight.

And your top three poems?

Go All The Way OR The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses over the Hills by William Boroughs

To a Haggis by Rabbie Burns is always funny to observe in Scotland because of the ridiculous sincerity drunken men in skirts praise and pray to a ball of meat made from ballsacks, innards and oats, boiled for hours then served with mash!

The cheat in me always wants to add one more but lyrics to me are poetry and so…

Prince and Purple Rain
I never meant to cause you any sorrow
I never meant to cause you any pain
I only wanted, one time, to see you laughing
I only want to see you laughing
In the purple rain

What are you listening to at the moment?

Three artists Ive picked up on the road, System Death, Vai! Zemlja. All from radio on the road thanks to Shazam.

What are you looking forward to doing next?

I’m in Stuttgart now and driving to Lille tomorrow for a small gig then home to Wales. Some band practice then a gig at Focus Wales Festival on Saturday 10th MAY at the Wynstay Stage from 5.30pm!

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