A Day In The Life Of #003 Dat Brass
With a string of festival shows and their critically praised new live EP ‘Scratch Dat’ under their belt, London-based hip-hop collective Dat Brass have been making their way out of the capital for their expansive UK tour these last few months, and are soon to wrap up their recent ventures with a homecoming show at London’s Jazz Cafe on the 3rd December.
So with things winding down for them, we decided to find out what life has been like for them on the road as we get up close and personal with Rudd and Looby from Dat Brass.
At 9am. The first thing I do...
Rudd: is reach for my phone to answer all the panicked WhatsApp messages about which bits of the drum kit we need for today’s gig. The answer is always the same; Yes, all of it. Do we need an extra sample pad for one filter sweep? Yes. Does Adam need another boost pedal? Yes. Always.
Looby: is have a cup of tea, can't start the day without it.
My typical day involves…
Rudd: doing a minimal house DJ set in the car for anywhere between 1 and 5 hours depending on where the gig is, before setting up and sound checking the sousaphone.
Looby: a nice long drive with Radio 5 or 6 dependant on football, sound checking at a strangely empty venue, quick spoons then playing to an equally strangely full venue.
The best part of my day…
Rudd: changing into my shorts backstage. It’s like putting on a superhero cape.
Looby: hanging out with the crew before a show and us each getting hyped up in our own way. Putting on shorts, doing 3 tricep dips, eating your body weight in celery; we all have our own pre-show ritual.
The worst part of my day is when…
Rudd: I realise I have the biggest instrument and the most kit to carry to the hotel. Somehow you always forget.
Looby: carrying the gear at the end, which is the main reason I'm on vocals – one microphone doesn’t weigh much.
At the end of my day I will…
Rudd: Lose a lot of friends by telling them to set their alarms for 5am so we can make it to the next day’s gig in time.
Looby: debrief the gig together, grab a pint and get excited for the next one.
If I wasn't a musician I'd be a…
Rudd: I’m not a musician, I’m just good at getting actual musicians in the same room.
Looby: If I wasn't a musician I'd be a rapper.
Interview by Chris Bound
Dat Brass will finish their UK tour with a homecoming show at London’s Jazz Café on the 3rd December. Tickets for the show can be found at DatBrass.com