Introduce yourself…
We're The Yalla Yallas from Leeds,UK . We are a four piece who play punk rock n roll music. Will Grinder plays guitar, Matthew Dempsey is on bass, and Matt Delahunty is our drummer. I am Rob Galloway and I am the vocalist and songwriter for the group.
How did the band start?
We started out in December 2007. I had been a solo artist which was a bit of a daft mash-up of punk and techno beats. Myself and Dempsey decided a band might be more of a sensible option and so put out some adverts and Will joined us along with our original drummer Kevin Bellwood. After years of using beats and samples etc.. I wanted to get a sound that was raw and upbeat, something like The Dead Boys, The Stooges, even Guns n Roses.
How did you come up with the name?
The name The Yalla Yallas comes from a song by Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros called 'Yalla Yalla'. It's a song that fills me with hope, A sense of unity, and a sense of although things tend not to change there is still the belief that they can change for the better. I think that's a great sentiment to bring into a band situation. Yalla Yalla also means C'mon C'mon' in Arabic ... Again quite fitting.
Who would you say are your influences?
I would say The Clash, Guns n Roses, Hunter S. Thompson, Social Distortion, and Rancid are the main ones.
What is the punk scene like in the UK?
It's as old as the carpets in the venues we play, It's covered in blood, beer, spit, and dirt, and there's loads of young kids and stalwarts jumping up and down on it and it's brilliant, and while those guys are pogo-ing or building human pyramids there's a whole new generation of groups like us, wearing hearts on our sleeves, with a whole new digital axe to grind, yeah I know it's not 1977 but we got a lot of shit to deal with right now and the UK Punk scene is as relevant as ever.
Describe the song writing process...
The songwriting process is quite dictatorial really. I write the songs and tell the other guys what I want them to do. It's quite basic really. I basically come up with all the words and music and have a recorded demo which I present to the guys. They then work on their parts(with my input) and I think collectively we make the song, sometimes we have a little re-write or bounce ideas around but we tend to work on instinct and tend not spend hours laboriously writing/reworking as that would get boring.
What have you released?
We have released two proper albums, 'Act Of Defiance' was first in 2009, 'Diamond In Dirt' followed in 2010. The first album is available on iTunes but it is something we are not entirely comfortable with. We would rather people get our music from our website as this gives us our own independence. We don't have a label and iTunes take quite a large cut for doing absolutely nothing. So we spend our time and effort directing people to our website where we get 100% and our fans get cheaper music. We like being self sufficient.
Who are some of the bands you have done shows with?
We've done gigs with all the favorites like Goldblade, 999, UK Subs etc... which are always good shows but I also love to play with some of the new groups like Roughneck Riot, Acid Drop, Cyanide Pills, X Ray Cat Trio.
Have you toured?
We've shied away from tours as such at this stage, We do a lot of gigs and we get out and about, and we maintain a steady flow of gigs. Plus we all have quite demanding jobs and hours, and there is a lot of family time to consider. Not very punk rock I know but that's what keeps us going. There's not enough money in the UK Punk Scene right now to sustain us doing this full time too.
Do you prefer small clubs or large venues?
I like a fair mixture of the two. It's great doing big rooms and it's ace doing the small rooms, festivals too ... I think each gig brings a different landscape. Small venues usually have shit I can climb on, and big venues usually have a better sound quality. I'm happy to work with what I've got. I don't think I ever really remember hating a room or a venue.
Is there a favorite band you like to do shows with?
No band in particular, Majority of my friends are all in bands. I love it when there is one of my friends in a band on the same bill and we have a good drink, there always good nights. We've been doing a few gigs with Louise Distras who technically isn't a band but her big mouth makes up for it. She's really good so check her out.
Is there a favorite place you like to do shows at?
I love the London gigs, Bridgehouse 2 for Clive and Gemma are always fun. 12 Bar in Soho is a great little punk venue. In our hometown Leeds we love to play at Milo's which is possibly the smallest venue in the city but when we play there it's always a smash fest. It's always a busy, sweaty, riot of a night when we play. Love it.
What do you see is the future of The Yalla Yallas?
We hope to build on where we are right now. I would like to head into Europe and if possible to the U.S. for some gigs. I think we now need possibly a Manager/Agent/Label type to take over as the representatives for us. I don't feel as though I have the experience to take us further than we are ... No matter how much we love being D.I.Y.
How can people contact the band?
You can find pretty much everything (Music/Merch/Info) at our website http://www.theyallayallas.com and you can follow us on Twitter @theyallayallas
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