STAFF FEATURE: Talking with Drop Kick the Fish's guitarist, Katie Redmond
International Financial Group Ltd (IFGL)
Owner of RL360, RL360° Services, Friends Provident International, Ardan International, IFGL Pensions and IFGL DIFC
Katie Redmond , a member of our HR team, lives a double life as the lead guitarist for Band Battle 2023 champions, Drop Kick the Fish.
In this interview, we chat with Katie about her band experiences and how she balances this alongside her day job.
Could you tell us a bit about yourself and the band?
I'm Katie, I'm 19, I'm part of the HR team and also the lead guitarist in Drop Kick the Fish. We formed when I was in Year 10 at High School and since then, we have performed at multiple venues across the Island. We won the Under 18's Battle of the Bands in 2022 and the 18+ Band Battle in 2023. We also recently released our EP ‘Sandy’ back in January this year and it currently has over 22,000 streams on Spotify.
We have four other members: Nick (vocals), Skye (bass, and who also works at IFGL), Kailin (rhythm guitar) and Joseph (drums).
How did you choose your band name?
We used a random name generator consisting of some interesting vocabulary and thus, Drop Kick the Fish. It's always a little embarrassing telling people our name, but they certainly remember it!
Could you share with us your experience playing your first gig as a band?
Our first gig was back in November 2020. We stepped on to the stage, armed with a crazy name and two songs, and were ready to wow the 20 people in the audience (10 of which I think were relatives and the sound crew). Everything that could've went wrong, did! The cable came out of the mic, the strap fell off the guitars and we forgot how one of the songs went mid-way through the performance. It was total chaos but it made us determined to do even better next time.
Who or what got you interested in music?
I remember when I first joined Ramsey Grammar School in Year 8 and saw the school Christmas Concert. I felt so inspired watching people going up on stage in front of a thousand people and rocking out! I knew that one day I wanted to be on that stage and hopefully make at least one person feel the way I did. So I asked for a guitar for Christmas in 2017 and it went from there.
Who are your artistic influences in the music you make?
Our original songs contain a mixture of genres as we all like different artists and styles. I would say that our songs are similar to Muse, Radiohead and The Cranberries.
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What type of music did you enjoy growing up?
Growing up in Manchester, I naturally listened to bands like The Smiths, Joy Division, The Stone Roses, and Oasis. I was also heavily influenced by my parents' music tastes which consisted of Nirvana, Linkin Park, Pet Shop Boys, and a lot of dance/trance music. I was also a massive Michael Jackson fan and had loads of his CD's and even the Michael Jackson Experience game on the Wii!
If you could have a dinner party with any three famous people, living or dead, who would they be?
Michael Jackson, Chester Bennington, and Johnny Marr.
What's next for the band?
In the past, we played gigs at a variety of venues and events. We were actually meant to open for Bushy's TT Village in 2024 but had to drop out due to an injury.
Currently we have no plans for the future as our singer is studying at uni in the UK so we'll just have to see what happens when they return. However, the drummer and I have joined another band and we should have some public gigs available later on this year.
As well as practising my new band's songs, I've been learning how to create my own music on my computer, so plenty of things to keep me busy while Drop Kick the Fish is on hold.
Do you have any advice for anyone starting a band?
I think starting a band is the hardest part of the whole process. I'd recommend looking at groups on Facebook, heading to local gigs, or checking out local notice boards. Initially, I attended SoundCheck, which is a music charity on the Isle of Man that provides equipment, a practice space, and a starting point for gigging. It's important to remember to enjoy the music you play and don't expect everything to go smoothly 100% of the time.
How can people listen to your band?
Our EP is available to stream on Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube.