During an afternoon watching music videos on You Tube, I stumbled across a band called Bright Shapes. They made a pleasant enough sound, but what really grabbed my interest was the bass player's Chonburi shirt. After tracking him down, I persuaded him to answer a few questions about his group and how he came by the top. Here's the interview.
Interview with Josh Warburton from the band Bright Shapes
5th June, 2012
Q - Please can you introduce yourself.
A - I'm Josh, I'm 23 and I come from Manchester In England. Primarily I am a bass guitarist and double bass player for the band 'Bright Shapes'.
Q - How long have you been a musician?
A - Oh, far too long now! I started playing when I was 9, so 14 years now. Thinking about it, I have no excuse to ever play badly given that I've been playing so long...
Q - How did you become a professional musician?
A - Well, It'd be nice if I could pinpoint it to an exact moment, but the band I'm in started at the end of 2010, and we quickly got a decent following; I'd say, probably about March of 2011 would be as close a date as I could give you!
Q - Who have been your biggest musical influences?
A - I'd have to say the Red Hot Chili Peppers were a big influence, Ella Fitzgerald, Jenny Owen Youngs, Joshua Radin and The Beatles have had a big impact on me though.
Q - Please could you tell us about your music
A - We're an acoustic band, so our music is fairly singer/songwriter-ey, but there's a whole pile of jazz and folk swung into the mix for good measure! We've got a fair few tracks dotted around the internet, with some more on the way fairly soon (we've got a new EP on the way), we've got a good collection of songs on facebook (http://www.facebook.com/brightshapes/app_178091127385) has a good amount of tracks), but we also have a youtube page, featuring our popular Calvin Harris/Swedish House Mafia song, where I play in one of my beautiful Chonburi Sharks shirts! (http://youtu.be/RTxpRG7ODPI) Oh! And our website is www.brightshapes.com
Q - What sort of fan base do you have?
A - A really lovely fan base, we've got fans all over the place, particularly in the UK and America, but also in a lot of other countries around the world. Honestly, without the fanbase we currently have, we couldn't keep going in the way we are doing, so we're really grateful for all our fans.
Q - What are your ambitions for your musical career?
A - A world tour and a spot on the Jools Holland Show (which is a big music show in England). As it stands, we only gig around the United Kingdom (largely England and Wales), but we really want to get further afield on a regular basis.
Q - What is the best gig you've ever played?
A - My favourite one would have to be when we played the Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival last year, as I'd been without my double bass for a while and we were releasing a new EP at that show; the crowd were really receptive and we sold a huge amount of stuff after the gig. It just has a really special place in my mind.
Q - Which is the best venue you've ever played?
A - With my current band it'd have to be the O2 arena in London (Indig02), the place is absolutely collosal and the lighting is wonderful. Honestly, it's entertaining just seeing the stage. As a venue it's just incredible.
Q - Where would you most like to perform?
A - Thailand, anywhere in Thailand I'd absolutely love. Not only would it be a great place to gig, but I'd get to come see the team at their homeground (assuming it's during the season), that'd be absolutely terrific.
Q - How long have you been a football fan?
A - For as long as I can remember! I think I must've gone to my first football match when I was about 7 though, I just can't remember not being a football fan.
Q - Which team do you support?
A - Bolton Wanderers. We've had a tough time of late, but we've had some good times too! I used to be a ball boy for them too, and some legendary players have been at the club in the past two decades.
Q - How long have you been supporting them?
A -Probably since before I was born!
Q - How did you end up becoming a Chonburi fan?
A - That was a while ago now, I think it was back in about 2008, my dad got me to watch the highlights of a match, I believe it was Chonburi v Bangkok University (though I could be wrong, it's been a while), and I just loved the spirit of the team, they were losing but came back in tremendous style, it was quite a spectacle!
Q - How did your dad discover Chonburi FC?
A - Ah! He discovered them when he went on holiday into thailand himself a while back; he got talking to a few fans, and I guess their enthusiasm was quite infectious! So he brought that enthusiasm back to England, and onto me. Hopefully I've passed on that enthusiasm myself to a few more people too!
Q - Have you managed to get to any matches?
A - Unfortunately no! It's a great shame, but I've never even been to Thailand at this point in my life, I have friends that head over from time to time, and when they do, I get them to bring me back a shirt or whatever they can get ahold of.
Q - Who is your favourite player & why?
A - At the moment, I'd have to say it's Chaiman, he's having a really great season so far, and if he can keep his form up then we're going to be flying this season.
Q - How do you keep in touch with following the team? - do you watch matches over the internet?
A - I have to! There's no other way really, but all the fan sites and facebook groups are a big help too. Though having things written in Thai most of the time means that I have to use translaters, so occasionally things can get a bit confusing!!
Q - How do you friends and colleagues react when you tell them you're a Chonburi fan?
A - A bit confused at first, Manchester's a really big football city, so they wonder how I could support any other team that isn't from Manchester; but with a bit of time, I can show them why they're a great team to support.
Q - How do you promote the club to your friends, colleagues and fans of the band? - Do you wear your shirt in public?
A - I do wear my shirts in public! It's useful the kits look as interesting as they do, because they generate a few questions; meaning I can spread the word of the Chonburi Sharks!
Q - Have you any plans to come & watch the team in the future?
A - As soon as I can afford a trip to Thailand, I intend to head right over and get right to the stadium to watch a match, you try and stop me!
Q - What do you think the club can achieve this season?
A - We easily have the potential to win the league this season I believe; Muangthong are doing great but I don't believe they can keep up the pace, and hopefully we'll be able to overtake them in the near future. It'd be nice to win a couple of the other cups too of course, but, winning the league is the thing I want us to achieve most.
Q - How easy or difficult is it to keep in touch with your busy schedule and the time difference?
A - Not so easy, matches can end up at times when I'm sleeping, or at work, so a lot of the time, I have to catch up after the match has happened, which is unfortunate, but unavoidable I guess!
Q -Anything else you'd like to add?
A - Thanks so much to all the Chonburi Sharks fans out there! The enthusiasm from all of you for the club is inspiring and seeing all the effort and dedication you put into supporting the club is a delight to see.
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