This is the group\u2019s first offering to Spotify playlists across the land, and so Sheffield Wire sat down with them to find out about their journey up until this point.<\/p>\n
It was through their mutual friend Dan Adam that the pair initially met.<\/p>\n
Max explained: \u201cMe and Rowan met completely by chance really. Rowan was in Crewe flats in Endcliffe. He went round knocking on a load of flats and Dan happened to be there at a party. They got chatting about music and then Dan came round to my flat and said I\u2019ve got a mate here who plays guitar. Then me and Rowan ended up just chatting and playing.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Dan (left), Rowan (middle) and Max (right).<\/p>\n
Singer Rowan had performed by himself previously and continued to do so during his first year. He explained however, that in order to progress from a live point of view he needed to come up with some original material.<\/p>\n
Fast-forward to September 2019, and after a summer of songwriting the duo returned to Sheffield with some bigger ideas.<\/p>\n
Max said: \u201cWe thought if we want to do this seriously then we should probably try and do open mics consistently. Playing live just makes you better and gives you new ideas for the songs you\u2019re already playing.\u201d<\/p>\n
At this point the band were still a two-piece, having made a good impression at the Green Room on Devonshire Street.<\/p>\n
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The Green Room. (Source www.view.co.uk)<\/p>\n
This is where they gained inspiration for the name \u2018The Verdis\u2019 (vert meaning Green in French). However, if they thought their style and image was nearly perfected, two new members made that transition complete.<\/p>\n
Rowan said: \u201cIn our first term of second year we met Jamie and John through Facebook I think, and then started practicing with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
With a wide grin on his face Rowan continued: \u201cI think it got pretty cool with the bass and a drummer. That\u2019s when the whole arrangements of the songs really changed and started to take shape.\u201d<\/p>\n
The additions of Jamie Wright on bass and John Thomson on drums in late 2019 meant the pair of students who had met a year previously in a student flat, were now on their way to developing a holistic sound that they were eager for others to hear.<\/p>\n
One such fan is Martin Clark, who has lived in Sheffield since 2013. He attended 474 (yes, 474!) gigs in 2019 and was enthralled when he discovered The Verdis.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWhen I first saw them play on 17 December 2019 as an acoustic duo at West Street Live, I was immediately and seriously impressed by Rowan\u2019s voice and Max\u2019s superb jangling guitar parts. The fact that The Verdis made such an impression and have become one of my absolute favourite bands is a definite tribute to their song writing and musicianship.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though the success of their first term would not be mirrored in their second, as in March 2020, the group found themselves in lockdown, a world away from performing on the live music scene which had delivered them notoriety.<\/p>\n
For the band, the cycle of tightening and easing of restrictions, followed by another order to stay at home, has not been completely negative.<\/p>\n
Nearly a year into the Covid calendar which has seen the music industry struggle and crowd-funders popping up in order to save local venues, The Verdis were pleased the recording process still managed to go ahead, so the group could release music they\u2019d been working on for some time.<\/p>\n
Max said: \u201cWe were sat in lockdown, constantly playing music at home. In a way I think it\u2019s good we released it in lockdown because people are sat at home doing nothing. They may be more inclined to think I\u2019ll listen to the music, so when we do come out of it people will want to come and see us.\u201d<\/p>\n
During this time, Rowan found his lyrics took on new meaning sometimes weeks after he had put pen to paper.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re writing lyrics that are good, when you first write them you don\u2019t really know what they mean. The good ones give you something to mull over afterwards, you think, why did I write that? And then it can occur to you months later, ah that\u2019s what that it means!\u201d Rowan said.<\/p>\n
The pair then laughed about how this idea compares to when Johnny Marr explains the riff to \u2018Heaven Knows I\u2019m Miserable Now\u2019 by The Smiths in an interview with NME. The legendary guitarist said it came to him from nowhere, but the group finds serious inspiration from this sort of content.<\/p>\n