IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The Cheap Thrills.

With their vivacious sound, The Cheap Thrills. surely put on a memorable show. The Cheap Thrills., formed and based in Liverpool, features Lewis Pike (vocals, guitar), Anton Eager (drums), Terry Eaves (keyboard, guitar, vocals), and Callum Fitzpatrick (bass). They self-released their debut EP, Oparadise, on August 9, 2014, followed by Glare on January 7, 2017. Most recently, they put out their newest EP, Vue Du Monde, on October 18, 2019 (also self-released). Not only have they taken the stage at a handful of venues in their hometown of Liverpool (including Arts Club, Cavern Club, and O2 Academy), they have shared their sound all over London.

Just last week, they traveled to New York City for the second New Colossus Festival, playing their first-ever NYC gig at Pianos on March 13. Just 2 nights later, they played an additional set at Gold Sounds Bar in Brooklyn. After their Pianos set, they kindly posed for a few portraits, and upon returning to England, Anton shared some time and thought to chat about the formation of the band, the process behind their newest EP, and three artists currently on his music radar.

What’s the story behind the formation of The Cheap Thrills.?

We all went to primary school together and got separated when we started high school, but we stayed in touch. When we were about 15/16, Fitzy and I started to have a few bass and drum jams, and then Lewi and Terry were the next people to ask, as we were all friends and knew they could play guitar. We needed a singer, so Lewi took the role and it hasn’t changed since!

What was the first instrument (musical or non-musical) you started making music with?

Wow, well in primary school, I had violin lessons, but I wasn’t too good at that. What was weird though was, when we moved to junior school, we HAD to play an instrument called the ocarina. No one had ever heard of it, but it was sick; you could play all kinds of tunes on it. It’s a wind instrument you blow into and it’s so small it could fit into your pocket, look it up!

Which song (released or unreleased) are you most proud of?

It’s got to be our song “Codependence.” It’s a song that just instantly connects people and brings them together, especially live. Whenever we play it, we see strangers with their arms ‘round each other-it’s magical. An anthem.

You released a new EP, Vue Du Monde, on October 18, 2019. What was the process of writing, recording, and producing it?

Vue Du Monde is translated to “View Of The World.” These songs are about the world through The Cheap Thrills.’s eyes and based on life experiences. If you’ve seen the artwork, it all makes sense.

We had half-complete versions of most of the songs for a couple of years, and when we moved to our new rehearsal space, we got the chance to finish them off. We utilised Logic to get the main bits of the songs down and MIDI’ed the drums in. It helped us as we could chop and change parts easily. We then went to Parr Street Studios to record live demos of all these tunes we had written, which was about 12. We picked the best 5 for the EP and recorded them properly in Part Street Studios with producer Alex Quinn. We wanted to add “Codependence” onto this EP to “immortalise” it, even though it was an already released song. We needed it to exist in the some kind of physical form, so we used it for our opening track.

While on the road, what are some of your essential tour items?

For me, it’s a spare change of clothes. Whenever I finish a gig, I’m dripping with a mixture of sweat and beer, so it’s always good to get changed and dry again. The next thing would be sliders (I don’t know if you Americans know what I’m referring to), but they are like flip flops. Adillettes are the sliders of choice. They are really comfy and better than wearing trainees (sneakers) all day in the van.

What are you currently listening to?

Post Animal
Gengahr
Hippo Campus

What’s your favorite food and/or restaurant in NYC? Any places back home in Liverpool?

I love Mexican dishes in the USA, nothing back home compares to it.. I know Katz’s Deli was one of the lads’ favourites in NYC. Probably a tourist hotspot, but we were told we had to try it!

Nando’s is one thing the UK have over America; its spicy chicken is boss. There’s a Japanese and Chinese cafe we have in Liverpool called Tokyo Noodle Bar which does huge portions for cheap, so you’ll often find us there.

If there were a pizza with the name “The Cheap Thrills.,” what toppings would it feature?

This is an excellent question and I know this will be a huge debate within the band. I know we all love a good curry, so let’s go with chicken tikka masala pizza.

Who’s your favorite superhero character, and why?

My favourite has got to be The Flash; I would love to be able to run that fast and stop time and shit.

What’s a question you have wanted to get asked in an interview, and what’s the response to it?

This is another good question, making me ask a question to myself, deep.

I wish someone would notice and ask why the BPM in our song “Time Waster” slows down and then speeds back up again after the drop.

Very good question and very observant. We did this simply because the vocal hook “You’ve got nothing to prove...” sounded too fast at the original BPM. It’s not often that you hear BPM changes in studio recorded indie/pop music.

A huge thank you to Anton and The Cheap Thrills. for taking the time and thought to respond to the questions, along with coordinating!

Be sure to keep up with the band by following them on Twitter (@CheapThrillsTCT) and Instagram (@thecheapthrillsss), along with liking them on Facebook (/TheCheapThrills)!