The Paperwaits: A Young Guildford Band Following The English Way

Published on: 10 Mar, 2017
Updated on: 11 Mar, 2017

By David Rose

When it comes to popular music, siblings have often been a creative force. Examples are Ray and Dave Davies of the Kinks, Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys, Gregg and Duane Allman, and Oasis’ Noel and Liam Gallagher, to name but a few.

Making some very creative sounds in Guildford, from a spare bedroom in their parents’ home, are Scott and Thomas Burchell, along with their long-time friend Josh Liesicke, plus newer members of their band Isaac Dettore, and Morgan Culver.

The Paperwaits.

The band’s name is the Paperwaits, and they describe their music as ‘retro indie rock influenced by music of the 1960s and 70s’. All very interesting given the fact that they still in their teens.

Writing songs, recording them at home and making their own videos is what they have been busy doing over the past couple of years. Now they have released their first album, and a delight it is too!

Beginning with the two brothers, they started listening to music at an early age. Although keen to listen to as wide a variety of music as possible, they were put off by the cost of buying their own CDs. So they got hold of their dad’s old turntable and began playing his vinyl records that he’d bought years ago. They discovered all kinds of bands including the Beatles, Buzzcocks, Electric Light Orchestra, Kinks, and many more besides, and loved what they were hearing.

Thomas and Josh in the band’s home studio.

Thomas, now aged 19, had had a few piano lessons, while Scott, 16, had started to play guitar. Early on, both had ambitions to write songs and compose their own music. And this has come to fruition with their first album Greenwood Library, currently available as a download and to soon be issued on CD.

Although Scott and Thomas are the main songwriters, they point out that the album would not have been possible without the help of Josh, who assisted in the recording of the songs, added musical ideas and helped with the promotional films they have made. He now plays bass with the band.

Scott in the studio that’s in a spare bedroom.

The cover of Greenwood Library.

The influence of late 1960s rock and pop music by the likes of the Small Faces can certainly be heard in the Paperwaits’ songs. There is also a large slice of ‘Englishness’ in the music, with Ray Davies of the Kinks being another big influence on the band. And that is no bad thing.

Songs on Greenwood Library have titles such as Running From Daisy, English Way, Luttrel’s Homemade Fudge, and By The Water (Under The Bridge). And with lyrics like: “Strawberry jam and cottage pie/ Winston Churchill, Oscar Wilde / Don’t you know it’s the English way.” And: “Pick up a book to see what I’ll find / Matter a fact it’s one of a kind,” gives an impression of what the songs are all about.

It can be purchased by clicking here.

But that’s not to say that they are simply recreating music from a psychedelic past era. They are musicians in the modern idiom, knowing how to get some fantastic sounds from a variety of instruments and the know how to record it exceptionally well themselves using the latest digital technology – an amazing feat given their ages.

Their creativity extends to the films they make to accompany the songs. Here the retro style again comes into play. A video to accompany their song Family Man was initially filmed on the old Super 8 format along with a modern Nikon R10. They like to include local scenes in their films, and in this one you might just recognise St Edward the Confessor Church at Sutton Green, St Mary’s Church in Worplesdon and some fields nearby and Bowers Lock between Jacobs Well and Burpham.

As with any half decent modern band the Paperwaits’ music can be discovered on a host of formats on the internet including You Tube, Spotify, and on-line music stores.

The band have played live at venues such as The Boileroom in Guildford and the Acoustic Couch in Bracknell, and are looking to play more gigs. But the songwriting continues with enough new material already for a follow-up album.

Scott is currently studying for degree foundation in photography and is looking at going to the ACM in Guildford to study music production. Thomas is planning to study music production and animation at the University of Creative Arts in Farnham, while Josh is studying photography at Guildford College.

Click here for the Paperwaits’ website with links to the songs and lots of other information.