Lighting up the left field stage of Glastonbury last year, Seb Lowe delivered a politically charged set. The only question left: after such an intense performance, how do you even begin to sleep on tour?
“You go from living a normal life to a massive up and down of adrenaline”, Joel Goodwin, the band’s resident drummer told Doze. “It makes sleep really unpredictable”.
The 23-year-old drumming sensation has struggled to find a healthy balance of rock and routine since he joined the band in 2021.
“The hardest thing about being on tour is the lack of sleep and the lack of any real stability. Everythings different all the time.
“You could be going to bed at midnight and getting up at seven or going to bed at four and getting up at 11, it’s different every day”.
But despite what Joel describes as a “super intense environment”, four years and five tours in he thinks he may have found a way of winding down that works for him.
“When I first joined the band I would spend all night after a show overthinking my performance, but I’ve found what works for me now is viewing it as a normal job.
“I finish a gig and do the normal things you would do after you finish work, like making a cup of tea and putting the TV on. I find it really eases the pressure off.”
But leaving a show and relaxing isn’t always possible, with sleep sometimes taking a backseat in the world of music.
“In the early days we used to go out a lot. We’d be up until silly o’clock in the morning making an absolute racket but that doesn’t work for me at all anymore.
“Even after the last shows I do like to get to bed early. I get quite a lot of grief from my bandmates as expected but I just can’t go from a mad show to a mad night out. Maybe I’m getting old!”
But despite trading the “mad nights out” for a relaxed night in, sleep can still come second whilst on tour.
“Regardless of how tired I am after a show I could never walk out of a venue and not meet anyone. It’s part of the job as much as playing the show is and it’s nice to speak to people who are on the side of our music that we aren’t a part of, the receiving side.”
But when the band squeeze up to 15 show dates into two weeks it can all get too much.
“I always get really homesick. Once the novelty wears off and you’re plodding along going through the motions it can be really tough.
“But I find that what helps is always reminding myself how lucky we are to be able to do what we do, and with every trough comes an even bigger peak.”
