Following the success of their previous singles “Shut Your Mouth” and “Save Me”, Not Now Norman are back in their vein of hard hitting tracks, most of which have been born of personal experience or are of major topical concerns. Now releasing their first album “It’s Not This One” - a fine combination of The Pretty Reckless and Black Sabbath mixed with their own original flair to add to their ever diverse sound. Delivering Hard Rock with a strong message in every track. Not Now Norman are Northumberland’s very own rock-powerhouse with singer Taylor-Grace commanding the front, belting her lungs out to the relentless riffs of her father, Zander Brown. Having disabilities since childhood, Taylor-Grace took the decision to turn her pain into power and into music.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Hey Not Now Norman, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What first got you into music?
Hi there! It’s nice to meet you too Kamil. Thanks for talking with me. So I grew up in a household of music. My Dad has been in bands since he was 14. One of my earliest memories was at one of his performances. I think I was around 2 years old when I was dancing along to one of the songs. I’ve tagged along to his gigs ever since. Now look at me, I’ve started a band with him. I don’t think he saw that one coming.
How do you balance your time in the studio with other commitments such as a part-time job, family, admin?
I’m a bit of a workaholic when it comes to Not Now Norman, so I’m not god at balancing. For me it’s all or nothing, if I didn’t I would find it difficult to stay on top of everything. Luckily for me I have very supportive friends and family who get it. Having your Dad as your guitarist also helps a bit, and we have a bit of a makeshift home studio so I’m never far away if anybody needs me.
Your latest release is 'It's Not This One'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
Yeah, so ‘Its Not This One’ is our debut album so we’re pretty excited about it. Due to COVID, we started working on everything at home and created a bit of a makeshift home studio. It’s nothing fancy but it gets the job done. I think the funniest moments were when Ally told me to do my lines again because of background noise, so I ended up recording myself in a washing cupboard. Sometimes by myself, which my friend said looked like something from a Scooby Doo skit.
Where did you get the inspiration for this album?
I’ve been told by a few people in the music industry, that my disabilities would make it impossible. The whole album is my way of proving to the world that they were mistaken. I’ve been put down and bullied by many people in my life and now is the time to prove them all wrong, not just for myself but for other people who find themselves in similar circumstances. Now thanks to music and this album, I’m able to turn my pain into power. I hope that in some way it helps others to do the same.
How long did you work on the 'It's Not This One'? Was it an easy process for you?
Overall it took about 3 years. It would have been ready sooner, but events like COVID, amongst other band things, delayed everything. After a while we gave ourselves a final deadline to get everything done. My Dad spent countless hours recording bass lines and quantizing drums before getting the chance to think about his parts. But thankfully our producer, Ally Lee, stepped in and helped us work everything out.
Is there a hidden meaning in any of your music?
I wouldn’t say hidden because my lyrics tend to very blunt. There are a lot of personal messages in our music as most of them come from a personal experience. For example, Shut Your Mouth is about getting out of an abusive relationship and Little Frankenstein is about a rare bone condition that I have called Hereditary Multiple Exostoses. There are also a few tracks that aren’t personal such as Little Cheryl, which is about the dark side of social media, and Save Me, which is about the world burning.
What interests or hobbies do you have outside of music?
I think I mentioned before that I’m a bit of a ‘workaholic’ when it comes to Not Now Norman, so I don’t give myself a lot of freetime. I tend to hyperfocus on it but when I do convince myself to take a break, I like to draw. I suppose it doesn’t technically count when you draw new designs for t-shirts. The best way that I can switch off is to play video games. I’ve loved them since I was a kid and I can spend hours on one. I also like to binge watch a Netflix series with a bottle of wine. My dad doesn’t have as much time for hobbies as I do but when he does he likes to spend time with the dogs or watch films with my Mum.
How do you find yourself in the music business? When you started out in music, did you know it would be like this?
I’m not really sure. When I first started I was a bit apprehensive because I didn’t think I had it in me. Now 3 years later I can’t think of anything else I would rather do. It’s a challenging industry but I think that’s part of the appeal. I never would have thought of seeing myself releasing an album or playing on mainstages at festivals in this space of time.
How do you nurture your own creativity?
There’s a few things that I do. The main thing is I read a lot and try to pay attention with what’s happening in the world by keeping up to date with the news, as well as things that should be talked about, but either aren’t or barely looked at. I also read a lot and love art which can get the creative juices flowing. And sometimes listening to different types of music helps with experimentation.
What are your plans for the future?
So we’re looking forward to playing a bunch of festivals next year, but at the moment we’ve started to work on album number 2 and planning a tour around the UK. We’re also looking forward to collaborating with other independent artists so watch this space.