Interview with Tim Greaves

by Armchair Anarchist

It’s been over a decade since Tim Greaves, while attending a Christian school, found a Bad Religion album in Reflex Records and fell for the cover art. Not long after this epiphany, he started playing in punk bands in the Portsmouth area. He’s never looked back. After hearing his band, ‘You, Me and the Atom Bomb’, had been signed by Household Name Records, Armchair Anarchist sat him down to ask about the music that's such a big part of his life.

AA: What’s the agenda? Why do You, Me and the Atom Bomb exist?
TG: It’s just positive punk rock. There’s no hidden agenda. We’re all working normal jobs, we’re all skint. It’s about making do with what you’ve got.

AA: What’s the music all about?
TG: We don’t wanna change the world. We don’t write songs about ex-girlfriends - no love-songs, no angst. There are some social themes. There’s also a fair few about drinking with your mates! We’re happy if someone goes on to find out about something, like vegetarianism, because they heard us mention it, but we’re not on a crusade.

AA: What does being signed mean to you as a band?
TG: It took ages to sink in. It wasn’t something we actively searched for. For us, it’s a chance to actually make a living out of playing music.

AA: Will it change you?
TG: Not really. It won’t change us musically. It won’t make us rich! I think it’ll make some things harder - it’ll put a strain on relationships, family and girlfriends, being out touring. Maybe I’m a bit afraid of losing touch.

AA: What advice would you give a band looking to get signed?
TG: Don’t stop trying! But spend time finding out what band you really want to be. Don’t assume a shelf-life and then say, ‘We’ve done a year of this, we’re not signed, let’s quit’. You have to work the country. Last week, we took the Megabus to Leeds with all our kit to play a show. Local bands need to look beyond the nearest big venue. Get out there, play some awful shows to small audiences in places that have never heard of you. That’ll help you decide if you really want to do it properly.