Doomed Confessionary: Mik, Matt, Si & Al (Commoner)
Commoner is a “downtrodden crust doom rock” band with a miasma of influences. Members hail from various places in the UK but based in Norwich, Norfolk.
The band’s sophomore full-length album »A Commoner’s Quest« was just released on March 27th, 2024 in digital format.
Commoner are Mik (guitar, vocals), Matt (guitar), Si (bass, backing vocals) and Al (drums).
Can you say a few words about your band?
We are Commoner a downtrodden crusty doom outfit based in Norwich/London, we began life in 2021, we all mostly hail from a punk/crusty/heavy/hardcore background but got together to do something doomheavy and riff based as we all been listening to that stuff for decades!
What was the biggest challenge for the band last year?
We all have jobs so keeping a band happy and together is the biggest challenge, we put a lot of effort into Commoner to make it a worthwhile endeavor but there’s always things that go wrong whether with gigging, recording, or jamming. Fellowship is life, and a band is a fellowship, and life is unpredictable so there are always challenges, you deal with them and move on, we shall overcome!!
What can you be most proud of so far?
Pride is a sin aint it?? We’ve just finished a crackin weekend mini tour with Morag Tong, a splendid bunch of lads and a killer band, we are proud to have played with them as we are all the bands we are lucky enough to share stages with these last coupla years, that and the fact we released our 2nd album »A Commoner’s Quest« on Bandcamp as a free download last week, we are all proud of how the album came out, took us a while but we got there in the end, I think that’s what we are most proud of thus far!
What was your biggest regret?
Regrets?? We’ve had a few, but then again, too few to mention!
We dont do regrets, lifes too short!
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
They are all good, the fact we can play at all is a privilege, so it’s hard to say what’s the best/worst as you put as much as you can into the band and playing live, all the gigs were the best!
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
We’ve all been doing bands for many years, so nothing much surprises us anymore apart from the fact that there is an explosion of creativity going on in music at the moment, and its amazing to see and be part of. Maybe it was the Pandemic, who knows but the last few years the amount of bands about is bonkers. Not just in our genre, in all genres people are turning their backs on corporate music crap and taking the stage themselves, there’s so many bands these days I think we are on the cusp of a golden age of music creation, bring it on, its great!
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Personally, my heavy stuff i listen to at the mo’ is Witchskull, Àudn, Mountain Caller, Thin Lizzy, Slift, Volcanova, Ufomammut, Red Eyed Cult, Ritual King, Entombed, Kal-El, Kaelen Mikla, Rory Gallagher, Flamebearer, Sunn 0))), Bell Witch, Corrupted, North City Lager System and Commoner, to name a few!
Can you say something more about the music scene in Norwich?
Norwich has a crackin music scene for all genres, it’s a small town but the live scene is very active and it’s great, there have been times when venues were in small numbers but there’s some great ones kicking about now, Voodoo Daddies is the one we played w Morag Tong a few days ago, and the turnout was great. We arent far from London and so much goes on there it’s hard to keep up! Norwich is a good place to play and has thriving live punk/hardcore/metal scenes, people here like live music and its a good place to play!
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
Friday 19th April – Old Street Brewery London with Red Eyed Cult and Kushthulu (free entry)
Saturday 22nd June – Black Heart Camden, London with Extinction of Mankind and Red Eyed Cult
Saturday 6th July – Bristol, the Moor Beer Co, other bands tbc
Saturday 20th July – Doomlines Festival Rotherham w loads of bands, including Slomatics and Witchsorrow
All the gigs this year so far!
What are your plans for the future as a band?
To keep creating and making great riffs, to enjoy doing it, and to play as often as we are able! We’d like to get well known enough to play festivals abroad and travel with our music but like i said playing anywhere is great fun, we take the band seriously but not too seriously or it becomes a drag, we are all a bit long in the tooth to expect fortune and fame.
We just wanna be as big as Taylor Swift one day, play the Superbowl so everyone can ignore massacres, thats all, its not much to ask and its obvious we are gonna be huge one day, we’d be as big as Taylor Swift if we’d sold as many records as her!
How can people best support your band?
Come see us live, buy Merch, spread the Riffs far and wide as the Quest is never ending!!!
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Thanks if you do listen to us, we are glad if anyone enjoys what we do, support your local bands and scene as its what keeps it all alive and kicking, especially for DIY bands like ourselves, any support we get we have eternal gratitude for so big love from us all you Commoner listeners, you’ve got taste and Thank You for listening to us, buying merch and/or streaming our toons, we got lots more in the works!!
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well