“Pop Punk just hits better when its inherently queer, right?”
An interview with uninvited, an up-and-coming pop punk band from glasgow you can’t sleep on
by Irene Dumas.
ig: @officialuninvitedtiktok: @uninvitedofficialfacebook: @un1nvitedmusic
How did you all meet?
“In 2020, Jay and Alex were added to an Instagram group chat during lockdown to make friends in Glasgow, which was kind of weird looking back at it… weird, but cute. Alex then knew Fiorenza because they grew up in the same wee town outside Glasgow. We then started to meet up as restrictions lifted, went for drinks and drunkenly suggested starting a band. Little did we know we’d still be doing it 6 years later.”
2. Why did you start making music?
“The three of us have always been “doing” music since we were really young. We were all brought up around music; family members playing guitar, drums or singing. It’s been something we’ve just never not done, and always been a great passion of ours. Ever since I was young (Alex) I remember being 5/6 and being asked what I wanted to be when I grow up, and I’d always say musician.”
3. What are your individual backgrounds with music?
Alex: “I started playing guitar at 9 and piano at 13. I wanted to start even younger but my dad always told me my hands were too small!”
Fiorenza: “I was always into music from a young age. I first started off playing violin when I was about 7 or 8. sang at any chance that I could in all the school talent shows, until I finally found my love for drumming when I got to high school.”
Jay: “I grew up around musical people, my dads side of the family were musicians. He would always take me to those cash converter shops and we’d pick out random CD’s and cassettes for my CD player. My first instrument I learned to play was the saxophone. Before that I had keyboards (that wouldn’t last) and I grew up watching my dad play guitar. I always begged him to teach me but he never would! So when I was 15 I had enough birthday money to buy an acoustic guitar and just taught myself how to play!”
4. tell us about a day in the life of Uninvited making music!
“If we know we’re writing music we all individually have on our notes app a bunch of lyrics. Depending on what the riff is that we’ve decided to build upon we come up with a mumble that resembles some lyrics. Or sometimes someone will say something that would be a “good song idea” and we’ll go from there. It’s always fun coming up with ideas that we can all bounce off of.”
“Usually Jay will come in with some lyrics and chords. Sometimes we can just be talking about something and start humming a tune, next thing we know it we’ve written a song. We usually are most inspired when we are just chilling in our studio.”
5. What do you want people to feel when they hear you for the first time?
“We want people to just enjoy it and be inspired. We want young girls to know that they can also pursue music too! It’s funny because when we first started and hadn’t released any music yet, and played our first show - a few people would say, I didn’t realise you were that good. It’s like the bar is already set pretty low.”
6. What would you like queer listeners to know when they listen to you? Any particular emotions you are trying to evoke?
Fiorenza: “I feel that we are always trying push the feeling of hope out there and that there is always light at the end of the tunnel no matter how bad it gets, we’ve all individually had our struggles but in the end we always come back stronger.”
7. How does being based in Glasgow show up in your music or your routine?
Fiorenza: “There’s a sense of community here, everyone’s always up for a party which really shows when we perform here. I feel for a lot of the people that live here embrace independence and stand strong on their political beliefs which is what we feel strongly about too which definitely shows in our music.”
extra little questions with jay!
1. What’s the most punk thing you’ve done this week (even if it’s small)?
“The most punk thing I’ve done this week is vote!"
2. What’s A lyric you love that isn’t yours and why?
“There are entirely too many. If i had to choose it would definitely be any and all The Story So Far songs”
