We might not be the biggest fans of ska here at Thrash Hits, but Random Hand serve it up with an added serving of balls and a double portion of awesome. We caught up with bassist Joe Tilston to talk a bit of 2-tone.

From: Keighley, West Yorkshire
Sounds like: Pennywise, The King Blues
Website: www.MySpace.com/RandomHand

How did you meet?
We were all in several bands with each other in different combinations as we where growing up, and we just happened to all be in the same place at the right place at the right time when all of those bands fell apart, and we thought maybe playing some music would be a little more productive than playing Halo.

What made you want to start a band?
Music has always been a huge part of my life, I don’t think there has ever been a time when I haven’t wanted to play music with people. The other guys all seemed to be equally passionate about mixing things up so it just happened.

What was it like growing up in Yorkshire?
The area we’re from is notorious for its race problems and it’s easy to focus on the bad things like that and chavs, but on the whole its a great place and I had a good time growing up there.

What are your musical influences?
As a band we share a few key influences like Rage, Skindred, The Specials and other British 2 Tone, and many more pop punk bands and the like, but as individuals we have hugely varying tastes. My listening habits are very schizophrenic at the moment I’d list my personal influences as Cancer Bats and Duran Duran.

With which band would your dream support slot be?
I always wanted and still do want to do a tour with Skindred. Such an amazing band

What bands do you consider as part of your scene or as your peers?
Sonic Boom Six, The Skints, Mike TV, Grown at Home (now “Advantage”) and the King Blues to name just a few. There are so many bands we love playing with and tour with that I would say are part of the scene, but it’s hard to pin it down to just a few bands.

What’s the best or funniest show you’ve played?
One of the funniest shows was the other week in Falmouth when we where opening for Reel Big Fish. Robin [Leitch, vocals] jumped off the drum riser during the beginning of the last song and completely bailed, landing with his legs in the air and his head between two monitors, upside down and staring the front row in the face. Somehow he still managed to sing the song – I laughed so hard I nearly threw up onstage.

What have you got planned for the future?
We’re just going to keep going how we have been and enjoy the ride. Tour our arses off and hope some people enjoy what we’re doing along the way. Not much else you can wish for really.

What other band should everyone find out about?
The Skints are going to take the scene and more by storm. There’s something really special about them, they won’t be supporting us for long.

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Random Hand’s second album, Inhale/Exhale, is out now on Rebel Alliance Recordings.

Random Hand April tourdates (supporting Propagandhi)
17 Sheffield Academy
18 Bristol Fiddlers
19 London Islington Academy
20 Brighton Concorde 2
21 Norwich Waterfront