Having
spent their formative years playing and recording music together
in their hometown of Burbage, Leicestershire, school friends Nick
Moreton, Darren Jilks and Jonny Takhar formed Have A Go Hero at
the beginning of 2003 as a reincarnation of their previous band
Snap to Zero. With half-hearted attempts at studying at various
universities abandoned, the band spent the rest of the year honing
their sound, recording demos, and finally completing their current
line-up with the addition of bass player Gav Weir.
More
self-recorded EPs were to follow, and the four-piece were starting
to make friends and fans all over the country with their increasingly
impressive live performances. In March 2005 the band headed out
to Lockjaw Records’ Waiting Room studios to record the songs
that would eventually make up the ‘Thinking of Names for
J’ EP. The recordings impressed the Lockjaw crew, and the
following month they signed the band to the Label, with the EP
set for release in June 2005, and tours scheduled for later in
the year.
While
Have A Go Hero’s sound has been compared to bands such as
the Get Up Kids, Brand New and Jimmy Eat World, the band is quick
to sidestep the ‘emo’ tag, drawing influences from
the likes of the Smashing Pumpkins and the Cure, and crafting
their own blend of hard, melodic pop-rock.
