By: Alexandria McLean | @itbalexandria 

The Vamps have taken the UK by storm. With more than 700,000 subscribers on YouTube, and with over 1 million followers on Twitter, The Vamps are finally crossing the pond and entering the North American music scene.

Formed in 2012, James McVey (lead guitar and vocals) discovered Bradley Simpson (lead vocals and guitar) and Tristan Evans (drums and vocals) on YouTube. Connor Ball (bass and vocals) was added as the fourth and final member a year later completing The Vamps.

Since then, The Vamps have been posting covers on YouTube and to this day have received over 54 million views! Having toured with Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, and McFly, and having released a full debut album in the UK, North American fans could not be more excited that their music will finally be available here.

August 4^th marks the release of their first North American EP ‘Somebody To You’.  With a feature from Demi Lovato, covers of One Direction and 5 Seconds of Summer, and original songs, the EP is sure to be a hit.

THE MAGAZINE caught up with lead singer Bradley Simpson to talk about the release of the new EP and visiting Canada for the first time! Check it out to find out how THE MAGAZINE was able to help Brad cross something off his bucket list.

THE MAG: Your EP is being released in North America August 4^th so you are fairly new to the North American music scene. How would you describe The Vamps to someone who may not be too familiar with your band?

BRAD: Describe our band? Okay well, I would say we are acoustic-driven indie pop rock kind of vibe. That’s the best way I could describe our sound.  We’re a band. We are not a vocal group, not a boyband. It is very easy to get labeled boyband but we are a tradition band, singer, lead guitarist, rhythm guitarist, bassist, and drummer. So it’s a traditional band. We are quite an energetic band; we like to think that our live shows are the best show of The Vamps.  Our shows are where we focus all of our energy essentially.

THE MAG: What can people expect from Somebody To You EP.

BRAD: Somebody to you is a, kind of like a mid temp summery feel good song. There is a nice sentiment about the song, all you want to be is somebody to this one girl, that is the whole sentiment of the song. I think it’s quite a universal, relatable term. The EP on a whole has quite a few different tunes. There is so many formats, I don’t even know which one you are getting released where and when and which songs are on it, but I do know there will probably be a cover that I did of Sweater Weather by The Neighborhood on there. We got a lot of cover on there because that is how we gained our fans, through covers on YouTube.

THE MAG: How are you feeling that your music will finally be released in North America?

BRAD: We are very excited! Obviously it is something that we have been wanting to do for so long, especially since the album is out in the majority of the world apart from America. Now, we are just doing our first proper single in America. We kind of did it in a bit of a weird way, but I think that was because we knew we wanted finally release it at a time where we knew we could put in the work, and come over and spend time over there. Hence why we are doing it at the same time of the Austin Mahone tour. We get to release it and then kind of go around North America with it. But yeah, we cannot wait! It’s going to be a lot of fun!

THE MAG: You are all from different musical backgrounds, and have different musical inspirations. How did you combine all four members sound into the EP?

BRAD: I think it’s more kind of shown in the album, more so than the EP. Well, yeah it’s there even in the EP. When all four of us sit down at the studio, a lot of us produce, and all of us write, and it works really well. We have got kind of like a sound that comes out of us four, and its quite consistent. Even if we are covering a song, we will turn it into our own style. For example, the 5 Seconds of Summer cover, it’s quite a pop-punky song and we kind of put our own twist on it. I wouldn’t say it’s more bluesy but the chords are a bit different. I think our sounds combine very well. Sweater Weather has got quite a bluesy kind of feel about it and that’s coming from my musical background, which is like the sort of music I like to play. I actually just did that in my bedroom and that’s how it ended up sounding like it did.

THE MAG: Which song off the EP are you most excited for fans to hear?

BRAD: I think, I am excited for everyone to hear Somebody To You actually. I think is Sweater Weather on the EP the digital version? She Looks So Perfect, I think I am excited what people think. Just because I don’t think people expected us to cover that. I think people always think, not a rivalry, but people think there is something their between us and 5SOS. On our end, there is literally no malice or angst or anything. It’s a great song so we covered it. We like to cover songs that we like. So I am excited to see what could come out of that.

THE MAG: You will be going on tour with Austin Mahone this summer, and stopping in Toronto, Canada on August 13^th. What are you most excited for about coming to Canada?

BRAD: We have never been. I am just excited to see what it is like. I have only met like, I don’t even think I have met a Canadian in my life, so I am just excited to see Canada and experience Canada. What should I be excited for?

THE MAG: Well, first of all a Canadian magazine is interviewing you right now, so I think you can cross that off.

BRAD: Ahaha, check that off the bucket list!

THE MAG: You should definitely try to do Edge Walk on top of the CN Tower, and try poutine, which are fries, gravy and cheese.

BRAD: Okay! I am excited! That is actually, they do that in Northern England, chips and gravy!

THE MAG: Perfect, but now you just got to add the cheese! This concert will be your first Canadian performance, what can Canadian fans expect?

BRAD: Lots of energy, and lots of excitement! We try to get the fans engaged as much as we can in our live performance. That is our favourite bit, hands down.  Lots of energy, I hope it’s a good show that people will enjoy.

THE MAG: Between making music, touring and doing interviews, what do you do for fun?

BRAD: I used to skateboard a lot, but then I had to stop for a year and a half because my manager told me. But I have picked up my skateboard again recently so I started skateboarding again which is really nice because it’s just the best way to clear your mind. When you are skateboarding you aren’t really thinking about anything. So that’s one. I just started Prison Break, and I am on episode four. Just sleeping really, just chilling. Basically just typical teenage boy things.

THE MAG: Is there anything you would like to say to your Canadian fans?

BRAD: We love you and we are excited to see you on the Austin Mahone tour. Thank you for all your support. Hopefully you enjoy the EP and we will see you soon!

Thanks Brad! Make sure to get your copy of ‘Somebody To You’ out August 4^th! Don’t miss The Vamps first Canadian performance at Echo Beach in Toronto on August 13^th!