How new Sheffield band, The Warehouse Club, are trying to hold onto the momentum of their #16 debut single - while in lockdown

It had been an exciting few months for the newly-formed Sheffield band, whose debut single, ‘Too Little Too Late,’ landed at number 16 on iTunes alternative charts last month - sandwiched between Liam Gallagher and Lewis Capaldi.

Its five members were busy preparing to take the stage at The Leadmill on April 10 for the band’s debut gig, in front of a crowd of 600 - when lockdown was announced.

“Everything went on pause, and there wasn’t much we could do other than stay put in our own homes,” keyboard player Evan Watson reveals, as he meets his bandmates on Zoom for a chat.

“We’ve re-scheduled our debut gig to September, and now we’re just trying to keep the momentum going.”

It’s a frustrating time for the five musicians, who are keen to push their music out, but they are determined that their time in isolation won’t be wasted.

Evan says: “Nathan writes a lot of our music, and he seems to be writing a new song every day, he’s completely in the zone.

Nathan adds: “I’ve got a home studio, so I can write tracks there and send them out to the other lads so that they can write their own parts. It’s a lot of backwards and forwards, but at least it’s workable.

“If anything, it’s giving us more time to put together the set for our first gig, and we’re hoping that ticket sales will continue in the meantime. We’d love to sell out the main room at The Leadmill come September.”

Lead vocalist and guitarist Nathan Kobierowski, aged 25, was the driving force for bringing the musicians together at the end of 2019.

As well as he and Evan, the band includes drummer Brendan Hoare, guitarist Sam Heathcote, and bass player Matthew Cundy.

Nathan says: “I’d been writing a couple of songs and had a concept for a band I wanted to put together, so I reached out to a few lads I knew that would fit the part.

“Four of us went to Wisewood School, though we were in different years, so we knew each other a little, and some of us had teamed up on various musical projects in the past.

“For The Warehouse Club, I met up with each of the lads, and they came into the studio and laid down their own parts for ‘Too Little Too Late.’ I knew straight away this was going to work.

“That means of course, the first time the five of us got together in a room to jam through some songs, our first single was already finished.”

Evans chips in: “It’s a good thing we all got on, because if we hadn’t liked each other at that point, it would have been a bit too late!

“Luckily it’s a great band chemistry, as soon as we got in the room, it was brilliant.”

They also reveal that the response to the debut single took everyone by surprise,

Nathan explains: “We put a lot of work into pre-orders, and a pre-release campaign, but still it was overwhelming when it landed in iTunes alternative charts, when we’ve not even done a gig yet.

“We pulled out all the stops with the single, trying to think outside the box, for new ways to promote it.

“We created a basic Mario-type game on a site called Simmer.IO where people could choose one of us as their character, and then work their way through Sheffield to get to the Leadmill gig.

“The track on the game is an eight-bit version of ‘Too Little Too Late,’ and that had a really good impact.

“Anybody who made it to The Leadmill at the end got a code to give them early access to the music video.”

Evan says: “Personally I think ‘Too Little Too Late’ is a perfect example of our music, and while it’s what people would describe as indie, or alternative, Nathan has a pop background in writing too and I think that comes across a little. The song is so catchy, and could almost sit in a regular chart.

“The truth is, it’s not even my favourite song, we have some great tracks. I can’t wait for people to hear some of the other stuff we’re creating.”

For now, of course, any recording of new tracks, and live performances, are on hold indefinitely, but that isn’t stopping the band from planning ahead.

Nathan says: “We’ve had a lot of gig offers through, so we’re just trying to use this time to put together a plan, for performances, and for releasing more music.

“In some ways this is a rare opportunity to really take stock and make sure we’re ready for everything that comes after this situation is all resolved.”

And the focus is definitely on giving their Sheffield fans a night to remember.

Nathan adds: “By the time September rolls around, we’re determined that our gig at The Leadmill will be an experience that everyone will go home and remember.”

Visit facebook.com/TheWarehouseClubBand