Exeter four-piece Pushbike draw on the very best of 90s and 00s alternative guitar music, rolling countless influences into a single sharp-edged group, whose songs feel both familiar and newly alive. They’re closely involved with the No Band Is An Island collective, which has hosted early shows for the likes of Westside Cowboy and Dove Ellis, and it feels as though Pushbike themselves are not far from similar success. The band – George Gravell (guitar, vocals), Jamie Dunne (bass, vocals), Niall Ivie (guitar, vocals) and Tom Grogan (drums, vocals) – join us on a glitchy Zoom call after a long day recording their second EP, talking through everything from the origins of No Band Is An Island to the importance of regional music scenes and the drunken Guided by Voices cover that first brought them together.
Hello! How did recording go?
Jamie: Really great. First day down, tomorrow’s the second day. We’re currently sat outside the pub where we were recording.
George: Jack Ogbourne, the bloke producing it, is a wizard.
When and how did Pushbike first come about?
Jamie: I keep getting mixed up with the years, was it 2023 or 2024?
Niall: It was 2023, me and George started it with some other people and then these two joined later. We just liked the same music, really. Not a lot of people make music like that – a mix of Teenage Fan Club and Capn’ Jazz, more of the American hardcore emo stuff.
George: I think our first gig was in February 2024, and since then we’ve had a few line-up changes but the current line-up that we have at the table now is the only one that should ever exist.
Was there a definitive moment when you realised that Pushbike with you four would be the project that would go forward, that this would be the formation?
Niall: No, the first time all four of us played at the same time was when Tom came on stage when we were all really drunk with our old drummer and he took the microphone and we did a cover of Game of Pricks by Guided By Voices.
George: But we were all already aware of each other, Tom plays in another band called Bramwell and we knew Jamie through other bands called Kurtz and the Motorcycles and stuff like that. So we’ve all been aware of each other as musicians and our music tastes have all been similar. It makes sense, it was sort of destined to happen.
Tom: I joined Pushbike initially as a fan which is a really amazing thing. I was a huge fan when I first started watching them in November 2023 – I was deep into the Pushbike mindset already so it was easy to slot in.
You’re from Exeter, what’s the scene like there and how do you think the city shaped you?
Jamie: It’s brilliant. Them two (George and Niall) run a label called Spinning Sister in Exeter. Bramwell, the Motorcycles, Boys Want Cars, Pushbike. It’s just a really great insular and a bit incestuous scene. So many bands – it’s really, really good.
George: It’s following a long lineage of independent labels that formed in the Cavern since the 80s. All the people who run the Cavern now are old indie heads who have been doing it since day one, and they’re really committed to obtaining that. It definitely shows that good stuff happens outside of London. There’s always eyes on the big city, but the local scenes matter way more.
Through Spinning Sister you got the cassette release and then the 5-inch record as well. What was that like and how important is the physical side of things to you?
George: The physical side is really important. Me and Niall with Spinning Sister wanted to put out the cassette and plunge ourselves into debt.
Niall: I’ve never seen any money for them. I think we gave most of them away just because we’d get drunk and give them out. You’d catch us in the streets of Exeter just throwing them at people.
George: The 5-inch was because we wanted to call it a record label, and you can’t call it a record label if you don’t sell records. It was the easiest, cheapest way to have one record out. We just wanted to see the logo on something. I’ve never been able to play one on my record player though, do they work?
Niall: It’s because you’ve got a shit record player, mine plays it fine.
Who are some of your biggest musical influences and how have they changed over time?
Tom: I don’t think it changes much, it always comes back. There’s a lot of influences by Teenage Fan Club, Cap’n Jazz, The Monkees. There’s a lot of 60s groups.
Jamie: I feel like it’s always there, it’s just that sometimes you’ll pick one more than the other to take inspiration from. You kind of pick and choose, but they’re the groups that we all agree on. We’re all on the same wavelength with them.
Are there any non-musical influences that seep into your work, any films, artists, or politics?
Jamie: Good question. The films of Gregoraki with his teenage angst mixed with…
Niall: Shut up. Technically, Whistlejacket on the first EP is about a painting, but I don’t really know how much – it’s more about horses than it is the painting. One of them references Jack Kerouac at one point too, but it’s not really cerebral.
Tom: George likes musicals.
If Pushbike were a musical, which would it be?
Tom: Westside Story.
Niall: Or Bugsy Malone. The Paul Williams soundtrack! The two best musical soundtracks are Westside Story and Bugsy Malone.
Jamie: And Tom’s girlfriend played Maria in the Tolkien Boys Grammar School production of Westside Story a few years back, so he’s got a connection. The first time he saw her, and he fell in love.
Tom: Thanks.
I went on your social media earlier to try and find stuff to ask about, but there isn’t really anything other than gig announcements. Does that reflect a reluctance towards social media, and what do you think about its role in music?
Tom: Social media should only really be used for gig announcements and stuff like that.
We don’t really post at all about anything. If you want to learn what we’re about you should come to the show and talk to us, but we don’t need to be filming 24 hours of the day showing you what we’re doing behind the scenes, nobody really gives a shit.
Niall: It’s like, who wants to advertise themselves? I don’t get that concept, I hate it. It’s just so bad, making social media posts is so draining emotionally and artistically. Why am I having to sell you to listen to me? If you do it, do it. If you don’t, don’t.
George: It’s nice to think that people keep coming to the shows and stuff anyway. They don’t feel the need to have a constant social media presence, and we’ve never really been about it either.
You’ve been involved with No Band Is an Island and seem to be part of a particularly strong local network of bands. How did you become part of that community, and how important has it been in terms of mutual support and helping everyone push forward together?
Niall: The genesis of the name was in a Spinning Sister zine, Tom wrote a piece in the first zine we put out and it came from a song by West Midlands called Kingdom of Hits.
George: Me and Niall got Westside Cowboy to play at The Cavern before the first single. Niall heard a few demos online, and we got them down just because we wanted to listen to them. Then we just got to know them, I feel like we’re quite similar in a lot of senses.
Tom: Then we played the first No Band Is An Island with them and Martial Arts, and it’s just kept going. It’s really good. We’re all about great people. Community and bands and dreams.
It’s just over two years since Pushbike first started. Where do you see Pushbike two years in the future, what would you like to have achieved?
Tom: Opening for the Foo Fighters at Wembley Stadium. No, Foo Fighters opening for us at Wembley Stadium.
Jamie: We want to release our EP and then we want to do an album and then whatever we do after is whatever. Maybe our album will be the only thing we ever do. Better to burn out than fade away.
George: For now, it’s just great that we’ve got people who are interested and want to get on board, it’s very much appreciated.
Do Pushbike have any New Year’s resolutions, musically or otherwise?
Jamie: I gave everyone some New Year’s resolutions. George has to talk less loud, Niall has to eat less smelly food. I didn’t come up with one for Tom because he is perfect.
Tom: I quit smoking. Jamie what’s yours?
Jamie: Go on Instagram Reels less.
Words: Donovan Livesey Photos: @owen_bd_videos
