Interview: Get to Know Penny Rebels

Interview with James and Eng Wei of Penny Rebels

What first got you into music?

JB - My parents record collection, and long drives with my folks listening to cassettes.

EWC - My earliest memory was finding my dad's vinyl collection, and it was a record by The Shadows. I remember the cover had a Vox amp with some Fender Stratocasters leaning up against it. I think it had a song called Apache on it…

How would you describe your music to someone who hasn’t heard it before?

JB - Fun, Bluesy, Dirty Rock that doesn't take itself too seriously

EWC - It’s riff driven. If you can’t pull a stank face to the riff then it’s no good! 

Was there a defining moment when you realized music was your calling?

JB - It was a mixture of being scared and also being young enough to be brave. My first band was at school, I must have been 14, I can’t really remember too much about it all, but we had the guts to try and to play gigs until it was shut down because we got caught bunking school to play a gig. Quite a few years later I got asked if I would be interested in joining another band, so I had some understanding of what it was all about. I think if I hadn't had that previous experience I wouldn't have been brave enough. That band was great fun and that's when I caught the bug. Being part of making something out of nothing and then the buzz you get from going a show, it's a crazy feeling.

EWC - I’ve been performing music since I was in double digits and it’s something I’ve always loved doing.

Where do you find inspiration for your lyrics or melodies?

JB - We are all a lot older now, so inspiration comes from our experiences. Things we have seen, felt or heard.

EWC - Quite often the music comes first and the inspiration for the words just jump out. We might start with “scat” lyrics and it evolves into real words and that then inspires the rest of the song.

An example though, for the lyrics to the song “Open Road”, it came to my mind it would be great to open the song with “Well my mama”, like a classic blues track. My mum did call me a disappointment, so the song starts with “Well my mama, used to call me a disappointment"! So, from that point on the lyrics tell the story of how I followed my own nose through life without doing what I was told! Perhaps I should’ve done what I was told….lol

How do you balance personal expression and creating something your audience will love?

JB - Well, our music genre isn’t exactly ‘current’, Blues and Rock is not exactly what the majority are listening to these days, so I don’t think we worry too much. We just come up with an idea and play around with it until we like it.

EWC - Yeah if we’re having fun with it then that’s all that matters. We’re not trying to create something incredible that’s never been heard before, but music can still be familiar and resonate with people.

What has been the most rewarding moment of your career so far?

JB - Releasing our first song on Spotify and reaching 15k monthly listeners was crazy!! Playing ‘Giants of Rock’ festival in Minehead was awesome and being nominated for ‘Best Classic Rock & Blues Act’ by Wigwam Radio and coming 2nd. 

Are there any specific milestones you’re working toward in your career?

JB - I think a short-term milestone would be finishing our Album. Long term Milestone would be giving up the day job to focus on music.

EWC - It’s been a while since there’s been physical media for music, so I’d love to hold a 12” vinyl of our album when it’s complete. Hopefully this year!

How do you prepare for a show or tour?

JB - Personally I spend as much time as possible going over and over the songs, I want to make sure that I am confident and comfortable in my role as singer. I also try to get fitter so that I'm not as out of breath from larking about on stage.

EWC - 100% I’m not keen on standing still on stage so gotta do a bit of cardio!! I run through the set quite a lot especially if we have gaps between shows just to remind myself of all my cues!

What’s the most unusual or memorable thing that’s happened to you on stage?

JB - The most memorable thing that’s happened to me, and possibly scarred me for life is… In my previous band we headlined a show at the Boileroom in Guildford. The bands on before were pretty hardcore screamy bands. We came on and gave it 100% at the beginning of our set. A big rock entrance! I grabbed the house mic and lifted it above my head to scream into it when a shot (or half a cup) of spit from all the other singers went straight down my throat. I swallowed it… I then span around and threw up next to the drummer. Somehow, I managed to get back to the mic in time for my part. From that moment onwards I always brought my own mic with me to gigs… Yuck!

EWC - another gross one: I had flu, but I still wanted to do the gig. I remember having a box of tissues on my amp and halfway through the set a load of snot came flying out onto the stage just as I turned around away from the audience!

Can you tell us about your latest project or release?

JB - We are writing a Dirty, Blues / Rock album, we have 8 songs finished and another 4 in the works. We try to keep our songs a little humorous, as I have said before we aren’t taking ourselves too seriously. We just wanna have fun with it and I think that is obvious from our live shows and videos. I’m hoping by mid 2026 we should have an album ready, but I am also aware that these things can take longer than you think, so please watch this space. 

Are there any collaborations in the works you’re excited about?

JB - No collaborations with other bands in the pipeline, but we are working on a song that is bigger than just the 5 of us… I can’t say too much at this time.

EWC - That said, we're open to collaborations... if you fancy working with us, get in touch! 

What message or emotion do you hope people take away from your music?

JB - Just to be happy and have a good time. I don’t think we are trying to rewrite the play book or do anything that hasn’t already been done before musically. We are just putting our stamp on a style of music we love and having fun doing it and I hope that people have fun listening to it. 

Who are you listening to right now?

JB - To be honest, no one really. We are currently writing songs, so any spare time I have, I am listening to our song ideas.

EWC - We listened to a lot of Sleep Token on the way to a gig the other day. I find what they’re doing really interesting and how they can really divide opinion.

How do you see your music evolving in the next few years?

JB - Our music is already evolving which is great. The whole band has influence and that creates something unique. We might set out to write a certain style song and end up somewhere else entirely, and that is great. Who knows what our music will sound like in a few years' time, I'm excited to find out.

EWC - That’s the fun thing about what we’re doing, there’s no great master plan and the foundation of the music is in the classics of rock, blues and a bit of funk.

How do you handle the balance between commercial success and artistic integrity?

JB - Hahaha ask us again when we have those problems. It is an interesting question, but I would like to think we would just carry on writing for us and not be forced into rewriting the same album over and over again.

EWC - The only thing that I feel relates to us right now is that we’re not trying to write the next hit single and no desire to be current. Now if we can find commercial success in another way that would be great! At the moment commercial success isn’t on the cards so we’re just enjoying making music and performing it.

What’s next for you? Any upcoming projects, tours, or surprises?

JB - Many more gigs this year, hopefully our 1st Album will be finished and out this year. More music videos this year, and who knows maybe we will start writing our 2nd Album.

EWC - I think each new song is a bit of a surprise, to us and to the people that follow us

Anything You'd Like Your Fans to Know.

JB - We love you all!! And can’t thank you enough for all your support!! We look forward to seeing you on the road soon!!  

Link to Music:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5kvexhqNjywDVmARMHFA7g