We sent new rockers Dakota some questions via e-mail to find out about how they are enjoying being in the music industry so far, what we can expect from their debut album, what they have planned for the future and much more.

Hello and thank you for taking time out to answer these questions!
No problemo, we’re answering this on the way to a gig as we speak!

First of all can you give us a brief history of the band such as how you came together as a band and came up with the name Dakota?
Well we got together autumn of 2008, Tom had known Ben for a couple of years but didn’t know he was a muscian. We then met Aaron and Rob through friends of friends and started playing together. We settled on a direction with the music around Christmas time 2008 and settled on the name as we’re all Lennon fans, couple with Ben’s love of architecture, lead us to Dakota. (The Dakota building was where Lennon was shot!)

Who would you say your main musical influences are?
We each bring our own musical influences to it and there’s so many band’s we could name but to make it easier, we’ll name one band each that influence us!
(Ben) Manic Street Preachers, Blur Aaron: The Doors (Tom) Foo Fighters Bob: Them Crooked Vultures
And everything inbetween!

So you are from Leamington-Spa, what’s the music scene like their?S
It’s really starting to pick up now what with the Leamington Assembly attracting the big name bands and Leam has a rich history of hosting free outdoor festivals.

Your latest single ‘We Get Along’ is out now can you tell us a bit about the song?
It’s a tale of love and friendship, when a relationships on the rocks you can turn to your mates who’ll have your back and get you through that tough period.

You are set to release your debut album ‘Heart And Soul’ soon, can you tell us a bit of background information about the album?
It’s about a girl! Ben wrote it after a breakup with a girl he had felt very strongly for. It’s a winding tale or love, loss and friendships ending in ‘closure song’ which wraps up the story. There’s something in there that we think most people can relate too.

How did you find writing and recording ‘Heart And Soul’?
From Ben’s point of view it was very cathartic process and putting a closure to his emotions for the relationship that the album is based on

You currently only have a couple of gig dates announced, can we expect a full length Dakota tour once the album has been released?
We’re currently three or four dates a month but are in the process of putting a full length tour together to support the release of the album!

What can someone who has never seen you before expect from your live show?
High energy, good music and a bit of banter inbetween.

How does it feel to have record of the day website choosing you as one of their bands to watch throughout 2010?
Yeah, not bad. It’s great to have their support!

MySpace seems to be a big tool in the music industry these days with bands communicating with their fans over it and some even ditching their own website and having just a MySpace site, what are your opinions on MySpace as a tool in the music industry?
We love myspace, it’s easy and quick to use to interact with fans and it’s all on one page! For those of us that are less than technical it’s great and plus we can get it on our phones. Perfect.

Where would you like to see Dakota in a years time?
Promoting our second album and playing live somewhere near you!

One random question that we ask every band, if you could be an animal out of a Zebra and a Giraffe which one would you be and why?
Well, we’d like to be a zebra, we just feel that a giraffe would be cool to be so high up for a couple of hours, but after that could become really inconvenient. Plus the vertigo could be an issue.

Thanks for your time do you have a message for your fans reading this?
Our pleasure, to anyone reading this, support live music!

Interview By Trigger