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* Hi guys, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
ALEX: In the words of famed crimefighter Bueno Excellente: “Bueno…”
TRAD: All good! Just living it up. Working, stressing, playing. Same old!
CHRIS: Thanks for having us, great to be here! We’re doing great, thank you!
GAV: Keeping busy and excited for the single to drop!
* So you guys are returning with your new single “Rodeo”. What inspired the story and emotional core behind the track?
ALEX: Being fucked over by a woman I loved who unfortunately turned out to be an absolute sociopath. I haven’t checked but I’m pretty sure no song’s ever been written about heartbreak in the past. Still, y’know, “every cloud” and all that: we ultimately got a kick-ass rock ‘n’ roll song out of it.
TRAD: It’s about resilience! It comes from a place of being hurt but knowing that when you fall, the scrape on your knees will heal. While also being aware that chances are, you’re just gonna do it all again.
CHRIS: Musically, it’s one of those songs that pretty much wrote itself, the main riff popped into my head one day while I was sat playing guitar. I had the rest of the structure down pretty quickly and really liked it so I recorded it on my phone and sent it to the guys and they jumped on it and added their touches. That’s pretty much how the writing works with us, if we all like something it comes together pretty quickly.
* “Rodeo” focuses on strength and resilience after betrayal. Alex, how personal was the songwriting process for you on this one?
ALEX: Very. I’m a professional writer and have been writing ever since I was old enough to pick up a crayon, pencil, pen, whatever, so have always loved the written word, and as such I always put a lot of work into all of my writing, lyrics included. So when it comes to me trying to write about something particularly impactful from my personal life, understandably I want to be sure I do my best to express myself as honestly and meaningfully as I can. And regarding “Rodeo” specifically, while the inspiration might have originated in pain, that’s not the point of the song: it’s not about that pain but rather how you deal with it. And in my case, I’d already dealt with it in the past so knew I had the grit to do so again. The fall hurts, sure, but you get up and you move on. Eyes on the future, always.
* BURNING CIRCUS draws influence from legendary bands like The Rolling Stones, Guns N’ Roses, and Buckcherry. How do you balance those classic rock inspirations with a modern edge?
ALEX: It’s not an intentional choice or process, really. We just make music that excites and drives us, and hopefully engenders the same feelings in other people, and while of course our influences are a foundational part of that, we don’t worry about who we do or don’t sound like, whether we sound classic or modern, etc. I like to think we have our own sound that will appeal to a lot of rock ‘n’ roll fans.
TRAD: It’s not really intentional. We write music that we love. Everyone brings their own influences to the table. We never try to sound like anyone else, we just write songs that we love and that have the energy we’re trying to get across. The combination of all our own individual influences together don’t equal Buckcherry or the Rolling Stones. It makes BURNING CIRCUS! And that’s the beauty of it.
CHRIS: It’s not something that we overthink, we all just want to play rock ‘n’ roll! Those influences probably show in parts of our songs and have 100% shaped my guitar-playing, but the great thing is that (I don’t think) we sound anything like those bands. We’re not trying to be the next Guns ‘N’ Roses, for example, we’re just trying to be the best version of ourselves.
* Since forming in April 2024, you’ve already built a strong following through relentless gigging. How important has the live circuit been in shaping the band’s identity?
ALEX: We love performing live so that’s always been a big part of who we are as a band and will continue to be so. While the actual creation process is obviously where it all stems from, it’s just as important to us to get out there and play the songs we write in front of audiences, to feel that incredible buzz of performing music you’ve created in front of people, being amongst that sound, passion and energy. Oh, and sweat. There’s usually sweat.
TRAD: I joined the band in November of 2025. My first gig with these guys was in my home town and that night I saw so much love, support and fun within that crowd. That’s what keeps us going! Since then we’ve been playing all over the country and each time it gets better and better. It’s not necessarily the amount of gigs that are played but the reaction from the crowd that matters. Seeing our friends, family and strangers dance and sing along to the songs that we’ve been working so hard on is so rewarding and pushes us to keep doing what we do. And hopefully inspire other musicians or artists to stop worrying about the “what ifs” and just go all-in and enjoy what you do!
CHRIS: Massively important, there’s no better way for a band to learn their craft and get to know each other than getting out there and playing.
GAV: It’s the most important part of being in a band for me. Visiting new venues, networking with promoters and other bands… it’s the only way to ensure you get future gigs and cement a reputation as a band other people can reliably work with.
* Your early singles like “More Fool Me” and “Kicking and Screaming” gained international radio play. Did that early response change your expectations for the project?
ALEX: Not for me. I have no expectations, so while having our music played internationally was absolutely a great achievement for us, the creation process doesn’t change: we just focus on making music which excites and has meaning to us and which we’re proud of. It’s the only way to create music of worth. If people like it, that’s great and it’s something we’re always incredibly grateful for, but the music always comes first.
TRAD: Since I joined later on in the band’s journey, having these songs out already was a really good starting point for me. I can feel the energy and passion from those early days and I wanna keep that alive and well for as long as possible! I wasn’t there for the early response but since I joined, songs like “Rodeo” and “Doing Right, Done Wrong” have had great responses from crowds and long-time fans, so I can only be hopeful as to where the future is gonna take us!
CHRIS: On a personal level, it made me realise how much I still love doing this. I’d been out of playing in a band for a long time and that buzz of hearing your songs come to life, blast out of the studio speakers, get played on radio on the other side of the world, etc. just makes me want to keep doing it. I write more music now than at any other point in my life. That early response definitely re-lit the fire!
* Your debut EP No Moment of the Passing Life introduced many listeners to your sound. Looking back, what did that release represent for the band at that stage?
ALEX: It was a milestone, definitely. Apart from a change of bassist, we’d been together for over a year at that point and had released some singles, but we’d been planning for a while to release an EP of more songs, to gather the newer songs together as one collection. And speaking for myself, the title and cover image are very personal to me: the title is taken from a quote by Henry David Thoreau regarding the importance of living in the present, and the image is a photograph I took during time I spent on a Wyoming cattle ranch earlier that year, which was one of the most momentous experiences of my life.
CHRIS: It was actually a bit of a tricky time for us, we had a tough year (2025) due to a number of circumstances and had also had a couple of line-up changes, one right as we were about to go into the studio, so the fact that we managed to get the EP released at all was an achievement. Looking back, that EP represents our commitment to this band and our belief in the songs that we write, we got it done at a time when a lot of bands probably would have delayed it or split completely. It would be totally different if we recorded it now, but that’s not a bad thing, it captures where we were at that point.
* “Leave the Bottle” has continued to gain traction globally. Why do you think that particular track has resonated so strongly with listeners?
ALEX: Lyrically, I can’t claim to be saying much with this one beyond my occasional desire to say “Fuck it”, climb into a bottle of liquor, drown my sorrows and never come out again. But I think it has a lot to offer musically, it’s a catchy and fun song which I’m really proud of.
TRAD: I feel like it’s relatable to many people in many ways. Everyone has their own relationship with alcohol. Some people turn to it for comfort, others use it to have a good time, others have had life-altering experiences due to alcohol consumption, good and bad. I feel like whatever your own experience or relationship is with booze, there’s something in this track that everyone can connect with. Also, it just sounds SO GOOD! How can you not want that catchy chorus in your ears?
CHRIS: Good question! I have no idea! It’s a ton of fun to play and always goes down well live too, we captured that live energy really well in the studio and I think people like that in a rock band, we don’t try and over-polish anything.
GAV: For me it’s got a lot of cool individual elements and builds to a great climax.
* With “Rodeo” arriving alongside a music video, how important is the visual side of storytelling for BURNING CIRCUS?
ALEX: Speaking for myself, it’s very important. I don’t really do it anymore but I used to draw as much as I used to write, and in fact wanted to be a comic book artist before I decided to focus more on writing, so between that and my love and study of cinema, I’ve always had an appreciation for visual storytelling. We had a huge amount of fun making the music video for “Rodeo” and definitely plan on doing the same for future songs.
TRAD: Art has many faces. Song-writing and storytelling go hand in hand. There’s only so much you can get from the soundscape alone. Having a visual alongside it helps show the energy and passion we’ve put into the song, whilst also giving it new layers of meaning in the form of a story. We didn’t want it to just be a 3-minute video of us playing the song, plenty of those exist. We really wanted to capture the intention of the lyrics, while also leaving just enough up for interpretation.
CHRIS: It was really important to us that the video wasn’t just us playing the song onstage somewhere. My favourite music videos are the ones that have a storyline going on, we wanted to bring that into the video and will be doing the same on our next one too.
GAV: I think we’re only just getting that locked down with the stable line-up and identity.
* Derby isn’t always the first place people think of when discussing emerging rock scenes. How has coming from Derby influenced your journey as a band?
ALEX: I’m originally from Wales but have lived in Derby on-and-off a few times over the years, and honestly, I don’t give a shit about patriotism or geography or anything related, we’re all just people, and in terms of the band specifically it’s made no difference simply beyond us being lucky enough to meet a bunch of other guys within reach who shared the same desire to create the kind of music that we all love and get out there and play it.
TRAD: Derby is such a social hub for so many subcultures that exist. There’s so many talented artistic people living in and around Derby, many people come here for a night out and to find something new. Sometimes that something new is us!
CHRIS: For a small city there is a good, active scene here, with some good bands and some great promoters / venues. I’ve watched bands in these venues and seen them pack them out, it gives you something to aim for. We have our first headline gig here for ages in May, it’ll be a lot of fun!
* With a busy summer of UK shows ahead and new material in the works, what can fans expect from the next chapter of BURNING CIRCUS?
ALEX: A misguided, pretentious, self-indulgent, prog-rock double-album which results in the band breaking up following a disappointing critical and commercial reception. But seriously, I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together so far and the plan is simply to carry on doing what we love: writing and performing blood-pumping, passionate, life-affirming rock ‘n’ roll that hopefully makes listeners as happy and glad to be alive as it does us.
TRAD: HIGH-ENERGY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL BABYYY! Not just a wicked, sick night of bad jokes and good music, but also an opportunity to speak to us and connect, and to share ideas and thoughts and stories and to build a community of likeminded people who are all here for the same thing: to have a good time! We have new music on the way, more videos and interviews, more online content (the algorithm is always hungry!) and of course many, many more gigs!
CHRIS: More of what we’ve been doing, just bigger and better! The band is sounding and playing the best it ever has, we’re excited to see where this journey takes us!
GAV: Massive hooks, some really cool arrangements and those big singalong choruses we’re developing a reputation for.
> https://www.instagram.com/burning_circus_band/
> https://open.spotify.com/artist/3rPy5Ya22Uq3ZIWWZqSMf4
> https://www.facebook.com/p/Burning-Circus-61562342693576/
