SHORTHOUSE
Photo Provided by Hit Parade
16 February 2022
Formed in 2020, Shorthouse are an indie, folk and rock band based in Edinburgh. The line-up comprises of Rob McLaughlin on lead vocals and guitar; Erin Ferguson on guitar; Elaine Shorthouse on keys; Jonny Richardson on bass and Finlay Smith on drums. The band have been gigging around the central belt for the first time, since COVID-19 derailed any opportunities of live music. Lead singer, Rob talks on the beginnings of Shorthouse and their new single ‘Lived’.
Rob, who was inspired to follow in his musical family's footsteps, is currently studying music at Edinburgh Napier University, playing guitar and piano. Interestingly, Rob had never thought about singing until his song-writing partnership with lyricist, Colin Graham which sparked the formation of Shorthouse.
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“I started working with my song writing partner recording one of his songs… we sung it in the first UK lockdown… and decided to go for it. When I took this frontman role, it was kind of a last-minute decision.”
The Voodoo Rooms 05/12/2021
Rob was then joined by four musicians including his mum, Elaine to form a full line-up. Keeping true to his family roots, Rob decided to pay homage to his grandad, Robert Shorthouse, a traditional Scottish accordion player by naming the band after him.
Shorthouse’s music style is predominantly folk driven, drifting to rock and indie whilst experimenting with different genres along the way: “My total idol is James Taylor, that’s where my folk thing comes from.” The band also draw inspiration from 70s bands and artists such as Fleetwood Mac, John Mayer, and Jonny Mitchell.
After the success of their first single, ‘Walls End’ in 2020 (Colin Graham), Shorthouse released their new track, ‘Lived’ in November last year, becoming the debut song between Rob and Colin’s partnership.
Rob was inspired to write about a particular relationship and the realisation that as individuals, they were leading very different life paths: “Long story short, the song was about realising that people at different walks of life don’t all have the same goals. When we wrote it and then got the band formed and pitched it to them, they loved it.”
Photo Provided by Hit Parade
The song-writing process usually involves Rob sharing a guitar or piano riff with Colin and together they discuss what is currently happening in their lives: “Colin is 44 and I’m 19…so a lot of the time the things I’m going through, he’s already been through so it’s kind of like a different eye’s approach on it.”
Themes range from relationships to lows and highs to relatable university struggles. After fine tuning the subject matter, Colin makes a start at writing the lyrics before joining back together to work on the final details: “3 weeks seems to be like a really efficient turnaround for us. So, we’ll write the chords within the first week, within the second week, we discuss the subject, within the third week we’ve sent it back and then we tweak it from there.”
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"The song was about realising that people at different walks of life don’t all have the same goals"
Shorthouse arose in 2020 at a time which was incredibly difficult for the music industry. Rob shared his experience during the UK lockdown: “It was a good time to release a song because no one had a choice but to listen, everyone was trapped in. It did well and people connected with it.”
On the negative side, Shorthouse couldn’t follow up with anything: “When people were like, what’s next? We couldn’t really go and record anything because studios were closed. I was really against doing live streams because everyone was doing live streams, and everyone lost interest.”
Now that restrictions have eased, Scotland's music industry is beginning to return in full flow and Rob is positive about the direction of Shorthouse: “We’ve gigged so far which was great. We’re kind of just finding our feet with it now as we didn’t have the option before.”
Last December, Shorthouse performed their debut gig at The Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh followed by The Mash House (Edinburgh), Webster's Theatre (Glasgow), The Tolbooth (Stirling) and PJ Molloys (Dunfermline).
One of Rob’s gig highlights includes “the lowdown”, a time were the band members are all together, setting up the gear and perfecting their sound before the night begins: “... the gig, it only feels like it lasts 10 minutes, so you don’t get to soak it up as much but I feel, as you are sound checking...and you start seeing people come in the door, that part for me is so exciting every time.”
"It was a good time to release a song because no one had a choice but to listen. It did well and people connected with it"
This year, Shorthouse are currently planning to launch their first EP which includes 3 unheard tracks. As well as releasing music, Rob says they want to gig as much as possible: “Everyone missed it so much. I still feel the public are excited that music is back. The novelty hasn’t worn off.”
Reflecting on how COVID-19 has affected the music industry, Rob ensures he will no longer take any opportunities for granted: “I’ll never turn down a night out or a gig since we’ve come back. So, from a musician’s point of view, I’m going to take every gig because there’s always going to be people there.”
You can see Shorthouse perform at the Hug and Pint on April 18th as part of the rescheduled First Footing Festival. Tickets available here.
Author: Karina Caulfield