Band of brothers plus a drummer

Deerstone County's defining moment was Little Lady

BBC Introducing's Jill Smith meets Deerstone County, a four piece indie band with a hint of folk.

The band from Clitheroe is made up of three brothers and a friend who write all their material.

Brothers Will and Sam Kenworthy and Romano Biasone played in a band together at college.

With the addition of a third Kenworthy, Joe, they formed Deerstone County in 2008.

They have their own unique sound thanks to uplifting guitar riffs and distinctive vocals.

Frontman Sam sums up a Deerstone County gig: "A mix of electric and acoustic tunes you can have a bit of a groove to."

Their influences range from the Beatles, the Stone Roses to Neil Young with Fleet Foxes recently inspiring the band. "There's not much similarity between our stuff and theirs but it's where the music comes from that makes the difference," said Sam.

"There's so much soul in their music it makes us want to be a better band and write to that standard."

If we don't all like it, it doesn't get into our set. Sam Kenworthy

Song writing comes as natural as singing to Sam. "As soon as you write a song that someone else likes you just want to keep doing it."

However, he admits it can be challenging to write something that gets the thumbs up from all four band members. "You've really got to work hard to write a song that we all like. If we don't all like it, it doesn't get into our set."

Little Lady was a defining moment in the band's history, according to Sam. "It was the first song to define what Deerstone County were going to grow into. After Little Lady, we knew what band we wanted to be and the songs we wanted to make."

Bass player Will says his personal favourite Deerstone County tune is Goodbye. "It's really cool because I wrote the basics of that tune and then Joe, Sam and Romano just made it better and better."

What do they think of the current Lancashire scene? Will reckons things are taking off in the county with some promising acts coming to the fore.

DEERSTONE COUNTY Sam Kenworthy - lead vocals/guitar Joe Kenworthy - guitar/backing vocals Will Kenworthy - bass Romano Biasone - drums

"There are some really good places to play at the moment and some good bands to watch out for.

"Play Happy promotions are doing a really good job, too, in bringing in quality touring bands that have overlooked Blackburn for too long."

Living so close to places like Manchester and Liverpool can be trying, though, says Sam. "Lancashire tends to get forgotten about because of the big cities around us. However, playing in the local area is good because people are always up for it."

When asked what they love most about being in the band it was unanimous; playing live. "It is the best part of being in a band. We love our tunes as our performances show," said Will.

"You can't get better than a good gig when people really react to you as a band. Hopefully, though, the most exciting bits are still to come."

Deerstone County are playing at The Attic, Accrington on 13 November 2009 and they will be supporting Tweak Bird at 41 King St, Blackburn on 12 December 2009.