Paste. - Interview by Sam Shaw
Paste., who recently supported BILK at Rescue Rooms, have quickly become one of my favourite bands to catch live in Nottingham. Their unique blend of hardcore grunge rock always packs a punch, and I had the chance to chat with frontman and guitarist Dan Dibb as they release their debut album, Start to Finish.
Sam: So, how did you come up with the band name? I'm curious.
Dan: Oh, the story is so bad! You know how so many other bands in Nottingham have these cool band names with great stories? Ours? Not so much! It came from the Paiste brand of drum cymbals—we just took out the 'i' and kept the dot as a full stop. And that’s it! We were about 17, really baked, looking at the cymbal, and we thought, "We need a name for our college project," and that was it. It stuck. It’s funny though, because I can’t imagine it being anything else, even though the full stop still cringes me out. The amount of promoters I've annoyed with emails saying, "Can you not forget the full stop, please?" is ridiculous! It's a really simple one, and there's no cool story behind it. We were just a bunch of idiots at the time, and it just became the name. Sometimes that’s how it happens. I’ve heard worse, though!
Sam: So, how did Paste. start? When did you get going?
Dan: We started in college, but the line-up’s changed a lot over time. The trio we have now is the one we’re sticking with. It was just a college band at first, but then we realised we actually really liked playing music and doing gigs. I basically said, "Why not take this seriously?" but some of the earlier members didn’t have the time, so it evolved. Now, I’m the only original member still in the band. I’d say Paste properly started two years ago, when we began recording and releasing stuff. Before that, we were just playing drunk gigs in random bars! Now, we take it more seriously—it's like a job. Before, there was no real drive for professionalism. It was all about getting smashed and having fun. People still associate me with climbing on the side of the stage, even though I can’t do that anymore—tore both my ACLs! We stopped doing that, but yeah, we started in college, but it really kicked off around two years ago.
Sam: How did it feel to play at Rescue Rooms?
Dan: It felt amazing! We played there years ago with The Chase—sadly, they’re on hiatus now, which makes me really sad. Anyway, we found out about this gig just five hours before it started, so we were excited but also had to be as professional as possible. But I do have a bit of a vendetta with Rescue Rooms! We’ve played there twice before (in 2021 with The Chase and at Beat the Streets 2024), and both times something weird happened—our guitarist twisted his knee walking onto the stage during Mamma Mia (that was funny) and then Harley's drum monitor was delayed on the second gig, so he was completely out of time! But this time? It felt like a proper homecoming. It was great, and we weren’t nervous at all, which is rare. We’ve got a solid crowd—at least four of my idiot friends always show up—and I feel really at home there. The Nottingham scene has really supported us, and it feels great to be part of it. It wasn’t like that when we started, but now it’s so much easier to relax and play. Everyone’s in a band, everyone helps each other out. The whole scene’s growing again, and it feels like we’re part of something big.
Sam: Do you feel that sense of community in the Nottingham scene?
Dan: 100%!
Sam: Which bands really stand out to you?
Dan: Well, obviously, I’m Marvin’s lapdog! I love Marvin’s Revenge to bits. Swallowtail are amazing too, even though they’re not technically a Nottingham band anymore—they’re based in Brighton now, but they’re doing so well. Of course, I love Sam Shaw and the Real Eyes—we played a killer show together at Rough Trade! And then there’s Do Nothing—Chris knows I obsess over their band! Wizards Can’t Be Lawyers are great too. Honestly, there are so many amazing bands in Nottingham right now that it’s hard to keep track! But Marvin’s, Sam Shaw & the Real Eyes, Wizards, Do Nothing, Swallowtail, and Skits—they’re all killing it.
Sam: Skits played an amazing set at Backyard Festival!
Dan: Oh yeah, you should’ve seen them in Norway—it was insane!
Sam: Tell me about your time in Norway. Was that your first international gig?
Dan: Yeah, it was our first time leaving the country, and it was Skits’ first time too. Marvin’s had been before, but for us, it was a big deal. We were all so excited! The best part was that we got to play with our best friends—Paste, Skits, and Marvin’s—all in the same venue, and everything was paid for. We sold 150 tickets in a place I thought we’d only sell 10! The mosh pits were wild, and it was just such a different vibe compared to England. Here, people can be kind of reserved, but there, the crowd just let loose. We opened the show, and there were 120 people going mad—it was crazy! Afterward, we all went to the pub together. And then we started this ridiculous thing called a "glizzy crawl"—basically, we just ate hot dogs. We had 46 in one day. Insane, right?
Sam: Oh my god, that’s a lot of glizzies!
Dan: Yeah, we said next time, we won’t drink, we’ll just eat glizzies!
Sam: So, tell me about your new album, out tomorrow! How was it created?
Dan: The album’s been a real love-hate relationship. Some of the songs were written in 2018, but we didn’t finish them until 2022. We started recording almost three years ago, and it’s only just coming out now. It’s been pushed back so many times, it’s felt like a little brother that’s been a pain in my ass! But now it’s finally happening, and it’s amazing. We’ve re-recorded all the singles we’ve released, so everything’s fresh.
Sam: So, how did you record the album? Was it all over the place?
Dan: Yeah, it was pretty sporadic. We were really lucky with the recording process. One of our friend's dads is the guitarist for Spiritualized, and I was working at a pub when I gave his whole family free drinks for the night. At the end of it, he offered us his studio for free, so we recorded the album there. It’s this abandoned house near the racetrack in Nottingham, and it’s full of gear from the band. It was amazing. We recorded everything live, like a gig, which is what we wanted for the first album—raw and real. Some of the equipment didn’t work perfectly, but we made it work. All we really paid for was the mixing, which was done by Sam Wain—he’s a legend!
Sam: Tell me more about the album art—it looks amazing!
Dan: Yeah, it’s another cool story! I was watching an interview with Eddie Temple Morris, and this artist called Loveless Art liked the video. I checked out his page and loved his work—it’s intense, horrific, but beautiful. I messaged him in 2019, and he ended up doing the artwork for the album. He’s been going through some tough stuff, but he still did it all for free. I can’t thank him enough. The fact that so many people have helped us out with the album—like the artwork, the recording—it’s amazing. I didn’t think we’d ever actually get it released, but here we are, and I’m so excited for people to hear it.
Sam: I can't wait to hear it! Do you have a message for your fans who have supported you?
Dan: Oh, definitely! Our fans don’t feel like they’re beneath us—they’re our mates. They’ve been with us through the biggest lows and the highs. They help us feel better about ourselves when we’re down, and we help them feel better when they connect to our songs. It’s a really special relationship. I love every like, every person who comes up to me and tells me they like our music. Our fans are amazing, and they’ve helped us get this far. Even if we’re not the biggest band in the world, we’ve made a difference to some people, and it’s all thanks to them. So, thank you, nobheads! You rock!