Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate
...are an eclectic band, combining progressive/alt-rock, classical, experimental, electronic, and metal influences. Their performances are passionate and charismatic.
They have been as Prog Magazine Limelight artists. In November 2017 hey stepped in at the last minute to replace an injured band on the main stage at Hard Rock Hell’s Prog Festival, one of the world’s leading indoor progressive rock events. They performed to over 1000 people, opening for Magnum, Focus and Carl Palmer. They were described by Hard Rock Hell magazine as ‘unlikely stars who stole the show’, and by eFestivals as the ‘highlight of the festival’.
Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate are Malcolm Galloway (vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and producer) and Mark Gatland (bass, Chapman stick, backing vocals, additional guitar, keyboards and co-producer), on their own, or with Kathryn Thomas (flute, backing vocals). Kathryn is the flautist of the award winning BBC New Generation Artists The Galliard Ensemble (wind quintet), and is also married to Malcolm.
Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate are...?
... myself, my old school-friend Mark Gatland, on our own or with my wife and flautist Kathryn Thomas. I sing and play guitar/keyboards and produce. Mark plays bass, Chapman stick, additional guitars and keyboards, and co-produces.
We vary widely in genre, but at our core we are a prog/alt-rock band, with classical, electronic, metal, and ambient elements.
Who inspired you to make music in general?
I started by playing the tuba at school, and in local orchestras, brass bands, and wind bands. Tuba was my classical instrument, and then taught myself keyboard, guitar and drums.
Moments that have helped inspire me to be an active performer include being at wonderful gigs by Marillion, Fish, and All About Eve. Being taken to see the musical Chess as a child by my parents also had a big impact on me.
What can we expect from your upcoming Album?
The album is a collection of 13 tracks, some of which are instrumental, around the theme of toxic overconfidence in public life, and our failure to learn from history. I've had a longstanding interest in cognitive errors like overconfidence.
I used to be a hospital doctor (neuropathologist) and medical school teacher until I had to stop due to a genetic collagen disorder (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome). I had an academic interest in researching and teaching about how misdiagnoses are made. An important cause of misdiagnosis is overconfidence and excessive certainty.
Through this work I became interested more generally in how damaging excessive certainty can be in life. This album combines my music with my former academic interest. My songwriting tends to be inspired by scientific, historical, and philosophical themes rather than more traditional song topics.
What's your favorite song on the Album?
Perky Pat (the title is a Philip K Dick reference) is the most fun. I think Another Plague probably has the best lyric on the album. I'm probably most proud of Refuge, an instrumental about my great-grandmother's escape from the Holocaust.
Are there any plans for some live gigs, is there a chance to see you on stage, respectively?
We've just come back from playing at Hard Rock Hell's Prog festival at the Sheffield O2 Academy, and Winter's End festival, both of which we loved. I have a solo acoustic set at the Renaissance Alternative music festival in Islington in May, then in June we are playing at the Breaking Bands festival in Bromsgrove.
Later in the year we have gigs in Southampton. We will be co-hosting Prog The Forest again with London Prog Gigs in Camden in December this year and next year. That is a charity fundraising progressive rock festival, raising money to protect vulnerable rainforests.
What are your "All time Top 3 Songs", right now, in this second?
That is difficult. At the moment I'd probably say
Steve Reich's '8 Lines',
Pink Floyd's 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond', and
Marillion's 'Fugazi',
but it would vary from day to day.
Concerning Social Media, is it fun or more a necessary evil?
A bit of both I think. It can be toxic when people forget that they are dealing with real human beings, who often they would treat differently if they met in real life. On the other hand as a musician it gives me an opportunity to reach audiences with whom I might never otherwise get a chance to engage.
What are your most useful talents besides music?
I used to diagnose brain tumours as a neuropathologist, and I'm glad I had a chance to use the medical skills I learned for a couple of decades before having to stop. Being a medical school lecturer also helped me develop skills in engaging with audiences.
Out of necessity I have taught myself video making, and enough graphic design to be able to put together a CD booklet. I suppose as a generic skill the ability to focus is something that I'm usually quite good at. In the past it was concentrating looking down a microscope for hours. Now it is listening to a bar cycling round and round making tiny changes to details in a piece of music.
What’s next for you?
We will be getting the CDs of The Confidence Trick back from pressing soon, and it goes on general release on 29 July 2022. So quite a lot of our time is going to be taken up with signing CDs and stuffing them into envelopes.
I'll then be releasing a new album of my classical minimalist music. I'm already buzzing with possible ideas for our next Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate album. Mark and I will discuss them on the train on the way to a festival and decide which idea to focus on next.
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