FEW bands bring the raw, infectious energy of the eight-piece juggernaut that is Tom McGuire & The Brassholes.

Unique, exciting and a party for all – there are certainly poorer ways to spend an evening.

They head to the Fruitmarket in Glasgow next month for their biggest ever show.

With that in mind, The Weekender caught up with McGuire recently to chat about the show and the band’s plans for the rest of the year…

Why don't we start with a re-cap on the band from the Drygate show until now - I reckon that show, in particular, would have been such a release, getting back on stage, amid continuing uncertain, etc?

Yeah, the Drygate show was certainly a cathartic release. We had waited almost two years to do that show after a number of postponements, and after sort of stewing away in lockdown it was a really heartening and powerful experience to get on a stage again, doing what I’m supposed to be doing.

Certainly, at times, in the depths of lockdown, there was the thought and the feeling that I might never be able to do that again, so it was all the more sweet for that.

Tell us a little about the Fruitmarket show… Have you all played there at all before? I see it was billed as the biggest hometown show so far, that must bring a new level of excitement to the gig?

The Fruitmarket is a big jump up for us; it will be the biggest headline show to date, and I’m hopeful it will be a landmark, stepping-stone gig for us. It feels good to be progressing again, after what feels like a while of stagnation.

It’s always a thrill to play in front of our own crowd, and Glasgow shows feel rare for us, so there’s quite a bit of electricity in such a gig. It feels like a celebration. It’s a great room, and we have some cool stuff planned for the show!

What can we all expect from the show itself? Some new material…some more skateboard antics?

Aha, that would be telling now! We’ve definitely got a couple of tricks up our sleeves.

The show itself will be a mix of old and new material, with a couple of tunes that will be making a debut. Really very excited to play these live, as they have been very-much conceptualised as a live experience. It’s going to go off.

Of course, we will be playing the crowd favourites, too. There may or may not be a couple of onstage kickflips.

I note there is a new release on the way later this month... Give us a little insight into that song and if there are any new releases planned for down the road?

Yes, that’s right, our next single is called “D.R.E.A.D” and it’s out on the 25th of February. It’s a super hard-hitting slab of classic heavy funk.

The subject matter is pretty dark, possibly the most explicitly dark that I’ve gone, but I think it’s important. D.R.E.A.D is a piece born of the confusing and fractured era of lockdown. It is a song about the feeling of being entirely overwhelmed with not only the day-to-day stresses of life, but self-doubt, self-loathing, hopelessness and questions about the meaning and worth of anything at all. All of this descending the very moment your eyes open, first thing in the morning.

This is an experience that I found myself confronted by often during lockdown. I have tried to encapsulate that quite brutal yet very human experience in this song, sneaking this concept in a slab of energetic audacious funk.

After the Fruitmarket gig you are on the road across the UK – what will it mean to you to be back out there again, touring and performing?

Yes, we are hitting the road for a couple of stints after the show. One smaller run, later in March, then into Europe in May! Our first proper Euro tour. As well as some festival dates throughout the summer. Piecing together a tour in the autumn/winter too. All the current dates can be found on our website.

It really means a great deal to be getting out there again. It’s an idea that even a few months ago still felt alien and unrealistic, such is the mentality I grew to have over the course of the past couple of years. At times it really felt like it might all be over, but alas we rise from the ashes, triumphant and driven with a new fire in our belly, ready to crush it into dust once again!

Tom McGuire & The Brassholes play The Fruitmarket in Glasgow on Saturday, March 12.

Tickets are available at www.seetickets.com now.