What style of music is your band? Punk rock for the most part. But we have a lot of folk-roots and classic rock influences which tend to confuse people. Personally, I don't see how the visceral power of Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull or Woody Guthrie is any less valid than that of Minor Threat or The Clash. What do you think of the current music scene? Well 'the scene' is a vague term but, as I understand it, it's the same as it always has been. The surface is mainly full of shit, the underground is mainly innovative and vibrant. But there is a worrying tendency for decent bands to fall foul to conditional endorsements and corporate co-opting. There's a lot of branding going on and it fucking
stinks. What did you have to do to get signed? Send out lots of demos, invite lots of label people to shows, persevere, and be able to write some fairly decent songs. Despite the advent of online multi-iedia, it still comes down to the same bare facts: if you can prove your worth in three songs, labels will be interested. But, for a lot of bands, labels are obsolete. It's not hard to work out how to put records and CDs in the public `omain, especially with the internet as your main tool.
few years there's been Baroness, Austin Lucas, Midlake, Bon Iver, Murder By Death, Nick Cave, Fleet Foxes and countless others, making amazing music. More recently, the new Torche and Apologies I Have None albums are pretty fucking great. What advice could you give to any aspiring band? Don't play it safe. Don't sound like every other band in your social circle. Don't try to be something you're not. Don't settle for the first singer who comes along. And do practise more than you think you should.
Who are your favourite bands atm?
How long does it take to record an EP?
My favourite bands have been the same for decades: X, The Clash, Dead Kennedys, Crass, Joni Mitchell, Fugazi. But over the past
Depends on the band. It would take us about four days to do four songs. It would take Mars Volta about three weeks and The
Computers about eight hours! And they'd all sound just right. Nobody should cut corners in the pursuit of good music. What equipment do you use? Electric and acoustic guitars, bass, drums, fiddle, banjo, amps, microphones, computers, splitter vans and pens. Do you look at the band like a business or a passion? Passion, of course. But business needs to be taken care of. I don't know of any band that has survived on passion alone. Even Fugazi and Crass had to crunch the numbers and keep the sales invoices up to date, regardless of their admirable anarchist ethos. How do you create your promotional material?
At home on computer, via social networking sites, and with help from our record labels. I think we're long overdue for a return to old-fashioned modes of promotion: posters, flyers, newspaper interviews, word-ofmouth. The internet is turning us into a nation of clickers but not necessarily doers.
never existed and all our favourite bands had to struggle alone to stay afloat. What would be your dream gig?
One where I didn't sweat or lose my voice. We've had a few dream gigs actually: those amazing shows, big or small, where everything falls into place perfectly, certain festivals, What do you think about crowd- touring with Against Me! and funding websites to get your having Chuck Ragan sing music paid for? 'International Front' with us for a few nights. We don't think about it at all. There are too many other things Any other advice? to worry about. But it's a good idea in principle. Pledge seems If you want fame and riches, stick to offer something that fans and to robbing banks. And be sure bands can benefit from but it's to run the BNP, the EDL and the something we've never thought British Freedom Party out of your about doing. Again, we're pretty town. old-fashioned about these things. I guess it comes from growing up in an age when computers