How excited are you for your upcoming UK tour, and what should attending fans expect? We're always excited when it comes to any tour! We're currently in Germany, about to go to Slovenia, Hungary and Austria, and we're having the time of our lives - though a tour in the UK always does feel a little more special. Fans can expect the usual: lots of noise, rock, lights, sweat, smiles, mosh-pits, crowd-surfing, jumping off speakers!
You guys get to tour a lot here in the UK, what venues would you say have been your favourite to play here and why? London has always been a bit nerve-racking and stressful because, well, it's London. But every time we play Koko it just feels different. I think it might be my favourite venue to play ever. It's also one of my favourite places to go and watch bands too. When you walk in and see the red and gold open up in front of you. The sound is great, not a bad spot in the house!
You guys are known for your epic summer festival performances, but do you guys prefer playing to a large crowd, or do you prefer to perform in more intimate venues? Both have their special appeal! The intimate shows are great because everyone gets hot and sweaty, and we can see the whites of the audience's eyes and see their faces as they scream and sing along, but there is also something very special about seeing 50,000 people move as one along to the music. Both send shivers up my spine!
As a touring band, has it ever been hard to balance your personal life with your tour life? My life is The Subways. I wake up every morning and I'm thinking about the band, I go to bed every evening and I'm thinking about the band! Even when I'm home from touring I'm writing music or I'm preparing for the next tour. This is my life, and I love it!
We know you guys like to get the crowds going wild, so where do you guys personally think you saw the most craziest crowd? Or maybe, biggest circle pit?! We played Moscow recently and that was shockingly crazy. It was definitely in my top three all time favourite shows we've played! Reading Festival 2008 sticks in my mind too. The biggest circle pit has to have been at Rock Am Ring festival in Germany!
We've seen you jump into the crowd many a times, have there ever been any gigs where your band members have been worried that you might not make it back to the stage?! Charlotte does get very concerned about whether I'll make it back onstage alive. When I dove into the crowd in St. Petersburg it felt like I was being swallowed alive by a shark. They wouldn't let me go, and I had to get back onstage! Josh and Charlotte are always worried about me, but I'm not happy until I've found something to jump off!
What would you say has changed the most in the alternative music scene since you guys first started out? Digital music is way more popular. When we started out people were more interested in learning how to play instruments, now everybody is concerned with learning the latest program or software. That's fine, but we grew up on rock and roll, so we'll always value musicianship more.
What else does 2012 hold for The Subways? Hopefully lots more touring and writing! I plan on having new songs ready for the next album by the end of the year, and I also plan on producing it myself! Fingers crossed it all goes well!