A DAY TO REMEMBER

Melody-driven hardcore heroes A Day To Remember will be headlining No Sleep Til Festival this December with their latest album What Separates Me from You. Due to be released on November 5, the album is expected to mash up a little old school A Day To Remember with something fresh and mean.

The AU Review’s Alicia Bolton had a chat to guitarist Kevin Skaff about their upcoming Australian tour, the new record and collaborating with Kanye West (or at least dreaming about it).

Hey Kevin, It’s Alicia from the AU Review. How are you?
Good thanks, how are you?

Good. So where are you guys at the moment? 
We’re driving back to our hotel in Florida.

Oh okay. So are you on tour? 

No, we just got back from band practice and we have our first show tomorrow.

You guys are heading into Australia this December for No Sleep Til… What are you most looking forward to?
Just being in Australia… haha.

Haha, alright, well are you just looking forward to playing shows in Australia or are there any sites you want to check out while you’re here?

Well I didn’t really get to see very much last time I was in Australia so I want to try and see something cool. I heard we have a couple of days off so I actually want to try to learn to surf or something.

Yeah that’d be good. Australian beaches are nice.
Yeah that’s what I’ve heard but I’ve only seen them a few times so I don’t really know.

You guys headlined Soundwave cestival this year and soon No Sleep Til, do you think you’ll come back here on your own tour anytime soon or are you planning any sideshows?
I don’t think we’re doing any sideshows because we’re only there for such a short period of time. I think we’re only doing about four or five No Sleep Til dates but I would definitely love to come over and do a headlining show at some point in time because we love being in Australia.

Do you prefer playing to a festival crowd, or a smaller show where people have come specifically to see you guys?
Festival shows are fun because you get to see a whole lot of bands that you normally wouldn’t get to see. Plus there’s a lot less pressure than headlining because you know everyone’s not there to see you. Having your own headlining show is always really fun though because all the people there know all the words to your songs so it’s just really loud and energetic so that’s always fun. I don’t know but I think I like doing club shows better. A lot less goes wrong because you have more time for set up.

Which other bands on the No Sleep Til line-up are you keen to check out?
Well I’m excited to hang out with our friends Parkway Drive and August Burns Red. I’m really excited to see Megadeth and The Decendents for sure. NOFX too. I don’t really know who’s playing so it’s just going to be a big surprise when I get there.

New album out November 5^th called What Separates Me from You. Can you tell us a bit about it? There’s a lot of debate about how it’s going to sound, more pop punk than post-hardcore?
Well they’re all wrong. There’s a lot of mean songs too, for sure. They’ll soon find that out, but it’s awesome, let’s just say that!

Comparing Homesick to For Those Who Have Heart, they were very different albums and it seems like you guys experiment with your sound a lot. How has your style grown with What Separates Me From You?
We took a lot of what A Day To Remember did on Homesick and we just kind of made a lot of it sound meaner. A lot of it sounds more pop and crazy, but we did it. I have no idea how we did it. It just kind of mashed that way and the songs came out. We didn’t fight it, which I thought was awesome.

Considering you’ll have just released your new album, what sort of set can we expect at No Sleep Til?
Well I think we have an hour set. Wow, you guys get a whole hour of our set, that’s sick. A lot of energy, a lot of teenage kids push moshing. I don’t even know, tank tops maybe…is it going to be hot there?

Yeah it will definitely be hot in December.

Okay well then you can expect Dickies shorts and tank tops.

“All I Want” has already been leaked on YouTube. Was this intentional?
Nope, that’s just because hackers are awesome at what they do. Anyone with a computer can hack these days, it’s crazy. People are smart like that.

Yeah. Have any of the other songs leaked?
Well no, but we put out a preview of a song called ‘2^nd Sucks’. It’s up on facebook.

Okay cool, I’ll have to check it out.
AND actually, exclusive for you we’re putting up the whole song tomorrow. It might even be nighttime for you because it’s what, 10am there?

Yeah it’s around 11am here, so it will probably be online by tonight for us.
You guys might even get the song today!

The Cover Art from your new album has a guy in an hourglass…what’s the meaning behind this artwork and the album title?

Well the title is just about the decisions you make in life, like who you want to be and all the good and bad that comes along with it. The artwork to go with that just shows a guy who knows who he is and what he wants and how he’s separated from everyone else in the world because of the decisions he’s made. We also made it kind of funny because we put our old guitar player Tom on the record cover. Andrew who records the album is actually on there, Drew who does all our video stuff is on there, Chad from New Found Glory is on there.

Can you tell us a bit about your musical background and how you guys formed A Day To Remember?
It was a big mish mash of everything. A lot of people stealing people from other bands haha. But no, just a bunch of kids finding out who they like to jam with and then everyone else kind of came out of the woodwork and that’s it! It’s pretty normal how a band can figure their story out.

What music were you into growing up and how has this affected your style?
Growing up I started out listening to a lot of classic rock with my Dad. Then I started getting into a lot of dance with my sister and started watching MTV and Beavis and Butthead. Shortly after that Blink 182 came along and that was huge for me. New Found Glory was huge for me. Then the hardcore scene hit in my state and I just listened to a lot of local bands that I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of. So that was my influence, local hardcore and Blink 182 haha.

If you could collaborate with any other artist, who would it be and why?
Kanye West. because he has the same birthday as me.

Haha sick! That’d be interesting.

Haha yeah it’d be a crazy collaboration for sure!

Before I let you go, is there anything you’d like to let your Australian fans know?

Um, I love you!

Thanks for your time Kevin, can’t wait to hear the new stuff! All the best and we’ll see you soon!
Awesome, I can’t wait for it to come out! Thank you.

SILVERSUN PICKUPS

Silversun Pickups will reach Australian shores for the second time this September as they embark on their tour with Birds of Tokyo. Press Record’s Alicia Bolton caught up with bassist Nikki Monninger of the L.A quartet to have a chat about their latest album Swoon, video games and being discovered at the CMJ Music Marathon.

Hey Nikki, thanks for doing this interview today…

How are you?

I’m great thanks, how are you?

Good, it’s just nice to be home. I’m settling in trying to figure out how my coffee machine works again ha ha.

Oh really, hah. So you’re just at home at the moment, not touring?

Yeah we just got home a couple of days ago, we just finished half of our US tour and now we have a ten day break and then we’re going back for another three weeks. Then we’ll be touring more of the West Coast.

That sounds exciting. It must be nice to have a break. Where did the name Silversun Pickups come from?

Our singer Brian and I were roommates and the local liquor store down the street was called Silversun Liquor so we named our band after that.

You’re touring Australia in September with Birds of Tokyo. Are you excited to come back here?

Yeah we had such a great time with Snow Patrol in Australia and we’ve been hoping to come back. We actually didn’t think we’d be able to tour there again. It was so nice when we were asked to do this tour. Yes we’re excited to come back.

How would you compare the indie rock music scene in Australia to America?

It’s hard to compare because we were only there for a couple of weeks but it was cool to play shows on our own in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. It was nice to play in smaller places and to be able to headline. I don’t know if we’ll be able to do that this tour but we’re still really looking forward to it and it’s nice that it’s finally coming to fruition now.

Yeah it’s very exciting. When was the last time you were here?

It was with Snow Patrol in September of 2007, so three years ago.

Wow, that’s a while hey!

I know! We’ve been hoping for the opportunity to come back again so it’s great that everything worked out. We’re coming in September and that’s about the time we came last time and it was beautiful weather.

Yeah I’m sure you’ll enjoy some nice weather during that time. Is it true that Silversun Pickups were discovered at the CMJ Music marathon? I heard you didn’t have any songs or even a band name at the time. What made you decide to enter that?

Yeah we’d only been practicing for a few weeks but I really wanted us to get into CMJ. I wanted to go to New York and I thought it would solidify us as a band if we had a show, something to work for. I just tape-recorded our practice. We had songs but they were very loosely based and didn’t quite have lyrics at that point. I think we had the songs ‘Kissing Families’ and ‘Lazy Eye’ at that point, I can’t remember the others but there were maybe three or four. I took some polaroids of the band and laminated them ha ha. I almost feel like the person at CMJ just let us in because he felt sorry for us ha ha. Looking back it’s funny, I still have a laminated copy of the picture we sent them. That was our first show. We were in Brooklyn in September of 2000, so ten years ago, and we saw the owner of Spaceland in Silverlake out on the street there. We knew him from just going to lots of shows there (Spaceland) and we told him we’d started a new band. He told us that when we get back we’d have to come play there, so a couple of weeks later we did. So that’s where it all started and I thought it was very important for us to have a show to look forward to in order to pull together our songs. At that point we only had maybe four or five songs and that was enough for us to play a show and get the ball rolling.

Sounds great. So Silversun Pickups second full length ‘Swoon’ was released last year. Can you tell us a bit about that album?

We had been touring with ‘Carnavas’ (debut album) for about two years and when we got home at the end of 2007 we took a month off. In February we started rehearsing and trying to write songs again and we went to the studio in July and recorded all the way up until the next February and I think it came out in April. So all together it took just over a year from start to finish and we worked on it just about everyday. We’re really proud of it. We didn’t want to put it out before we thought it was ready. It took a little longer than we thought it would take, but we were lucky that our record company (Dangerbirds) weren’t pressuring us. They (Dangerbirds) knew that we would work and take pride in everything we did so they just let us go until we said we were done.

What does the title ‘Swoon’ refer to?

In one of the first couple of days at practice Brian just wrote it up on our dry erase board. In fact it’s still there because we left it on there too long so we can’t actually get it off. He (Brian) asked us how we felt about it and I liked that it could be interpreted in different ways and it could have a darker undertone. We like one-word album titles and it just seemed to work. It was built on from there and had been there from one of the first days so we just kept it.

What’s the meaning behind panic switch? Is it a stab at the music biz?

It’s hard for me to make real comments on the lyrics because Brian writes the lyrics but it’s just about a dark time for him, a nervous breakdown. It’s not a stab at the music biz but if you want to interpret it that way then…that’s what I like about our lyrics, they can be interpreted in different ways and they don’t have to have a straight meaning.

Yeah for sure. Your EP is quite different to the two full length albums. I think there’s a lot more energy and liveliness in the new stuff as compared to the melodic ‘All the Go In-betweens”. Was this just a reflection of the growth between the albums or did you purposely aim for a different sound?

With Swoon we wanted to have more highs and more lows. We were able to build up to a crescendo. We started quietly and we like the idea of building and that’s something that we were consciously trying to do.

I noticed there was a bit of cello in your EP, but not in the full lengths. What made you decide to go that way?

It’s kind of controversial because yeah in ‘Pikul’ we did have cello and some acoustics more so than in ‘Carnavas’. We wanted to wipe out that aspect but in ‘Swoon’ we brought it back with a 16 piece orchestra on some of the songs. I feel like we were able to progress and bring back the natural instruments. We’re so happy that we were able to do that and have a more cinematic approach with the classical instruments.

Who are some of your favourite musicians and how have they affected your musical style?

Well when we were starting the band I would say Eric Judy (Modest Mouse bassist). I love it when bass players are able to create melody within the song without being overpowering. It kind of takes on a life of its own and I’ve always loved his bass style. Also John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin and even Tiran Porter from the Doobie Brothers, he’s got great melody.

Who creates your album cover art? It’s quite a distinct style and looks great.

For both ‘Swoon’ and ‘Carnavas’ we worked with an artist Darren Waterston. He lives in the Bay area now and we had seen some of his work before in a zine. They had his artwork on the cover of the zine and we’d had trouble thinking of album artwork and who we’d use and then his artwork just came to our attention so we spoke to him. He’s such a sweet person and we also enjoyed his progression from the artwork on ‘Carnavas’ to the artwork on ‘Swoon’ because I feel like he made a leap with his art and we’d made a different kind of leap, but we were moving forward together. We love his spirit and just enjoy working with him. For Pikul we actually used our friend Mel Kadel from Silverlake.

Yeah well it all looks amazing. Anyway just before we go, what’s it like to have your songs featured on a couple of video games? Have you played along to your own songs on guitar hero ha ha?

Ha ha it’s so much harder to play on Guitar Hero! It’s funny how people have interpreted the colours into our songs. It’s so much harder for us to play in colours and think in that videogame mindset. I’ve tried it and I think it’s fun. I’m actually better at the drums and I haven’t tried to sing to it yet. I think it’s great that we were able to do that. I have younger brothers and I grew up with video games too, but yeah its hard to translate music into colours.

Ha ha yeah. Okay well thanks for your time Nikki…

Thank you, bye!

MIDNIGHT YOUTH

While on tour in Australia with Birds of Tokyo, Alicia Bolton caught up with Jeremy Redmore of New Zealand's Midnight Youth. They chat about Maccas, the history of the band, the album and plenty more!

Hey guys! Thanks for catching up with the AU review. Which part of Australia are you in at the moment?

No worries! We're currently at our house in Sydney having a wee break after a good string of shows.

With over 40 dates in Australia, what’s been the highlight of the tour so far and where have you most enjoyed playing?

Our tour highlights always involve driving  - that's what we love about Australia, there's actually long roads. That and McDonalds' free wifi. Almost all the shows we've played have been great but it was pretty special to play The Palace in Melbourne recently.

How are Birds of Tokyo as touring companions? Please feel free to dish any dirt you may have... ;)

Well we first met the Birds guys at a party they were hosting in a mansion they had rented in Beverly Hills, LA - so they're pretty high class men of international mystery to us.

How do you find Australian crowds compared to NZ? And how do the scenes in general compare?

Well, we have great fans in New Zealand after touring there for a few years so it's hard to compare that to Australian crowds who barely know us. What I can say is that both countries have awesome local acts that are just under the surface of the major scene - I do think Australia, with its street press and local media, does a better job of bringing those bands exposure that they deserve.

What can Australian fans coming to see you in the next few weeks expect from your live shows?

When we play live we're a rock band above all else and we pride ourselves on our live performances - we've played a stupid number of shows the past 6 months, so feel free to kick us if we're shit.

Your debut album 'The Brave don’t Run’ has had a fantastic response! You recorded in New York, how was that experience?

New York is a city of great soul that makes you want to rise to its level - so recording our first album there was pretty much the ideal thing to do for us.

How long did it take to put together?

We spent 6 weeks there tracking the album before heading back to NZ. Once there we recorded a couple more songs and mixed it over the next month or so. Then we had to take that and try and get a deal to release it!

Where did the name ‘The Brave don’t Run’ come from? Or, what does it refer to?

It's a lyric in the first track of the album, Cavalry. When we were throwing around ideas for an album title, Si (guitarist) suggested it and we all immediately knew he'd nailed it - I think if everyone has that reaction in that situation then you have to run with it.

How did you decide which tracks to roll with?

We only left out three songs that could have been on the album and they were left out because they just weren't as good as the other ten. They were also songs we didn't really enjoy playing live so much and that's always a sign that they weren't up to it.

The cover art for the album is awesome. Who created that for you?

We really wanted a hand-drawn cover and booklet for the album and we happened to have two friends who had just finished Uni who were really into drawing, design and illustration. They both, fortunately, had the exact style we were after - so we sent them a bunch of lyrics and they worked on drawing something up. We ended up using both guys' work in tandem in the booklet so we were stoked with it.

You guys formed while you were at school - I imagine that had some influence on the name of your band? Or is there a more elaborate story there?

School only really influenced the name by providing a desk to brainstorm ideas on - the name doesn't really have any deep meaning, it's just elicits a mood we like.

Which musicians/bands have been stand out influences for Midnight Youth over the years?

Elbow, Ryan Adams, The Verve, The Music, Oasis, Stone Roses, The Killers, Coldplay, Band of Horses, Radiohead, Wilco, Led Zeppelin, Ben Harper...many more...

Receiving ‘Best Rock Album’ and ‘Best Group’ at the 2009 NZ music awards was…

... a major highlight of 2009 for us. Any time you have your work acknowledged is a good feeling and to pick up those awards off our debut album was incredible. Plus we were up against some huge NZ bands (Mint Chicks, Fat Freddys Drop) so it was a big thrill.

What’s planned for the remainder of 2010?

We're planning on touring Australia as much as possible to win you all over and slowly make McDonalds bankrupt through internet downloads. We're also hitting the studio again in the next month or so to record some new tracks, so these be exciting times for us.

Thanks guys! Enjoy the rest of your Australian tour!

AND HERE ARE THE DATES:
Sat 17th July – The Fitzroy Hotel, Windsor NSW – FREE ENTRY, doors 8pm.

Thu 22nd July – The Sandringham Hotel, Newtown NSW, $10.00 plus B/Fee presale, doors 7:30pm, w/ Tales in Space and Nick Van Breda – Tickets on sale at www.oztix.com.au or throughwww.newworldartists.net

Thu 29th July – Revolver Upstairs, Prahran VIC, $10 + bf, $12 on door, doors 8pm. Tickets on sale atwww.newworldartists.net

Fri 30th July – The Karova Lounge, Ballarat VIC, $10 +bf, $12 on door, doors 8pm.

Sat 31st July – The National Hotel, Geelong VIC, $10 + bf, $12 on door, doors 8pm. Tickets on sale at www.newworldartists.net

Sun 1st August – The Elephant and Wheelbarrow, St Kilda VIC. Doors 8pm.

BRITTLE

Melbourne four-piece Brittle just released their second EP titled ‘The Owls’. With five catchy tracks including ‘Burn My Bridges’, this EP is sure to pave the path for these alternative rockers.

Alicia Bolton from Press Record had a quick chat to vocalist Ben Whiting about ‘The Owls’, their upcoming Australian tour and playing alongside Katy Perry!

First of all, I’m curious as to what Brittle means or what it stands for?

Brittle is just a name we came up with when we were seven years old and started playing together. It grew with us over the years. So yeah it has no real meaning, it was just spontaneous and seemed to stick after a while.

And how did you guys come together?

We were all childhood friends, and Billy the bass player is my cousin. We were all just playing for the same bands at the same time and kind of fell together. We met Geoff at high school and we were originally a three-piece band.

And you guys grew up in Ballina but moved to Melbourne to pursue your music?

Yeah we started off in Ballina (NSW) but moved to Melbourne because there’s only so much you can do in a small town like Ballina. We were playing at the same venues over and over and wanted to get out and explore the industry and you know, pick up our game. We moved two years ago and have been given a better crack at it and picked up management. So that’s worked out to be awesome.

For those who haven’t heard your music, how would you describe it and who’s influenced you over the years?

Well we’re a rock band. I hate relating to other bands and categorising our music and ourselves but we listen to all types of different music. We relate to various bands from The Academy Is all the way through to Nirvana. It really varies. We’re across and between there somewhere.

You guys have just recorded a new five-track EP titled "The Owls" which will be unleashed on June 14. What can fans expect from this?

Well it’s basically just five songs that show a snapshot of the band and where we’re at now. We wanted to go for a live raw sound and that’s what we achieved.

Is it similar style to your first EP ‘Chinese Whispers’ or have you taken a new direction?

You could say it’s a lot more organic, more real and a lot edgier. Yeah that’s the difference between this and the last, it’s organic.

You’ll be touring this EP around all Australian capital cities from June through to August. Where are you most looking forward to playing?

Well straight up I can say we’re most looking forward to playing in Byron Bay because it’s our hometown and we love it there. We’re also looking forward to playing in Brisbane because we haven’t been there for a while so that’ll be awesome.

What can fans expect from your live shows?

I guess since we’ve been together for so long, nine years, we’ve really worked on producing a tight show. That’s what we’ve got going on and it’s really exciting. So yeah, you can expect a really tight show.

Cool, we look forward to it.

Your producer Mark Opitz also worked with KISS, INXS and Cold Chisel. How was the experience of working with such a successful producer?

Yeah it was good. It was a massive learning curve for our band. He’s a really inspirational guy, not just with music but also with life in general as well. He really kicked our ass and helped us to develop a sound that we’re going for. I’m really happy with it.

I heard you guys played with Katy Perry…is that every dudes dream?

Hahaha yeah, that was a bit different. It was cool. The fans were not our average fan base but we still had a really good time and it was cool.

What’s behind the name of your new EP The Owls?

Originally we chose owls because of the artwork we wanted to create for this EP. I’m a massive artwork fan and good art relates to the sound. We thought owls would be awesome to play with artistically. Then there’s also the tie in that bands are like owls. We come out at night and do our thing just like an owl. I’m actually in the studio at the moment and have no voice ha-ha.

Which musicians inspired you to want to create music, and were you always interested in alternative rock?

Well our family inspired us because they’re really musical. We grew up listening to The Police and even reggae music so we never just wanted to play one specific style. We love jamming and basically we just love music.

I guess we started playing when the pop punk rock scene was really big and that’s what we were doing at the time. When we were 13 years old, Blink 182, Sum 41 and all those types of bands were our idols and that’s what drove our band.

Do you plan on going overseas anytime soon, and if not then where would you like to tour?

Yeah we’re planning a trip to America in March next year. We want to tour over there and record, as well as meet up with American musicians and gain experience. That’s our goal.

Do you have any festivals lined up over there or are you just going to tour and play gigs?

Yeah we have a few bands to tour with. I think first we’ll go to LA, because that’s where it’s all happening. Then we’ll jump on tours with American bands as much as we can. We want to go to New York and everywhere really.

What are you plans, dreams and hopes for Brittle in the future?

We just want to keep recording and playing music, build a fan base, all that sort of thing you know. We’re not in it for the fame, we just want people to respect our music.

Yeah that sounds great. On a final note….Do you have anything else you’d like your fans to know?

Make sure they come see us on tour!!!

Cool, thanks for your time Ben!

No problem Alicia, speak to you soon.

To check out the new EP and find tour dates in your area, head to www.brittlerock.com

WINTER AT THE HIFI

If you’re into loud music, a great venue and plenty of quirky little bars to drink yourself silly after the gig then look no further than West End’s The Hifi Bar (Brisbane).

In June the Hifi continues to boast many awesome local and international shows including American bandSTRUNG OUT (18+), indie garage rock band BRITISH INDIA (18+), DAPPLED CITIES (18+) andDEEZ NUTS (AA and 18+ shows).

Also, check out Press Record’s interview with Deez Nuts front man JJ Peters.

July does not fall short of June as the HIFI hosts THE YOUNG BLOODS TOUR feat. THE AMITY AFFLICTION (AA and 18+). Following this OPERATOR PLEASE (18+) are set to perform their much anticipated sophomore album ‘Gloves’ then explosive 10-piece bandMISTA SAVONA (18+) will warn the nation (pun intended)…and that’s only the first half of the month!

In the second half of July THIRSTY MERC (18+), USA punk rockers BOYS LIKE GIRLS (AA and 18+) and San Francisco duo OM (18+) take the stage, followed by Melbourne psych rockers BLACK CAB (18+) and up-and-coming Brisbane disco punkers TIN CAN RADIO(18+).

Metalheads prepare yourselves!! August at the Hifi is metal mayhem with the DAMNATION TOUR featuring TESTAMENT (USA) (18+) kicking off followed by American post hardcore quintet SENSES FAIL (USA) (18+) who will take the stage with bounds of kinetic energy, then alternative metal band CKY (USA) (18+) are sure to impress.

Indie band the MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS (18+) will put on a psychedelic show at the end of August, followed by Christian glam metal rockers STRYPER (USA) (18+) who will finish the month off in style.

For tour dates, a truckload of fantastic support bands and other great shows coming your way go to www.thehifi.com.au. Create an account at the Hifi website to purchase tickets, receive email updates on all your favourite bands and win great giveaways.

Melbourne Hifi gigs can be found on the same site.


FOR MORE MUSIC NEWS HEAD TO WWW.PRESSRECORDONLINE.COM

Rolo Tomassi

ROLO TOMASSI

Eva Spence is one cool chick. After breaking into the hardcore scene with ‘mathcore driven synth’ tracks, she’s kicked sexist remarks to the curb and proved that chicks can scream. On the verge of releasing her new album ‘Cosmology’, Press Record’s Alicia Bolton had a chat to Eva, the gorgeous UK vocalist of Rolo Tomassi.

So what’s going on in the world of Eva Spence right now?

At the moment I’m relaxing in my bedroom at home. We just finished touring the UK last week so I’ve had a couple of days to recharge my batteries and enjoy a bit of time on my own.

How did Rolo Tomassi come together?

Well we’ve all known each other since we were about five or six years old and we went through school together. When we hit secondary school we all started getting into different kinds of music and started developing a more concentrated musical taste and since we were all friends we were getting into the same music at the same time. We were originally in two separate bands which we all started when we were 11 or 12 and it was kind of pop punk stuff but when we were between the ages of 14 and 16 we decided that this wasn’t what we were listening to anymore and we wanted to start creating music that would reflect what we were all listening to at the time. That’s when we started Rolo Tomassi.

For someone who hasn’t heard your music before, how would you describe it?

Um, well we get asked that question a lot and it’s a little bit hard to pin point exactly what we do, but we found the best way to describe it is progressive hardcore.

I heard your band name was taken from the character from LA Confidential…

Yeah I think it was James the keyboard player who actually came up with the name. He just thought it sounded cool.

I saw you guys at The Brisbane Soundwave Festival this year, it was the first time I’d heard you guys and I thought it was great…

Oh thank you. When we all came back off that tour we all said it was the best thing we’ve ever done as a band. It was just such an incredible experience. Australia is somewhere that seems like light years away and I never thought I’d be able to visit. We were asked to do the Soundwave tour and it was so incredible and overwhelming that we’d actually been asked to go and tour over there. We all had an amazing time over there. We’ve all told our booking agent we want to come back before the end of the year. At the Soundwave festival we were touring with loads of my favourite bands.

Who were some of your favourite bands at soundwave?

Jimmy Eat World, Sunny Day Real Estate, we watched a bit of Glassjaw, Four Year Strong, Set Your Goals, Gallows, Architects, The Weakerthans as well, they were one of my favourite bands for years and we were actually playing the same stage as them so we got to see them a bunch of times. Paramore were amazing, they absolutely blew me away. AFI and Jane’s Addiction who we did our sideshows with aswell, they were amazing. We were just running around everyday trying to catch loads of different bands. The Get up Kids aswell, they were our favourites.

What was the highlight of being in Australia?

It’s really hard to say. On the first day in Brisbane we went to a nature park and held Koala bears which was really cool because that’s another thing I never thought I’d be able to do. We had a look around there and walked around with Kangaroos and things and I guess it’s very stereotypical but it was just so crazy to see.

Also, I guess just being in the band environment. The way it works is they split all the bands in between three huge hotels so we just got to hang out with bands all the time.  It was so amazing to speak to bands we’ve absolutely loved and worshipped growing up. You see these bands who we would consider famous backstage and it was kind of, it was just crazy.

Your new album comes out May 24^th and it’s called Cosmology. What does the album name refer to?

All of our friends are at university now, none of us have bothered with that yet, we just took years out to do band, but quite a few of our friends are studying the sciences  and in some of their exams there’s a module called Cosmology, which is the study of the universe and humanity’s place within the universe. It’s a bit crazy but the band is all we’ve been doing in the last 18 months since the last album was released so it just kind of centered our universe. So that’s why we decided to call it Cosmology because this is what we’ve been putting all our energy in and our lives have been revolving around it.

How did you get into progressive hardcore? It’s not very often you hear girls screaming and I think it’s great to see you’re doing something different.

Well I guess the band that kind of changed it all for us was the Dillinger Escape Plan. We all saw them at Readings (festival) the first year we went. We kind of just walked past the stage and although we’d heard screaming music before, we’d never heard the technicalities that they were performing on stage. Also what they were giving on stage was something that we’d never seen before and that was the turning point that made us want to start the band in the first place.

When we first started out I played keyboard and James played guitar and we were looking for a vocalist. We tried out a couple of people and no one just seemed to fit so I just kind of said, well I’ll give it a go. I didn’t know if I’d be very good but I really wanted to have a go and it turned out that I could just kind of do it. As I practiced my technique improved and my voice is how it is today just from practice and developing a technique that doesn’t affect my throat.

As a female, did you find it hard to break into the hardcore scene?

At first yeah - The first couple of shows we played I just stood with my back to the crowd screaming at the drum kit because I just felt embarrassed and nervous and it was just really weird because they only people that I’d screamed to before that were the other four members of the band, and it was a very strange feeling to be doing this thing, a natural noise, in front of people. We used to get so many sexist remarks because when we first started the only bills that would accommodate us would be hardcore bills and there’d be these tough guys in the crowd who would just shout really sexist things at me through the whole set and it’d just be disgusting and pointless because you come to a show to watch music regardless of the gender of the people in the band. We pretty much had that happen to us for two years but since ‘Hysterics’ was released, it has kind of stopped now. I can’t even remember the last time I had people shouting at me, which is incredible. I think people are really starting to take us seriously now and ignoring the fact that I’m, you know, a girl and actually seeing that we’ve all worked really hard and I’m not that bad at being a vocalist.

I hear you’ve just returned from touring in the UK, how was that?

Yeah we got back on Thursday, it was amazing. We were on tour with an English band called Biffy Clyro who are doing incredibly well for themselves at the minute. We don’t sound anything like them, but they’re amazing. They’re a band that we’ve all loved for years and we never would have thought they’d be fans of what we’re doing, but they actually contacted us and asked if we’d be interested in opening the tour for them and we all said yes. They were very sweet guys. We also toured with the Twilight Sad who we got on with as well so it was all just incredible.

What’s planned next for Rolo Tomassi?

We have a bunch of UK festivals lined up this summer because last year we performed around mainland Europe so we’re going to do loads of UK festivals. I think for the rest of the year we’re hoping to hit up America and hopefully back to Australia. We all want to go to Japan. This is just a pipe dream at the minute but this is what we’ve been pestering our manager to happen. We just want to be on tour because we’ve worked really hard and it seems like forever since the album was recorded. We’re just so keen to get the album out, tour the new record, play to as many people as we possibly can and just keep working hard.

Okay well I’ll let you go, thanks heaps for your time, it’s been great talking to you.

Thank-you bye.

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