Gareth here, during the Scuzz UK Throwdown tour I caught up with Jason Moules and Drey Pavlovic from Allusondrugs in Edinburgh. The Leeds outfit have had a busy year and it was great to sit down with them…
Has the tour been going well for you guys so far?
Jason: Yeah, it’s been awesome so far. It’s been proper spot on.
Drey: Loved it. Great Scottish leg of the tour.
Out of all the songs you have been playing in your set, has there been one that the crowd’s reaction has surprised you?
Jason: Probably our new song. It’s called ‘Good People‘ and we have only been playing it for a couple of months so no one has really heard it before. Everyone seems to like it. A lot of women seem to like it too, which is good!
How have you found the Scottish leg of the tour as Tonight (Edinburgh) is the last date in Scotland?
Jason: It’s been really fun. We got to play some places we have been before which we were looking forward to going back to the Tunnels in Aberdeen. It’s such a good venue.
Recently you released the video for ‘Nervous’ as a live session. What was the thinking behind a live video release?
Drey: The video came out half way between a live session and a music video. It wasn’t intentional but, we had a lot of B-roll we could use so we overlaid some clips and it ended up looking like a music video.
The last EP you put out was “Sunset Yellow”. Are you currently writing new material?
Jason: We don’t know what is going on at the moment to be honest. We have got a load of material that we have made between us.
Drey: We just don’t know what form to put it into at the moment. Once we have finished this tour we will be getting into that thinking space.
As you guys have toured quite a lot around the UK and with this tour covering most of the UK. What do you think of the current UK music scene with a lot of music venues closing down?
Drey: It’s alive but, it’s bleak. It’s one of those man down situations that needs a revive. It will get better, bands can keep doing what they are doing. But we will see a decline in bands and music venues if things don’t change.
Jason: I think once we see a decline in bands, the venues will be better off. I think there are a lot of shit bands playing gigs or expecting to play gigs and it doesn’t help.
You use social media a lot to advertise your gigs. Have you found it hard recently to do that? As you said there are a lot of bands out there…
Drey: It’s not so much with other bands but, more with the algorithm that Facebook uses so, posts are not seen by everyone that likes your band page. That is one of the main problems with the online approach. The other bands have not got in the way.
So it’s not the influx of other bands, it’s more to do with the way Facebook promotes them?
Drey: Yeah, if you are referring to the online aspect.
Jason: It’s all Facebook’s fault!
So on this Tour you have been playing with Max Raptor and Press To Meco. How have you found those guys on this tour? Have you played with them before?
Jason: Yeah, it’s pretty much how how this tour came about. Just meeting them and playing with them. We have been on tour with Press To Meco a year ago and it way really, really fun. So when we got asked to play and tour with them and Max Raptor it was a no brainer really.
I like to end the interview with a few either or question. So, which do you prefer: Mosh pits, Circle pits, crowd surfing or a wall of death?
Jason: Crowd surfing.
Drey: Crowd surfing.
Drum Solo or Guitar Solo?
Jason: Neither.
Drey: Yeah, neither.
And last but not least: Who would win in a fight? Max Raptor or Press To Meco.
Drey: Me.
Jason: I don’t that a tough one.
Drey: I am going to say Max Raptor just because there are four of them.
Jason: Safety in numbers.
Drey: There is five of us, so if we were factored in….