Gareth here, I managed to catch up with guys from Colt 45 at the Victoria Inn, Derby and asked them a few questions…
So guys, this is the last date of your mini tour. How has it been?
Neil: It’s been cool. The guys from Faux are really nice guys, great band and really tight. We really hadn’t heard of them before now but I got to say but they are really cool lads. It’s been nice doing a few shows with them.
Alex Baker has recently been playing your music on his Kerrang! Fresh Blood show, what does that mean to you guys?
Neil: He is a nice guy!
Adam: He has always been good to us has Alex.
Neil: We have met Alex a few times and he is sound as a pound.
Recently you got involved in the Cumbria Flood Appeal. With your song ‘I Remember When The Rain Came Down‘. How did you guys get involved with the appeal?
Adam: The song had been around for a while and was on our album (The Tide is Turning) that came out in 2014. The song itself is about, as Cumbria gets flooded quite a lot how we were all effected directly or otherwise in 2005 and 2009. The song was about those floods so, when it happened again in December (2015) it seemed like the perfect song to stick as a download and any money we could make was put towards the flood appeal.
You recently were in the studio recording a new EP. Which you have announced as ‘Snakes and Ladders’ which is out on 29th April. Is there anything more you can tell us about the EP or is it still a bit hush, hush?
Adam: As you say, we have announce that it is out on 29th April on Visible Noise. There are six track on it. This EP, I think for us is going back to our roots. The last album (The Tide is Turning) we did was maybe a bit too polished. We are really proud of the songs on it, but it was quite a clean and polished effort.
Neil: We wanted to do something that was more like we are live.
Adam: …Something that sounded like we are live, which is pretty much turn up, plug in and play. That is where we were coming from with the EP. The title ‘Snakes and Ladders‘ is a metaphor for the experiences we have had as a DIY band in the industry. There are a lot of opportunities out there.
Neil: …And there are a lot of people out there willing to fucking knock you down!
You were talking there about your experiences as a band… What is the current rock scene in Cumbria like?
Adam: In Cumbria it’s alright, it’s very varied.
Neil: There is always sort of a healthy collection of bands in Cumbria I think but, the beauty of it is that everyone is so eclectic that there isn’t really two bands that sound alike. There isn’t a Cumbrian sound.
Adam: It’s quite isolated with all the towns and cities spread out. You haven’t got that sceney-vibe. It’s kind of a bit more collective. Bands will put shows on for each other and we go and watch each others gigs. But the rock scene generally nationally, I don’t know man. We think it’s pretty pathetic at the moment. All the bands you hear on the radio sound the same. All the rock press seem to be interested in at the moment is so and so has done a cover of Justin Bieber, so and so has done a cover of 1D. Who gives a fuck. Kerrang! and Rock Sound ten years ago you didn’t see any of that shit in there!
Neil: Like for me, when we were at school growing up. We would read Kerrang! and read about Good Charlotte, and they use to get panned in Kerrang!. And now to me, some of the bands around now, make Good Charlotte look like Black Flag man. It’s so much that is watered down.
Gareth: If it ticks all the boxes It’s dead safe…
Adam: It’s like there is a formula, there is a recipe for being one of those bands that gets all the exposure. If you haven’t got the right contacts, the right merch, matching jackets and if it doesn’t seem quite exclusive. When the whole point of being a DIY punk band, which all these fucker claim to be is the complete opposite to that. Music is inclusive, band and fans on the same level. It just doesn’t feel like it to us. We are at an age and a stage in our career where we are not trying to please anyone, we don’t really care. This record is for us. It’s back to our roots and we are really proud of it and can’t wait to get it out. We are going to play it all tonight.
Going back to your previous record. I really like your song ‘When We Sleep Alone’. Who is that song about?
Neil: It’s about my misses.
Adam: Don’t lie, it’s about the dog (laughs).
Neil: It just sort of well, about being away from home and on tour. Missing the people you go home to.
Adam: We haven’t got many songs that are overly personal, romantic lyrics. I kind of like how it is along those lines. The best songs in the world are usually about those kind of topics. The music side of it is very punchy and punky. I like the dynamic of that.
I see on Twitter that you guys tweet a lot about other bands; “Check out these guys” & “Listen to their new song…” Is it important to you guys to support your friends in other bands?
Neil: Yeah, but great music is great music. We are well up for supporting great bands and great people.
Adam: There are a lot of people who have been good to us over the years. Whether or not we all sit around and buzz off the music that they make is irrelevant. It’s about supporting the people that have supported us. Look after each other sort of thing.
Neil: To me that’s the whole DIY ethic. Support the people that support you.
Adam: We tweet about the fucking Replacements, The Gaslight Anthem and Channel 4 news and shit like that. None of them need any extra promotion. I don’t see a difference between giving shout outs to local bands or the bands we do DIY tours with or the big artists we talk about.
I like to end the interview with some silly questions. So which do you prefer: Crowd surfing, mosh pits, circle pits or a wall of death?
All: Crowd surfing all day.
All day, every day?
Gareth: Yeah!
Adam: Wall of deaths…fucking hell! They kill us man. If you are going to a show to do a wall of death you aren’t that bothered about the music. If you want to go to a show and get knocked out or knock some out go for it. You just won’t be doing it at one of our shows.
Drum solo or Guitar Solo?
All: Guitar Solo.
Neil: I’m quite shocked that he said guitar solo (pointing to Adam).
And last but not least. Fry up or a Sunday dinner?
All: Fry up.
Adam: We have a lot more fry ups than Sunday dinners believe me.
Neil: It’s my favourite meal in the world.