Dead By Monday take on the A-Z challenge!

Scottish punks Dead By Monday are set to release their new EP Almost Punk on July 27. We asked the band to tell us more about themselves by taking on our A-Z challenge! A song that made you want to make music? Ciaran: Red Barchetta by Rush Declan: Bombtrack by Rage Against The Machine Paddy: Lifestyles of […]

Scottish punks Dead By Monday are set to release their new EP Almost Punk on July 27. We asked the band to tell us more about themselves by taking on our A-Z challenge!

A song that made you want to make music?

Ciaran: Red Barchetta by Rush

Declan: Bombtrack by Rage Against The Machine

Paddy: Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous by Good Charlotte

Murray: Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance was a game changer for me!

Best rider you’ve ever had?

Ciaran: We got a fridge full of beers once!

Murray: Occasionally the venue will sort us out a few pints after the show, and that’s always appreciated after screaming into the mic for an hour!

Craziest thing you’ve experienced in the band?

Paddy: We were playing a show in Glasgow supporting the Australian Punk Rock band, The Living End. Tickets weren’t really selling because Green Day were playing in Glasgow the same night, when Green Day cancelled their gig our show sold out in seconds and suddenly we were going to be playing to 300+ people and we were incredibly well received. Won’t forget that night in a hurry!

Deepest lyric one of your songs features?

Murray: Our single, Dead Souls opens with “As I grow old the world takes its toll, it sucks the light out on a nightmare merry-go-round. I’m trapped here on this right and I’m dead inside will I be free when I die?” It’s a line that’s filled with desperation and hopelessness, but maybe that’s just me!

Ciaran: Merry-go-rounds aren’t that deep are they? I mean you can get off at any time haha!

Murray: Not if it’s going 1000 miles an hour you cannae!

Easiest song you wrote?

Paddy: None of our songs are particularly easy to write to be honest, we like to take the time to make sure everything little detail is set out exactly how we want it, once a song is written we’ll probably re write it 100 times again before we think it’s ready to record.

Ciaran: Sometimes we’ll spend hours ironing out the kinks in a specific chorus or nailing the tight rhythm sections, it’s a labour of love!

Favourite song in your set?

Ciaran: The Binding

Declan: American Horror Story

Paddy: Dead Souls

Murray: American Horror Story

Paddy: And Dead Souls is the only one of these on our upcoming EP so if you
want to hear what the others sound like you’re gonna have to turn up to one
of our shows!

Guest you’d most like to feature on your record?

Declan: It’d probably be Jamie Lenman from Reuben

Ciaran: Benji Webb of Skindred fame would  spit some absolute fire on one of our tracks, I can see it now!

Paddy: Frank Carter‘s vocals are made for the odd Dead by Monday verse or
two!

Hardest thing about being in a band?

Declan: It’s really difficult sometimes to book a practice due to all of our packed schedules, but we get by!

Paddy: I think the amount of work you have to put in behind the scenes is often overlooked but it sometimes feels like a second job on top of the one which actually earns me money!

Murray: Ciaran’s farts on the road make me want to never smell anything ever again.

Ciaran: I’ll accept that.

Interesting fact about one of your members?

Paddy: Our drummer, Ciaran, is actually a musical prodigy and currently has his face plastered over a huge billboard in Paisley (just outside Glasgow) advertising young people and the arts in Scotland, the boy is already famous!

Jokes you have in the band?

Ciaran: I’m not sure we’re allowed to say, are we?

Murray: We all like to laugh at Paddy because he’s the only one with a steady income outside the band!

Paddy: Aye I know it’s all through jealousy though haha!

Key to writing a song?

Ciaran: You have to be open minded to the ideas of everyone else in the band and the ability to take criticism when you come in with a riff or drum fill that’s garbage.

Paddy: I agree with this 100%. If you’re unable to receive and give honest criticism in equal measure then you’re never going to make it past writing your first song!

Longest distance you’ve travelled to play a show?

Declan: We played Manchester one night and then had to travel to Norwich and back the next day. It was about a 1000 mile round trip and I was the driver, the sooner everyone else gets on the insurance for the van the better!

Ciaran: The sooner the van stops breaking down on the motorway the better too!

Most inspiring musician you’ve experienced?

Murray: When I first saw Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes in Glasgow they blew me away. The man has such an incredible stage presence and that changed my life, after that point all I wanted to do was be a frontman!

Ciaran: I know it’s cheesy but I’d have to go with my dad, he is an incredibly talented musician and pushes me every day to better myself!

New band you’d recommend?

Ciaran: One of our favourite bands on the Glasgow circuit at the moment are called Whenweweredead, they’re the perfect blend of groove, thrash and hardcore!

Paddy: Or there’s Creature from Newcastle who bring the sludgy grunge hooks and hit hard!

Opening for this band would be ideal?

Declan: We’d love to have the opportunity to open for System of a Down!

Paddy: Honestly, I think if we played shows with Rage Against The Machine that would be a match made in heaven!

Place you’d most like to tour?

Declan: We’re not sure where but we just love being on the road, driving across the country and meeting new people wherever we go.

Paddy: I’d love to go abroad to Europe and play shows in places like Germany and Italy.

Quote you’d like to pass on to our readers?

Ciaran: Corey Taylor once said that “bad things happen when good people pretend nothing is wrong.” That’s always stuck with me.

Reason for the title of your recent/forthcoming release?

Paddy: Well we’ve got a lot of punk elements to our sound but there’s also a lot of other influences in there as well, so I guess you could say we’re ‘almost punk’?

See us live at?

Ciaran: We’ll be playing The 13th Note in Glasgow on May 30th supporting Anewrage with our friends in Whenweweredead, promises to be a sick night!

The old days of music were better than the current, do you agree?

Declan: I guess with the internet it’s easy to look at the past with a rose tinted view. It was probably better for artists back then because the market for bands wasn’t so completely oversaturated as it is today but there’s pros and construction to both arguments.

Paddy: People say that rock music is dead but those people are completely wrong. Rock and Metal is as strong and original as it ever was, you just need to look hard enough!

Ciaran: From a musician’s standpoint, the old days of music were much easier to make a viable career out of playing music. Record labels were more willing to pay upfront for artists that had potential, and the lack of streaming services like Spotify meant that artists got a fair amount of money from each physical purchase.

Unusual merchandise?

Declan: Nothing as of yet but a Dead by Monday Xbox or PS4 controller would be sick!

Paddy: I’d love a Dead by Monday football we could sell, bit of a world away from punk music but we love a kick about!

Variations you’d like to do of any of your songs?

Declan: A big band swing version of Dead Souls would sound so tight!

Paddy: Aye and I can already play the trumpet so we’re half way there already!

What do your fans mean to you?

Ciaran: The love and support we get from everyone who comes out to see us makes all the travelling and time invested in this project worthwhile.

Paddy: I straight up wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t for our fans coming out and rocking out at our shows, they mean everything!

X-rays or any other treatments needed for band related injuries?

Declan: Luckily we’ve not had any intensive care visits, but we’ve picked up our fair share of knocks and bruises along the way.

Paddy: There’s probably a bit of luck involved in that, but Declan’s van tries to kill us at every opportunity!

You’re late for a show, whose fault is it?

Paddy: The van that we are currently using is not the most reliable, so these days if we’re ever late to a show it’s because the vans broken down on the side of the A8!

Declan: Aye if anyone is selling a tour van I can pay you in unskilled labour!

Zoo animal that best describes the personality of your band?

Paddy: Platypus, don’t ask why.

Ciaran: Yup, definitely a platypus.

Murray: A platypus is probably my favourite animal.

Declan: Taylor Swift,  but only her first three albums!

Elizabeth Birt

May 11, 2018

Band management assistant. Goth princess and lover of all things music and sport.

@lbirt1993

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