“We want to make sure we don’t get lost in the crowd,” says Jason Bishop, vocalist of Bath based quartet Montrose, of the musical gearshift taken on new E.P, Monster Under The Bed; “Our sound on the new release has definitely evolved; we’ve beefed it up and made it a bit more gritty. We don’t want to just be another pop punk band; as much as we all love the genre and it’s current resurgence, we wanted to make ourselves stand out.” Though Monster Under The Bed is still bristling with the kind of infectious vocal hooks most commonly brewed in the pop punk gene cauldron, it’s also laden with bursts of staccato, punchy guitar that wouldn’t be lost amongst the early output of the likes of Four Year Strong, Funeral For A Friend or Thrice, where riffs and memorable melody collided with kinetic synergy. The EP is out now and below the quartet answer the A-Z interview!
A Song Which Made You Want To Make Music:
Any song written by Alexisonfire
Best Album Ever Written:
Impossible to answer! Personal favourite; Alexisonfire – Watch Out! (yes, again haha)
Craziest Moment You’ve Experienced In The Band:
Playing a house show with Roam was pretty crazy! There were so many people crammed into this one tiny room, everybody crowd surfing and going mad, and I swear the floor almost fell through at one point..
Deepest Lyrics One Of Your Songs Features:
Everything in our song(s) Throne Alone, or Good Old Days
Easiest Song You Wrote:
Good Old Days just seemed to happen all on it’s own, didn’t take long at all!
Favourite Show You’ve Ever Played:
The Show with Neck Deep, Roam and Tuskens in January 2014 was insane!
Guest You’d Most Like To Feature On Your Record:
I don’t know how it’d fit with our genre or sound, but Jason Butler of letlive any day. Or Soupy from The Wonder Years.
Happiest Moment In You’ve Experienced In The Band:
Any moment anybody comes up to us afterwards to say that they enjoyed our set. We’re always incredibly grateful that people give a damn about this band.
Interesting Fact About One Of Your Members:
Jake will get naked literally anywhere. Really.
Jokes You Have In The Band:
They wouldn’t make sense even if I were to tell you, haha
Kicking Off Your Set Is Best With Which Song:
A short, fast one like Blush or Saintly If You Say does the trick. Anything that’s immediately in your face!
Longest Distance You’ve Travelled To Play A Show:
At the moment, Sheffield is the furthest we’ve been. (We’re in Bristol)
Most Inspiring Musician You’ve Ever Experienced:
Dallas Green, Jason Butler.
New Band You’d Recommend:
Our bro’s Tuskens, Nathan Detroit, Weatherstate or for the emo fans Pushing Daisies. We’ve got a great scene here.
Opening For This Band Would Be Ideal:
The Wonder Years
Place You’d Most Like To Tour:
America! (Ambitious, I know but it’d be perfect.)
Quote That You’d Like To Pass On To Readers:
Don’t be sad, because sad backwards is ‘das’ and das not good..
Reason For The Title Of Your Recent/Forthcoming Release:
Monster Under The Bed is just a cryptic way of saying that the songs are about the things that keep me up at night, just like when you’re a kid and you think monsters are coming for you!
See Us Live At:
The Exchange, July 22nd with Blood Youth and Trash Boat!
The Old Days Of Music Were Better Than Those Current, do you agree:
Not necessarily. Music is a lot more accessible now than it ever has been, so there are more bands than ever and it makes it hard to stand out and be original, but the sheer fact that bands now take inspiration fro bands in the past just means that music is constantly evolving and progressing, and that’s awesome.
Unusual Merchandise:
Nothing yet, but we’ll come up with something different.. Maybe some Montrose bed covers or something.
Variations You’d Like To Do On Any Of Your Songs:
We’re open to anything!
What Bands Have You Seen Live and Regretted:
I’ve seen a few bad tribute bands, but they’re meant to represent the band they’re claiming to be a tribute to. As for other bands, I don’t really like to talk bad about them, because I’m sure to somebody, they really dig it.
X-rays or any other treatments needed for band related in juries:
Nothing yet, although with the amount of times Ben dives off the stage, it’s gonna happen soon, haha.
You could have written any song in history, which would you pick:
The Star Wars theme tune. Imagine the royalties!
Zoo animal that best describes the personality of your band:
Monkey. Definitely a monkey.. Always up to no good.