INTERVIEWING THE LIVING END (By Ben Shafran)

Hi guys, what are you up to at the moment?

We are currently in our rehearsal space in South Melbourne writing new material and getting ready for the UK trip. We had a couple of months off after the craziness of last year’s touring but now it’s time to rev up again.

You have a headlining tour coming up just before the festival, are you looking forward to playing the UK again?

We are excited to be playing both the festivals and our own club shows. The UK is one of our favourite places to visit and we only wish we could get there more often. We had such a great reaction last time and the shows were some of our most memorable so we can’t wait to be back.

Your last UK tour was with Less Than Jake and Dropkick Murphys earlier this year, but before that it was a long time since you last played the UK, is there any particular reason for this? And will we have to wait just as long to see you again after Reading?

There’s really no excuse for taking so long in between UK visits other than spending most of our touring time in the States. We genuinely love the UK and feel very comfortable playing our music there. I think this band really connects with British audiences; they seem to get us!

How did ‘Carry Me Home’ end up being used on the game Guitar Hero 2?

Not really sure but it is a feather in the cap I suppose. Having said that, I have yet to play it! I guess it’s true that these days you have to embrace other mediums in order to get your music out there.

I understand that you have recently been working to produce a signature guitar, how did that come about and are you finding the process?

I have always played Gretsch guitars and I think they are the most rockin' guitars on the planet. I wanted to put a custom model together with all the mods that I had done to my guitar and Gretsch offered to do a signature model. We have done a couple of prototypes and are fine-tuning a few things. Time will tell how many are produced and what countries they are sold in. I am very honoured to be given the opportunity.

One of my favourite parts of your stage show is Scott climbing on the bass while playing, has he ever had any mishaps while doing this?

I think he has taken a few tumbles all in the name of rock'n'roll theatrics!

Why was Uncle Harry pissing in the bath?

Uncle Harry was a couple of beers short of a six pack… plain and simple. Those characters tend to end up in songs for some reason…

For those of us who imported State Of Emergency as soon as it was released, what can we expect next from you guys?

Well, the new stuff we are working on is a step forward again hopefully. I felt that State Of Emergency was the best collection of songs we had assembled up to that point. We worked hard on the arrangements and really pushed ourselves to get the results. It didn’t come easy but that’s just how it is. We have no reservations about working hard to get results. It paid off because it is our most successful record here at home since our debut. I think it has a depth and intelligence to it that UK audiences understand.

 
You haven’t played Reading since 2001, do you remember what it was like back then and what are you looking forward to this year?

I remember we played the Main Stage and it was sunny! The gig went really well and the crowd was well into it. It was the beginning of the day and so people weren’t burnt out yet. Tell me why again it’s taken this long to get back there??? Bloody slack ass Aussies! We actually played it twice before and both times were great lineups. In 2001 there was the first Strokes Main Stage show, Eels, Green Day, Iggy… What more could you want?!

How do festivals in the UK compare to US festivals like the Warped Tour and such?

Other than the mud factor I don’t know if they are too different. Warped Tour goes for 6 weeks I think and it’s in the summer so it’s damn hot.

Who are you most looking forward to seeing at Reading/Leeds?

I am looking forward to seeing Gallows and also us! I think judging from the reaction we got last time, be prepared for some chaos. I definitely want to see this Gallows outfit, they look interesting. Haven’t really checked the rest of lineup yet to be honest.

Finally, why should people head to the Lock Up Tent to catch your show?

People should come and see us because we will put on a gig completely different to anyone else. We don’t look or play like any of the other bands and our shows have a tendency to be quite intense, always musical but always really full on. There’s no such thing as a lazy TLE show.

Thanks to Chris for taking the time to answer our questions.

All pictures are taken from The Living End's Myspace page