Glasswerk Chats With Sound and Fury

• 17th Nov 2008

Glasswerk sent along our very own super cooper aka Mark Cooper to interview Sound and fury at Liverpool Carling Academy.

Coop: Let’s just get check on who we have here.

Daz: Daz-rhythm guitar.

John: John-bass.

Coop: Last night you played, was it Sheffield?

John: Oh yeah.

Coop: It’s called the Sheffield Octagon isn’t it? – sounds like a U.F.C match.

John: (Laughs) a cage match.

Coop: Then before that you started in Cardiff?

John: That’s right.

Coop; So what’s the reaction been like?

John: Good, were the support band so it’s our job to warm em’ up. It’s kinda like those high school dances were you have everyone standing against the walls until one person dances, but by the end of it everyone’s having fun.

Coop: This isn’t the first time you’ve been to the U.K though is it?

Daz: We were here in February-this year.

Coop: With Sum 41-was that the first time?

Daz: Yeah, it was great, it was amazing. That tour was unreal, we did like ten shows and y’know off the hook-once again first of three bands, but played to a full house every night. We walked out like headliners. Totally different crowd.

Coop: I was going to say it seems a pretty mixed crowd out there for Airbourne.

John: You’ve got everything from the 45 year guy who’s loves AC/DC, to the young kid just discovered Airbourne.

Coop: You have quite a big fan base over here, was that one of the reasons for coming over.

Daz: Yeah, our band gets received really well over here, North America some places we play are off the hook, some places it’s like why bother y’know?

Coop: Why do you think your sound goes down well in this country-is it the punk thing?

Daz: Yeah.

John: Yeah I think so, I think it’s just more trendy in the U.K, I think fans are way more loyal. I mean those old eighties band still come over here. I think what ever the trend is this year, were not going to jump on any of those bandwagons-were going to do our thing; and we figured after we came here-we just had to get out and tour, and the U.K’s a really good place to make our base-the fans here are much cooler.

Coop: You previously played with Airbourne in Canada and then came over here with them?

Daz: We did a few shows in-between-a few one off’s

Coop: How’s touring with them been?

John: Oh yeah Airbourne put on a show, you watch Airbourne it’s a show. There masters at it. They’ve found something that’s works.

Daz: The numbers have been great, Canada and here. 1000, 2000 people.

Coop: bands say that no matter how many people are there they can only see like the first few rows.

John: When we play smaller clubs, I mean here they have the barriers up, but in the smaller clubs the people are right there, right In your face-I kinda like that better. (Laughs.)

Coop: That’s that instant reaction thing.

John: Exactly,cos in the smaller clubs there almost on the stage!.

Daz: I’ve always said it doesn’t matter you could play a 20,000 seater arena or a 20 seat club, if it’s hot it doesn’t matter how big it is.

Coop: You’ve only been together two years, but already played with lots of bands-I guess you’re a band that likes the road?

John: Oh yeah.

Daz: Oh most definitely, at the end of the day we are a live band, we put on a really good show, personally I just love the rush y’know?

Coop: There’s the old adage that the bands that are around the longest are the ones who are great live.

Daz: yeah and the way the industries going y’know, c.d sales have dropped so much-it’s all on itunes now, but still ticket sales are high.

Coop: You can’t download a band playing right in your face.

Daz: Exactly.

Coop: is it difficult to breakthrough in Canada?

John: A lot of bands go south, tour the states, I mean were from Toronto, so New York is pretty close and all those areas so yeah. Canada’s population is only like 30 million. You can only sell so may records.

Coop: People forget, it looks big on the map, but there’s not that many people there.

John: A lot of mining towns (Laughs.)

Coop: The album was recorded in your rehearsal space, was it done in one go, or did you have a different routine?

John: It was originally just going to be a demo, and it wound up being a record, when we listened back we thought ‘yeah this is pretty good’. We recorded it all different kinda ways-all over the map.

Coop: What were the songs that you started with and what were the songs you later thought should go on the record as well.

John: There was so many songs, that never really got anywhere-I don’t even remember. A lot of the time Luke would come in with an idea-so many of them-we would work on it and then forget about it, then one day we would come back to an idea and I would think ‘Did we record that?’ (Laughs.) I have to relearn that!

Daz: The next album were gonna take a different approach I think.

Coop: Why so?

John: Well I like the record, I think it could have been a little bit better, if you think you’ve done your best work then just quit right?

Coop: The hardest part of making a record is when to stop. Did any of the songs get an airing live?

John: Actually none of them, I think I’d like to do that with this next batch. As a band I think we’ve kind of figured out better parts.

Daz: Better dynamics.

Coop: Is there some songs that are going down better live, some that perhaps a little less so?

John: Y’know what we’ve already took one song out and put another in, it was actually a song not on the record.

Coop: So what songs are working?

John: I really think ‘Bad touch’, ‘Schools out’

Daz: ‘Night of the ghouls’.

Coop: What’s the opener?

John: ‘18’.

Coop: You put up that your mission statement was to make great rock n roll party record-do you think you achieved that?

John: I think we got pretty damn close.

Coop: Clearly there’s an old school vibe in what you do, but what are you adding to that style.

John: I don’t know, in terms of adding-it pretty straightforward kind of rock n roll.

Coop: I think your definitely more rock punk than punk rock.

Daz: That’s definitely the vibe.

Coop: Here’s a question for you-why do you think that rock n roll as an entity is so popular.

(Everyone laughs)

Coop: I mean why does it keep coming back?

John: Well it’s very simple, the sound is very simple-it’s a primal thing, everyone keeps coming back to it because they realize-’Oh yeah that’s why it was good in the first place’

Coop: It’s an honesty thing.

John: Yeah it’s not pretentious and stuff.

Coop: People level the claim that rock n roll doesn’t really over up anything, that it doesn’t have any intelligent value, what would you say to that?

John: Well when I go to the theatre to see a movie they haven’t all gotta be some fucking brilliant thing- I wanna see ‘Dumb and dumber’ sometimes-don’t get me wrong I like an intelligent movie, but I also like to see family guy, just stupid shit y’know (Laughs)

Coop: You don’t have to always see the boundaries of music being pushed-I’ll watch ‘Citizen Kane’…

John: …but I like fart jokes too! (Laughs.)

Coop: So I know there’s certain influences, Sabbath, Zeppelin etc, but what have you taken from whom?

John: I know AC/DC’s a big influence on Luke, you can get all analytical about what comes from where, but I don’t think it needs to get that serious. I think a lot of influence you don’t have to try and show it.

Coop: Whatever you play, it just comes out.

John: I think what ever your listening to at the moment will also come through.

Coop: So when you were first plunking around on the bass who were your main people?

John: For me when I was fifth teen it was Iron maiden, it was Steve Harris. But when I got older it was The Who, they are like my favourite band of all time.

Daz: Well I was born in 1980 so music for me kinda came from the early nineties grunge era, I listened to like Kyuss, Pearl jam and Sound garden, then it evolved into Queens of the stone age and the Deftones. Now I take inspiration from allsorts, like Bob Marley, I’m listening to Bob Marley now.

John: I’m listening to Frank Sinatra at the moment.

Coop: People get caught in that ‘I’m in a certain type of band, so I have to listen to that music’

John: Absolutely. You’ll see me at some strange concerts, I went to see Justin Timberlake. (Everyone laughs.)

John: I went cos my wife’s cousin sings background, so I went to the concert and thought ‘This is pretty good’ (laughs)

Coop: He put on a good show?

John: Even my wife was like, ‘I see now why people think he’s sexy’, but he’s got that charisma-some people just have that star power.

Coop: So to get back to it, did you release some singles and videos for your debut?

John: ‘18’

Coop: The video of 18 was filmed in a police station?

Daz: Yeah a cop shop.

Coop: I thought it would be some old ‘Assault on precient 13’ style police station.

Daz: It was some old, old building.

John: We have three videos coming up, which is gonna be a mini story, with the same guy that did the album. We did some green screen stuff, one video were not even in-ive no idea what its going to be like

Daz: It was ridiculous, we flew down to Kansas, to film these videos, all in one day, in an abandoned elementary school. This place was built in 1890, and shut down in1980-literally it was boarded up-and just left. We went for a walk, we went into one of the old classrooms and there was the remains on the of a spelling lesson and the word on the board was ‘Discipline’.

Coop: How long do you see yourselves touring this album?

John: I think until January were going to start the writing process again.

coop: After here you have a couple of gigs…

John: …and December we taking off, then January were back into the studio.

Coop: So when you off is it the family thing.

Daz: Yeah ,it’s the first time im going back to New Zealand in a while.

John: And going right back to the start of the interview, I’m going to the U.F.C -yeah! (laughs.)

Coop: Thanks again guys.

John: Thanks.

Daz; Thanks, man.