Interview : Bass Drum Of Death
July 25th 2011 01:08
Recently I got to quickly catch up with John Barrett from 2 piece outfit Bass Drum Of Death. Their new album GB City was released a few months back and I asked John how the audiences are reacting to the new songs, the recording process and the effect of free downloads.
What's the latest news from camp Bass Drum Of Death?
Just got home from a month-long tour, about to leave again for 3 shows in new york....oh, and also, now we are a 3-piece live, we added a 2nd guitar player for the last tour. pretty excited about that.
The album GB City has been out now for a few months, how’s the reaction been to the songs from fans so far?
For the most part it has been really good...obviously there are places that seem to know the record better than others, but overall I've been really surprised at the response.
Now that you’ve had some space from the record is there anything different you wished you had done on the album?
Nah. I feel like everything was exactly how I wanted it.
You kept the recording very DIY, was that a conscious decision or one forced due to money?
Both. I'm a control freak and a perfectionist, so the fact that i was able to do it myself was great for me and how i work....but at the same time, i was broke as fuck and didn't really have any other options. it just seemed like the best way to go about it at the time.
While doing some research on you guys I noticed a number of sites with free downloads of tracks and the album itself. What are your thoughts as to the fact a large percentage of people who’ll catch on to the band may have discovered you by free/illegal downloading?
It doesn't really bother me that much. as long as people are listening it's cool with me, I'd rather have them downloading and listening than not listening at all. Because maybe they'll download it, like it, come to a show, and then buy a record or t-shirt.
The one thing that I always pick up with a two piece act is how loud and heavy they perform live. It’s almost like a full band up there, being just the two of you, do you feel like you have to bash it out as loud as you can on stage?
Well now that we are a 3-piece, some of that pressure is off....I mean, we're still loud and fast and shit, but I know what you mean, when it was just the two of us we would definitely try to be as loud as possible. Playing for so long as a two-piece got us really tight and intense, so I've tried to carry that over to the new setup.
Do you go into a tour with a certain set list or is it done on the fly?
We usually have a certain set list that we'll roll with, and kinda change it up here or there. But for the most part it's the same.
When can Australian audiences catch Bass Drum Of Death down here?
Hopefully sometime soon, maybe during ya'lls summer and our winter. I wanna go to the beach!
If you could’ve played on any album ever made- which would it be and why?
Probably "Exile On Main Street". Because all they did was get fucked up and hang out in a huge french mansion writing songs for 8 months. Sound pretty sweet to me.
What's the latest news from camp Bass Drum Of Death?
Just got home from a month-long tour, about to leave again for 3 shows in new york....oh, and also, now we are a 3-piece live, we added a 2nd guitar player for the last tour. pretty excited about that.
The album GB City has been out now for a few months, how’s the reaction been to the songs from fans so far?
Now that you’ve had some space from the record is there anything different you wished you had done on the album?
Nah. I feel like everything was exactly how I wanted it.
You kept the recording very DIY, was that a conscious decision or one forced due to money?
Both. I'm a control freak and a perfectionist, so the fact that i was able to do it myself was great for me and how i work....but at the same time, i was broke as fuck and didn't really have any other options. it just seemed like the best way to go about it at the time.
While doing some research on you guys I noticed a number of sites with free downloads of tracks and the album itself. What are your thoughts as to the fact a large percentage of people who’ll catch on to the band may have discovered you by free/illegal downloading?
It doesn't really bother me that much. as long as people are listening it's cool with me, I'd rather have them downloading and listening than not listening at all. Because maybe they'll download it, like it, come to a show, and then buy a record or t-shirt.
The one thing that I always pick up with a two piece act is how loud and heavy they perform live. It’s almost like a full band up there, being just the two of you, do you feel like you have to bash it out as loud as you can on stage?
Well now that we are a 3-piece, some of that pressure is off....I mean, we're still loud and fast and shit, but I know what you mean, when it was just the two of us we would definitely try to be as loud as possible. Playing for so long as a two-piece got us really tight and intense, so I've tried to carry that over to the new setup.
Do you go into a tour with a certain set list or is it done on the fly?
We usually have a certain set list that we'll roll with, and kinda change it up here or there. But for the most part it's the same.
When can Australian audiences catch Bass Drum Of Death down here?
Hopefully sometime soon, maybe during ya'lls summer and our winter. I wanna go to the beach!
If you could’ve played on any album ever made- which would it be and why?
Probably "Exile On Main Street". Because all they did was get fucked up and hang out in a huge french mansion writing songs for 8 months. Sound pretty sweet to me.
Bass Drum Of Death
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