The Smith St Band

William Elliot Whitmore

Frank Turner

Agnostic Front

Warbrain

Relentless

Civil War

Fixtures

Frank took time out of his busy schedule of rocking out Wembley Arena with Billy Bragg to answer a couple of questions about what’s on his plate at the moment in terms of touring and new music we may hear before the year’s end.

I met you last year when I interviewed you in your hotel room in Sydney. When we talked then you mentioned how next time you came out you wanted to make sure that you brought your whole band with you. That’s happening now, so how excited are you to present your songs in this new kind of setting?
Yes, the band are pretty integral to the way I want to present my music right now, and as much as I love playing solo shows, I feel like it’s not quite the whole package without the Sleeping Souls on the stage. So it’s great to be bringing the boys down under.

How different is the live experience with whole band rather than just you solo?
Well, it’s noisier for a start. It’s more of a show, a presentation, perhaps a little more focused.

What about for you personally? Do you get something new out of it rather than it just being you and a guitar?
Yes, the musical palette I have to play with is obviously much wider. I also enjoy having my crew around to share the road generally.

Last time we spoke, we also talked a bit about your background in hardcore and now we hear that you’ve got a hardcore project in the works. How does it feel to go back to your roots?
It feels good! It’s quite creatively refreshing. Most of all it’s a lot of fun, and that’s the central aim of the project for me, to let off some steam and have a good time.

Where are you at with it all?
We have written a bunch of stuff, and I’m hoping we will release some material before the end of this year, maybe do some shows. It’s hard to say for sure because it’s not my central priority, so it has a habit of getting bumped down the schedule.

Does your hardcore stuff and your solo stuff come from the same place creatively? Or do they come from different places in you?
Different places I think, which is the reason I want to do it. I feel like there’s a side to my personality that doesn’t really come across in my solo stuff. It’s not the main part of me, but it’s there.

The other thing that I wanted to talk to you about was your amazingly hectic touring schedule. How do you keep it up?
I enjoy what I do, and I’ve kind of trained myself now to the point where this is normality for me. I get very bored very quickly when I’m idle, so keeping busy is something that I don’t find challenging.

Is there a point where you don’t think you’ll be able to keep going?
I’m sure there will be a time when I slow down. Who knows, maybe I’ll have a mid life crisis and jack it all in next year. Who knows? For the time being I’m content living this way.

I also hear that you’ve got some new material in the works. Is that true? Can we expect an album or other release anytime soon?
Very much so. I have more than an album’s worth of material in my head. I will be in the studio with the Souls this summer, if everything goes to plan the next record will be out at the start of 2013.

Between your hectic touring schedule, how do you find time to record? Is it something that you just have to make time for? How do you prioritise?
Prioritising is, thus far, something that’s just kind of naturally fallen into place. Every now and again it feels like it’s time to make a record, and so we make some space in my tour schedule and hit the studio. Writing is a pretty constant exercise for me, it’s something that happens on the road, so it works out OK. Thus far…

You recently played your biggest headline shows ever at Wembley Arena. How were those shows?
It was an amazing evening, miles and away the biggest headline show I’ve ever done. It was quite a surreal evening actually, it’s not my normal habitat, but it was a lot of fun.

Is the feeling of playing in a place that big any different to playing in a small club?
Sure, on some levels. The sheer physicality of having that many people in one place is impressive. That said, every time I get up on any stage, I just do my level best to play a good show, and to some extent Wembley was the same thing.

Let’s talk about this tour a bit … I think this is your third time out here in about as many years, pretty much. Why do you love us so much?
I’ve just always had a great, great time in Australia. I also go to the USA once a year (or more) so why not Oz as well? As long as you guys still want me to come over, I’ll be there.

How did the support choices come about – William Elliot Whitmore and The Smith Street Band? Are they bands you’re familiar with?
Will and I have toured together before, he’s a wonderful guy. The Smith Street guys I don’t know personally, but it’s a name I’m very familiar with and I’ve heard a bunch of tracks and they’re ace. Jen Buxton is also playing some of the shows, which I’m very happy about, she’s a friend and she’s very, very talented.

What are you looking forward to?
Sunshine and seeing old friends.

So what’s next for Frank Turner? What does the rest of 2012 hold for you?
Recording and touring. More of the same, then.

Issue 14 sees the introduction of a new contributor by the name of Lochlan Watt. For this issue, Lochlan spoke to Heaven Shall Burn ahead of their appearance on Soundwave.

To top it off, one of my all time favourite bands, Mastodon, is on the cover. We spoke to guitarist Bill Kelliher about everything going on in their world while they were here at the beginning of March.

Raj spoke to his housemate and lead-singer of blues/punk/rock ‘n roll act The Snowdroppers about having an alter-ego, while I spoke to my favourite photographer, Ricky Adam, about his new book. That article was incredibly important to me and I’m so glad that I get to share with you all the talents of one of the most incredible people I know.

Add to that interviews with Brisbane’s Marathon, the band of Soundwave letlive, Raised Fist, and Sick Of It All, and this is one of the biggest, most solid and most diverse issues we’ve ever put together.

NB: In The Snowdroppers article, the byline says it was written by Sarah Petchell, but it was actually written by Raj Wakeling. The dangers of cut & paste…

Catch them at one of the dates below the interview.

So I guess not too many people in Australia would know who you guys are, so who are Xibalba and what are you all about?
Well, we are a band from California and honestly we just a group of friends that want to tour and play some heavy tunes.

How did you guys get together as a band in the first place?
The band got together around 2006/2007 because Big and I wanted to start a heavier band in vein of 90’s hardcore with Disembodied and Blood Has Been Shed along with some metal like Sepultura and Crowbar. Everyone in this band has played in bands together so it came about naturally.

Are there any particular bands that you guys get inspired by when you’re writing?
There are a lot, but our newer material you can say Crowbar, Obituary and just more metal side.

You’re touring Australia for the first time this April. What are Xibalba hoping to get out of the tour?
What more can I hope for? I’m in Australia. How many people get to travel and play music? I’m thankful for just being here.

Do you have any expectations of what Australia is going to be like?
Beaches, koalas, kangaroos, and beer.

And just before you hit Australia, you guys are playing South East Asia for the first time. Is that at all mindblowing? Like did you ever think you guys would be playing shows in SE Asia let alone Australia?
This past year we’ve been travelling a lot and it’s pretty surreal. Growing up, playing shows in the next city over was a big deal for us so playing on the other side of the world now is just crazy.

I read that you guys are essentially a DIY band, in that you book a lot of your shows yourselves where you can. How much easier does that make things for you?
I mean back home in the States, hardcore in general is pretty DIY as it is. It wasn’t until we went overseas where things are so legit and organised that we realised it was different. It gets stressful booking shows at times but you got to earn your keep and make an effort you know.

Xibalba released your first album Madre Mia Por Loa Dias on A389 and your newest release is going to be through Southern Lord, so why the change in labels?
We love Dom and A389 but it was simply just time to branch out and reach a different audience.

How far along are you guys with your second full-length? What stage are you at with it?
We have actually finished our full length for Southern Lord. It’s entitled Hasta La Muerte.

Can you give us any hints about what it sounds like and how it is similar or different to the first album?
I’m horrible with describing music but it’s 11 songs and an hour long. I’m stoked on this record! It’s a bit more thought out. Pick it up and listen for yourself.

I saw a photo on Tumblr of Greg Anderson helping out with some guitar parts. Was it at all intimidating having him involved in the recording process?
No, not at all. He is such an easy going guy.

So what’s it like being on tour with Xibalba? From the ‘Cold’ video it seems like you guys like to party…
Yeah, we like to let loose sometimes. I’m not one to condone drinking or drugs but we are all different people from different walks of life and as long as my friends are responsible and not falling into bad habits then let them live a little.

You guys have toured with some awesome bands across the US. Who are some excellent bands that we should all be checking out?
Damn, way too many but we just finished a tour with Take Offense and Soul Search. That ruled! All our Cali brothers Alpha & Omega, Downpresser, Minus, Nails and yeah, I could go on.

After the Australian tour, what’s next for Xibalba?
We go home and relax for a month then head to Europe.

Hasta La Muerte
Nate

So, the March column deadline came and went, and Sarah has been super nice, and tried her best not to bust my balls too hard, but I finally got this finished. I wanted to write a pre-emptive column on Record Store Day, and my new found Love/Hate relationship with it, so that’s what you’ll find below. I’ll also point out my pics (yeah, I’m a hypocrite, but record collecting is a disease!) for the day too.

Up until the end of Feb, I was all about RSD. Then I spoke to a few mates about the day in question, and it has really become a cash grab for major labels, re-issuing records at inflated prices. I can get behind labels doing new releases (PCR’s Blueline Trubute LP & Resist Records’ I Exist 7” for example), but it is getting a bit beyond a joke. That isn’t what bums me out the most though. The original idea behind RSD was to support local record shops (and I mean local record shops: Missing Link, Poison City, Ritual, Resist, Kill The Music, Clarity, Beatdisc, etc), but the major players are the ones with major label accounts, so they get a larger allocation of the records, and they are places that have other streams of income (DVD’s, Computers, etc), while the local stores get shafted. I mean, I like to shop at my locals weekly, and I try to make every day, Record Store Day…

The other thing that is a bit of a bummer is the Regional Focus Releases…

I get that the I Exist and BLM tribute releases are primarily Australian Releases (although I am sure both could be purchased by stores O/S), but labels like Hydrahead, Victory and Epitaph are releasing some great records (I’m sure that the bands on Victory would have been stoked to have been told about the release of some of them), but they can only be purchased from some states in the US. I just know that I will be paying $100+ for a copy of the Botch – Anthology of Dead Ends 12” re-issue on eBay the evening of RSD…

Having said that, on the 21^st of April, I will get up early, fill my car with my weirdo friends and trundle off to Ritual, PCR, Heartland and Polyester, and I will be dropping my hard earned money on the following:

I Exist – Record/Resist 7”
V/A – Shuffle & Scrape LP
Lana Del Ray – Born To Die (Damon Albarn Remix) / Blue Jeans (Penguin Prison Remix) 7″
Mariachi El Bronx/The Bronx – Split 12″
Mastodon/Feist – Split 7″
Misfits – Walk Among Us 7″
Refused – The Shape of Punk to Come Limited Edition Colored LP
The White Stripes – Hand Springs / Red Death at 6:14 7″
††† (Crosses) – Option/ Telepathy 7″

And then I scour eBay for these:

Botch – An Anthology of Dead Ends LP
Ringworm – The Venomous Grand Design LP
Ringworm – Justice Replaced By Revenge
Straylight Run – S/T LP

For the full list of releases, check out the RSD website here: http://www.recordstoreday.com, but make sure you support your local record stores and labels/bands every day of the year!

I’ll be back before the end of April with my RSD wrap up. I missed one month, so you get two this month!

Happy hunting…

Milhouse

The Gun Runners

Totally Unicorn

Totally Unicorn

Gay Paris

Gay Paris

Dead To Me

Dead To Me

Dead To Me

Cobra Skulls

Cobra Skulls

Cobra Skulls

Laura

Sleepmakeswaves