Tuesday 18 September 2012

Pierce The Veil storm the UK- PART 1/3 Interviews with support acts // The Getaway Plan & Crown The Empire

San Diego quartet Pierce The Veil are back in the UK on their first headline tour and dare we say it- this could be the most anticipated tour of recent months! With a lot of the dates already sold out and the others on their way, the bands return to the UK couldn't come sooner.
 In a 3 part special we will be hanging out with all the bands on the bill and bringing you the review of the live show. 

First up we sat down with support bands -The Getaway Plan and Crown The Empire. To read what they had to say about touring, their albums and why they love the UK click below...





Australian four-piece The Getaway Plan first found commercial success back in 2008 but disbanded a year later. In 2010 the band announced that they were reforming and its seems that the break has done them the world of good. The Getaway Plan are back and better than ever...

Hey guys! How’s the UK been treating you so far? You’ve only been over a few days, right?
BOTH- So good!
CLINT [Ellis, lead guitar]- Cheap beer, a pub on every corner.
MATTHEW [Wright, vocals] - This is my first time here, he’s [Clint] been here before, but I’m loving it.

The Getaway Plan's Dave Anderson
Are you looking forward to being out with Pierce The Veil and Crown The Empire? And your first UK tour?
CLINT- Of course yeah, really looking forward to it and yeah our first UK tour so it’s really exciting.

Tonight’s the first night so what can we expect from your live show?
MATTHEW- I don’t know; we’re really nervous [laughing]. At home playing shows is just second nature to us because we’ve been doing it for so long, but the minute you step out of your comfort zone it’s just like…”f**k!”.
CLINT- Different power points get us worried! [laughing]

Your most recent album is called “Requiem”. Requiem is a mass for the dead, or funeral. Was the title and, indeed, album marking new life for the band?
MATTHEW- Yeah, we broke up as a band for a few years and it was kind of meant to represent the demise and reconciliation of the band I guess.


The album has gained a really positive response; after being away for a while and coming back was it nerve wracking releasing it?

MATTHEW- There was actually a lot less pressure, because we were taken out of the public eye after we broke up and were given the freedom to do whatever we wanted to do, because we were pretty much starting again.
CLINT- People weren’t really expecting anything I guess. We had a good year and a half off and were all doing different things. Then we got back together for a one-off show for Youth Suicide Awareness, but as soon as we started jamming.. couldn’t stop!


TGP lead singer Matt in Leeds
As we mentioned, you have been on a break and are now back; did the break re-invigorate you guys and the band as a whole?
MATTHEW- Absolutely! As humans as well, it really just allowed us to ground ourselves and realise what really mattered to us and it brought everything into perspective. Then coming back after that was so much better.
CLINT- Without the break I don’t think we would have been happy with our second release and wouldn’t have been the band we are today; we needed to do that.

How have you approached the writing/recording and just generally being a band this time around?
MATTHEW- It’s still the same as it’s always been really.
CLINT- I was overseas for most of it though with another band…
MATTHEW- …which kinda sucked. But, at the same time it was kind of nice to get the rhythmic section down and leave him [Clint] to be able to do his thing on top of that, which has always worked. It was a bit tough him being overseas but we had the internet so it saved us.

So, what’s next for The Getaway Plan; another album, more touring?
CLINT- Well, our album is going to be released over here later in the year so hopefully if the response is good enough we can keep coming back. We’ve been touring Australia for eight years so we really want to focus more on the UK this time around.
MATTHEW- We kind of want to make this place our second home. After being here for three days we love it. 


Texas' very own Crown The Empire is gathering fans by the second, all this and their debut full length record hasn't even been released yet. However, fans won't have to wait long as it is set to drop in November. The guys are stoked to be over in the UK for their first time and by the response from their fans the excitement is reciprocated...

So you guys just arrived to the UK yesterday? How are you finding it?
ANDY [Leo, Vocals]- So tired! I’m not used to the time difference at all. It feels like 3am for me. But we’re loving it.

Bennett on stage at Leeds Cockpit
A lot of the shows have already sold out- are you excited?
BRANDON [Hoover, guitar]- Oh yeah, it’s going to be awesome.
ANDY- Beyond excited.
BENNETT [Vogelman, guitar]- Best tour we’ve done so far!
ANDY- Oh definitely.
 

And it’s not even started yet!  

Is it quite nice having so many of you in the band, especially when you’re out touring and stuck on the road? Like a family almost?
ANDY- Yeah, definitely. There are so many different personalities that we never get bored of one another.
Do you guys fight at all?
ANDY- Oh yeah all the time [laughing].
BENNETT- We’ll all get over it really quickly though.
ANDY- We’re all nice guys for the most part.



Your EP “Limitless”, does it sum up Crown The Empire’s ethos; that there are no boundaries creating a fresh approach to heavier music?
ANDY- Yeah, we definitely wanted to send a message out to people that everyone is limitless.

Your full length debut album is out in November. What can we expect from it and how will it differ from “Limitless”. Are you playing any new songs tonight?
ANDY- It’s less electronic dance based and more orchestral, epic and bigger sounding. And actually, no, we’re not playing any new ones tonight.
BRANDON- We just finished the record right before we flew out so haven’t had time to sort the tracks.
ANDY- We haven’t had a chance to, but we will for sure some time.  

Crown The Empire's Andy 
How was the writing/recording process of the album? Did you take on a different approach to the EP?
ANDY- For the first time we actually had to live at the studio. We drove up to Joey Sturgis’ house in Michigan (a well known producer in our scene), and it was the first time that we’ve actually been immersed; we couldn’t leave, we didn’t have a car. We just stayed there all together, all the time, for a month and cracked it out. It was different but so much more productive.


You covered Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger” and you’re going to be covering their song “Payphone” as well, right? Do you have any other covers lined up or anyone you would love to duet with?
ANDY- Well, we found out that our set is actually a little shorter than we planned so we had to cut it! It’s a sweet cover though and it’ll come out on Punk Goes Pop! Who would I like to duet with? There are so many people, even Pierce The Veil.

The album comes out in November but what else do you have planned?
ANDY- Touring, touring! In November we’ll be on tour with Motionless In White and Chelsea Grin, so that will be really exciting. We definitely want to come back over here already.
BRANDON- We’re already in love with it
ANDY- It’s so great, the atmosphere, I love it.

PART 2 featuring the live show review of TGP, CTE and Pierce The Veil will be be dropping tomorrow!

& we will be heading to interview the guys from Pierce The Veil later this week so stay tuned for PART 3!