St Albans fivesome Your Demise have been doing extremely well of late, with their mix of hardcore sounds and punk influences, they’ve been taking the UK’s alternative music scene and shaking it up on proper mental tours with Soundspheremag cover stars Enter Shikari and US rock powerhouse A Day To Remember. At Leeds Fest 2011, we share some words with Ed McRae (vocals), Jimmy Sampson (bass) and Oz (guitar) about new material, getting wasted and more…
“Bring baby wipes to a festival, they will save your life!”
S] How’s the Leeds Festival been so far for you guys?
Ed] “Yeah man, it’s been great. We’ve been chilling and we are pretty high after performing! We are also pretty drunk! It’s all good. [all laugh]”
S] How do you prefer festival shows to playing normal gigs?
Jimmy] “Oh man! At festival shows you can get sloppy and ignorant! We can do what we want, really. There’s a massive stage so that we can run around and have a lot of fun!”
Ed] “Yeah. That’s always really cool. We absolutely love playing on these bigger festival stages.”
S] Any festival tips for rainy festival weekends like this?
Ed] “Bring baby wipes, they will save your life!”
Oz] “Get dirty!”
Jimmy] “I’d say chewing gum and a spare pair of shoes! It’s always good to have another pair with you!”
S] What are your plans post-festival?
Ed] “We’re going to be touring with Enter Shikari and Letlive from September 11 all the way through until late October and chilling out with those guys around the UK and Europe, so that should be good.”
Jimmy] “Yeah. Then in November, we’re going to be making our new record and next year, we’re going to be doing a lot of different sh**. We are always busy man, and it’s going to be a big year for us in 2012. We’re really excited.”
S] Have you got any positive memories from touring with Enter Shikari, as you are good friends with them?
Ed] “Oh yeah, they’re good dudes. We love them. We remember hanging out with them on the Warped Tour last year in America, I think it was Pittsburgh. We hung out, it was really casual and they’re just really awesome, regular guys.”
S] You guys are organising a benefit in aid of Belgium’s Pukkelpop Festival and those affected by the severe thunderstorm that took place at this year’s event – tell us more?
Oz] “Yeah man, that’s going to be on September 9.”
Ed] “What happened there was just tragic, and nobody ever wishes that on anyone, and it’s terrible that it happened at a festival.”
Jimmy] We found out that two of the people that died on that day had come to see us perform. They’d been to see us before as well. All the money is going to be put towards their families, so if you can help then please do! There’s a link on our Facebook page where our fans can donate money if they want. Even if it’s like a £1 we’d really appreciate it.”
S] What’s the process been like for getting that event together – who have you got involved?
Ed] “Yeah. We’re going to be playing with The Setup and Oathbreaker. It’s going to be somewhere in Belgium – we’re going to go back there and put on a proper hardcore show.”
S] Can one of you talk us through the Bar School 101 project – what’s that about?
Ed] “Oh, this man to answer…[laughs, and directs to Jimmy]”
Jimmy] “Well, basically, we were in America and I got given a boot filled with ale. We were in Des Moines, Iowa and there was a bar and they do beer in boots [it’s called Hessen Haus – ed], and they can fit about five pints in one. So, I had like five pints of Stella (Artois) in this boot, drank it and I was totally f***ed.”
Ed] “So then, we decided that Oz should front a band based entirely on drinking beer, and therefore Bar School 101 was formed and we recorded our first demo a few weeks ago.”
S] How is the inspiration different between the Bar School 101 project and Your Demise?
Ed] “Basically, we get smashed, write three chords and play really fast and hard. That’s pretty much it. [all laugh]”
S] What about this new record – are you working on songs currently?
Ed] “Yeah. We’ve got all of the songs down and written – it sounds like The Offspring!”
S] Is there a song from that collection that defines where you are at right now?
Ed] “We’ve got 15 songs that define where we are at right now! Every song is a ‘banger’!”
S] What kind of things are inspiring you creatively as a band right now?
Jimmy] “We’re just going to say life events for now, man.”
S] If you guys could come up with a Frankenstein’s monster for the Your Demise sound, how would you do that?
Jimmy] “Probably the verses of The Offspring, the choruses of New Found Glory…”
Ed] No man, he means the like the body of…the legs of..!
Jimmy] “Oh right! Yeah. The body of TUI [Trapped Under Ice], the head of The Offspring, the arms of New Found Glory, the legs of Down To Nothing…
Ed] “…and then the dick of Prince, man! [laughs] I take a lot of influence from Prince, you know? I take a lot of his sexual energy. That’s how we get our grind on – Your Demise is all about sexy hardcore for 2011.”
S] Alright guys, so what’s the band dynamic like at the moment, what with the events you are organising and the side projects you are working on together?
Oz] “These are my best friends in the world, man.”
Jimmy] “We spend every day together now. Every time I wake up and I’m not looking at one of these fellas from the band it’s weird man. It gets me down.”
Ed] “Yeah. I’m not going to lie. I literally do not know what I am going to do when this whole thing ends!”
Oz] “Yeah, I am going to be so bored!”
Ed] “I’m probably going to have to live with this lot for the rest of my life. [laughs]”
Jimmy] “I wouldn’t change anything about this. We are best friends for life.”
For more information visit the official Your Demise website.
