With the inaugural Fort Fest looming (September 2nd – 4th in Bedfordshire), we thought it would make sense to track down some of these up-and-coming superstars and let them tell you a little about themselves. Autumn Ruin rose to our questioning challenge!
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Manchester.
How did you meet?
Three of us grew up together and were in the same year at high school, and we have some awful school photos to remind us. We met Rob Galley and Sam through other friends and bands.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
It’s only over a year or so when Sam ed us on drums. There have been a few changes to the line-up over the years as we’ve evolved through gaining experience in other bands, but now we’re good.
Where does the name of the band come from?
Rob Galley, one of our guitarists, came up with the name one summer whilst he was over in Australia. He wanted to come up with a name that would stand out, as well as reflect the lighter and darker sides of our style.
What are your influences – individually or as a band?
As a frontman, vocalists like Jared Leto and Chris Carrabba are massively influential for me. In of bands, we love Bring Me The Horizon, Taking Back Sunday, All Time Low and Metallica.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We write songs with guts, feeling and powerful raw emotion from our life experiences, and we love to belt them out.
I think we have such a broad set of influences as a band because as individual songwriters (although we write in a similar way) we bring our different personas. Collectively I think that creates something really cool, it’s a great dynamic for us and it keeps things fresh.
Which is your best bit of merch?
For the lads, we’ve got some cool T-shirts. For the girls, we have some awesome necklaces!
What’s your live show like – why should the baying hordes troop over to the stage you’re playing on to watch you? What can we expect?
The draw has to be our energy on stage – it’s something that’s been there since our beginnings. We always want to put on a show, so no matter how much space is given to us, we’ll always cover every inch of the stage. People should definitely come and check us out as we always try and get people involved in our set. We love to hear people singing our lyrics back to us and having a fun time!
When/how did you find out you’d been selected to play at Fort Fest and what have you heard about it so far?
Our management company, AJM, let us know some months back. We know it’s a brand new festival and it’s looking like it’ll be a massive success. When we found out we’d be playing the main stage, we were totally stoked! Can’t wait to hit that stage!
Which band (other than you guys obviously) is going to kick up a storm this weekend? Who are your top picks of the weekend?
Definitely Lonely The Brave and Young Guns! LTB are one of my favourite bands at the minute so I’m absolutely gutted there’s a conflict with one of our EP release shows that day. I’ll be able to check out all the other bands and Young Guns on the last day though.
What are you working on at the moment and when/where can we expect to hear from you?
We’ve been working on our debut EP ‘We Make Our Own Damn Luck’ since the start of the year. It’s been painful at times trying to get this record out and ready but exciting all the same. It’s now finished and will be released on the 2nd of September ([amazon text=Pre-order on Amazon&asin=B01JURI5MI]).
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen fans do at a gig?
Back when we were playing a slightly heavier style, we’ve seen some pretty intense mosh pits!
What advice would you give to a young band just starting out today?
I would say, it’s never what you expect and this industry evolves so much all of the time so you have to accept that and be ready to move with it. It requires a lot of hard work, your time, dedication and personal sacrifice. Ultimately, if this is what you want, go for it – it’s 100% worth it!
If you could be part of any 3-band line-up who else would you have on the bill? One band above you and one below – a chance to plug a smaller, unsigned act!
Tough question! I’d say Taking Back Sunday and check out The Rooz – very cool band!
What stage / time are you playing at Fort Fest (if you have your slot yet!)?
We’ll be playing the main stage on the last day at 2.15pm, but make sure you get down early and check out all of the awesome bands that day!
