[avatar =”James” size=”50″ align=”left” /]
A couple of days ago, we had the opportunity to have a chat with Australian rockers, Massive at their show in Glasgow. After a warm welcome from Brad [Marr], Brendan [Forward], Aidan [McGarrigle] and Jarrod [Medwin], we got down to business…
MT: You’re currently doing a run with Tequila Mockingbyrd and Black Aces. How have the shows been going?
Brad: Pretty great!
Jarrod: Bloody ripper mate!
Brendan: Tours been great man, had some really great shows!
MT: The most recent album Destination Somewhere came out earlier this year. How has the response been?
BM: We’ll they’re buying it so that’s a good sign!
JM: Yeah, it’s been cool man. They’ve been singing along which is kind of mind blowing to us as we’re a band from Melbourne and we’re on the other side of the world. So, kudos to us for writing a good record!
BM: Long winded but yeah, pretty much that!
MT: You recently decided to relocate to Europe from Australia. What was the main reason behind this?
JM: Well, we decided to relocate because there’s not much in Australia. There’s a lot of deserts but not too many bars and pubs. And people. There are not enough people. When you do a tour in Australia, it’s like ‘8 hour drive to Sydney, 8 hour drive to Queensland, 12 hour drive to Can[berra] and 3 day drive home’, it’s not really that fun. We’d rather drive 2 hours and paly a gig every night.
BF: You can’t really gig on Mondays and Tuesdays there either.
JM: Over here you can play every night of the week and people will come out and see you. Over there, it doesn’t really happen.
BF: Even Thursday’s are a struggle over there.
JM: We figured we could either come over all this way and spend a couple of months playing, or we just come over here permanently and try and make it work. By the time we were going to leave, we didn’t really own anything so we were just couch surfing.
AM: I was couch surfing at my moms!
BF: I didn’t even have a couch to surf on. I was body boarding!
AM: Surfhousing!
BM: But you know, we weren’t renting houses owning homes or getting married. We figured it was time to get out the country and do something big and important. If we fail, at least we tried.
JM: We’re not going to fail though!
MT: Given that you now live in Europe, how have you been finding it?
JM: We’ve spent most of the time in England so far so it’s not been too different. You drive on the same side of the road and you speak the same language so it’s not been to bad.
BF: It was a bit of a struggle in . Everyone was like, “oh they all speak English in ”. No, that’s a lie.
BM: 50% of people speak English there and when they don’t, it’s the end of your day.
BF: Maybe not that bad!
BM: Well, there was that guy who we tried to buy a kebab from. We were trying to order the kebab and the guy kept yelling at us in German. It was one of the most stressful things ever!
BF: I’ve never been so stressed buying a kebab!
JM: On a different topic, we’ve noticed that people come out to shows every night, which is awesome.
BM: People come from the start as well. In Australia, if you’re the headliner on at 10pm, the opening band will play to 5 people guaranteed. The next band playing to 50 people and then everyone arrives just before the headliner goes on. The same happens if the opening band brings a load of fans. They all leave after the opener has played. It’s a very different attitude to over here.
JM: Some folk have come along to the shows where they didn’t know any of the bands. They just saw it was an Aussie Wrecking crew and decided to come down and see what it was about. You would not get that in Australia sadly…
MT: What sort of gear do you guys use when you’re playing shows?
JM: I play Ludwig drums and Zyldjian cymbals. I use vic firth drumsticks as well so that’s pretty much my gear.
BM: I use the classic old Marshall stack with the Gibson SG.
AM: I’m endorsed by Orange Amplification.
BF: I use a Marshall JCM200 and the classic Gibson as well.
JM: It’s pretty much gear that all the classic rock bands use.
MT: Speaking of classic rock bands, what inspired you to start playing?
JM: Led Zeppelin man. When I first heard them, I was blown away. I listen to other bands to, but they are one of the best.
BM: I don’t really buy CD’s anymore, I prefer to go out and watch bands. Whilst we sound like the 70’s and 80’s, my music collection is made up of stuff I’ve collected along the way.
AM: I like black metal. The good ol’ raw stuff.
BF: No, he actually does!
AM: Yep, the early days of black metal.
BF: I like Keith Richards and a lot of fingerpicked stuff.
BM: And when you put all that together, you sound like us!
MT: What advice would you give to a new band?
JM: Don’t stop and work your asses off. Try and play as much and in as many different countries as you can.
BM: I would say, don’t break up. It might sound weird but if you want to do it for a career, don’t break up. You’ll be tired, have no money and start hating it. There are so many bands that are going to break it and become full time musicians and then they just can’t hack that middle bit.
BF: Practice your craft and focus on being a musician and not a rockstar.
BM: Thank the promoters and thank everyone who helps you. Be humble and appreciative to everyone that helps you out. Don’t just think that they are helping you for the sake of it. If you don’t thank them, it comes across that you’re being a dick.
JM: Yeah, people will be more willing to help you if you are decent human being and humble.
MT: Thanks very much for your time today guys!
Massive: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | youtube
