Q. Your boys have a busy summer ahead with numerous festival appearances already booked: what’s going to make Camden Rocks special?
“Well, we just love playing The Underworld, every time we’ve played there it’s been awesome. The first time we ever went on tour we played The Underworld supporting a band called Hidden In Plain View, and it’s always held great memories for us. We’re just looking to getting back there and creating some amazing new memories.”
Q. I believe work is already afoot on the new Blackout album: when do you envisage that seeing the light of day?
“We’re not sure actually, we’re working out our options. We recently left our record label and our management as well, so we’ve the freedom to do what we want. We’re just going to write the best songs we can and get them recorded and then we’ll see what happens.”
Q. You’ve played in Camden numerous times, but is there one particular gig that stands out in your memory?
“We headlined Camden Roundhouse once, which was bonkers, because we never thought we’d get to play such a great venue: we also recorded a live album at that show. One of the best bits about that was that our manager at the time decided to rent us two Segways for the day, so we were just driving around Camden all day on Segways. It was unbelievable: once you try it you think ‘Hmm, I’m don’t need my legs anymore, I could just be half-man, half-Segway.’ I soundchecked on my Segway and as soon as I got off it I had Segway envy. I’m hoping that someone from Segway will read this and send one my way.”
What’s your personal take on the state of rock music in the UK at present?
“I think it’s very strong, I think we’ve had some of the best bands in the world for quite some time. Mainstream radio might have rather abandoned rock bands in recent years, but the music has always been there. Years ago we’d play with a band like Bring Me The Horizon in clubs and now they’re playing big arenas without any help from radio really. So the audience is still out there, and there’s so many good bands capable of following their path.”** **
What other bands on the Camden Rocks bill will you try to check out?
“I like Baby Godzilla a lot, and we played with Hacktivist recently supporting Skindred at Newport Centre, and they were nice chaps. Ginger is always a laugh too: I remember once we played a four band Kerrang! show with Enter Shikari at The Underworld and Ginger was introducing all the bands, and he changed his T-shirt between every band and no-one even noticed!”** **
Using just five words, describe The Blackout’s current mindset?
“Hungry. Angry. Eager. Positive. And….muscle-bound.”
Any final message for the Camden Rocks audience?
“Come and see us, and if you don’t like it, I’ll let you punch me in the face…”
