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One evening just before
turning into bed a low flying pixie rattled on our window and whispered
in our ears ... 'Age Of Reason' ... without rhyme or reason before we
knew it she was gone. And so our quest to find out more took us
the length and breadth of the country until we settled upon the band
down in Hastings.
MM -
Would you like to give us a brief
history on the band, how it all came about, how it's evolved and where you call home etc.?
AOR - The four of us got together in 2003 having become
disenchanted with playing in other dead end bands that wanted to chase
genres or do covers or chase a record deal. So we got together by
default really, and it just worked, first time together was just a wall
of sound. We are still amazed when we play together and there's
grins all round! AOR have been growing and developing on an almost
daily basis since. We tend to find people come along to see us and
are converted, no idea why, but we're certainly not going to question
it, we're loving it. Home is currently, for 3 out of the 4 of us,
the South Coast close to Hastings. Our singer, Andy is currently
residing in Welwyn Garden City but all of this is variable from time to
time!
MM - For anyone who isn't familiar with your blend of music,
how would you best describe your songs to them?
AOR - We get asked this a lot, and it's the hardest question to
answer for us. Record companies love to split their bands in
'types' like 'metal', 'indie', 'pop-punk' and such like as they deal in
'demographics'. We just write our stuff and it is what it is so
there's no simple answer. There is certainly no repeated theme to
our songs like say Green Day. That said, other reviewers have said
that we come somewhere between, Alice in Chains, Queens of the Stone
Age, Audioslave, or as Classic Rock said - " ... a very sullen, very
heavy Manic Street Preachers". There is something for most rock
aficionados it seems.
MM - Overall, how do you feel the bands sound has developed since you
originally started?
AOR - The band's sound has just got
bigger and fatter as we've gone along. We've added a few bits like
keyboard samples and stuff and even sometimes we'll band out a big song
and think ... "that's bloody massive?"
MM - Who or what inspired you to play rock music in the first place? Who
were your idols when you were growing up?
AOR -
Depends on who you talk to in the band you'll
get a different answer from each of us, no doubt. They're so
diverse it's not worth trying to list them all! We're now united
by the sheer joy of playing.
MM - Where did the bands name come from and are there any
hidden meanings behind it? Can you remember any of the other names
that were considered at the time?
AOR - Ha, I'm sure a lot of bands waste
a few pints telling their versions of the process of arriving at their
own band name. It was actually the last thing we did, truth be
known, and as always its trying to strike a balance between the
memorable and avoiding the already-taken and the ridiculous. In
the end I happened to be reading a book by Thomas Paine called Age Of
Reason. It was written in 1795 but the guy was way ahead of his
time, questioning al the conventional wisdom of the day. I was
reading it in a break at rehearsal and we has a "that's good" moment.
No hidden meanings I'm afraid other than we are rather amused that we,
in the band, have all reached an Age Of Reason ... well possibly ...
MM - The band's debut album 'One Small Act Of Defiance' is out on
release at the moment. Would you like to tell us a little bit
about the songs that feature on it?
AOR -
That would mean describing each song individually as they are all a bit
different. I think it's safe to say that a lot of the songs on the
album were born out of some very personal experiences of the band
members. Collectively we have all lived some incredible moments in
our lives and they've been ploughed into the song writing. To give
you a flavour; 'Public Property' is about tabloid press intrusion,
'Perfect You' was written about the death of a friend of Andy in a car
crash and 'Crushed' is about the experience at least one of us has had
of anxiety attacks and 'Revolting Beast' is a composite of at least one
of our former partners (no names though, eh!). Also there are some
broader subjects such as 'Killing Time' which examines the degredation
of third world countries for profit, Age Of Reason is about the breaches
of human rights by civilised countries. Quite a mixed bag but
they're all based on something we have experienced somewhere down the
line.
MM - What song(s) are your personal favourite(s) to play live and
which one(s) really get the crowd going wild?
AOR - To play live - the song 'How Do
You Live' is often great because a lot of out fans know it word for word
and it's very sing-a-long. I've lost count of the membes f the
audience that have got up & taken over the vocals on that one! For
sheer bouncing off the walls hedonism it would be the song, Age Of
Reason, as it's a heads down romp!
MM - How does the song writing process work within the band? Is
it down to one particular person or do you all get involved?
AOR - Niall (the guitarist) has
banked a squillion song ideas/guitar parts over the years and they get
aired at rehearsals and distilled by the rest of the band in a live
format. Andy either gets inspired to write by the song or he also
has a book of lyric ideas that get sculpted into it. Invariably we
work so well that we can have a new song together after 3 or 4 runs
through.
MM - Is there a song written by someone else that you love and wish
you'd been the one to write?
AOR -
'Go With The Flow' by Queens of the Stone Age. It's just a perfect
pirce of rock.
MM - How do you see the present state of the rock scene at the
moment? what music have you been listening to yourselves lately?
AOR - Unfortunately the rock scene at
the moment is still governed by the major labels. You will see a
band sell a few albums and all of a sudden you'll get a dozen
sound-a-likes spring up, as all the labels want to buy into it.
Myspace and the like have helped a lot to wrestle the initiative away
from the businessmen but it's a cutthroat business (and don't get us
started on X Factor!!). We all listen to a vast variety of music
but we've been listening to far more unsigned and indie stuff lately.
We're playing with a band called Dollar-Sent in March - they're kicking
ass at the moment.
MM - How has the internet helped spread the word about the
band and do you feel downloading is harming the scene or helping to keep
it alive?
AOR -
There's mixed feelings on that. On the whole it is a Godsend to
get your music heard and accessible to anyone and you can by-pass the
dictatorship of the record labels. For some of us old enough to
remember though, we miss the 'event' of buying an artists new album.
The artwork, the sleeve notes, the vinyl .. it will kill off that which
is a shame.
MM - Are any of you regular cyber surfers and if so do you tend to
hunt around the web for different sites, or do you tend to check out the
same old favourites?
AOR -
Some and some. We are all regular web-heads and we have our
favourites and also the ones we have to be up with (like our own!) but
inevitably its all word of mouth - like all good trends.
MM - What was the first concert that you ever attended and did you
ever think that one day you'd be the one standing on the stage in front
of all those crowds of cheering people?
AOR -
Me personally, my first gig was Ted Nugent at
Hammersmith Odeon and I think it's safe to say that none of us expected
to be in front of cheering audiences, but now we can't live without
them!
MM - Have you ever met a fellow artist and been totally star struck
by them and unable to talk/behave normally towards them?
AOR -
To be honest we're all grounded people
and treat as we find.
MM - What are your long term aims for the band and what do you
personally hope to achieve?
AOR -
Long term aims are just to keep on writing and playing and hopefully
people will enjoy it as much as we do. So far so good at the
moment!
MM - In three words, how would your best friend describe you?
AOR - Very Very loud.
MM - If you were marooned on desert island without any food, which
member of Age Of Reason would you eat first and why?
AOR - Big Bob Black because there would
be more to go round ...
MM - Finally is there anything you'd like to say to all our readers
out there?
AOR -
Thanks for taking the time to read this interview - come and see us and
make your own mind up and we'll enjoy your company and hopefully ply you
with Jack Daniels. Listen with your mind open. Keep both
hands on the wheel, look both ways before crossing the road and don't
wear anyone else's pants. Peace.
MM - So there you have it folks, a great new band for you to go and
check out. Who could resist the offer of being ply-ed with Jack
Daniels?
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