Latest / HEAVY Music Interviews / How To Control A Rudderless Motorsteeple With BATTLESNAKE
Transcript
- 0:16Beyond Quick and Sunday. My name is Sam and we're a Battlesnake and we
- 0:25have a brand new album coming out on Friday, the twenty first of June
- 0:35and Demise of the Motor Steeple. So are you pausing for effect then or
- 0:39did you actually forget when I was going, I just forgot. Yes,
- 0:44beautiful guys, thanks for joining us tonight. Thank you for having us very
- 0:50well. So, as you've said, Battlestate drop your new album, The
- 0:53Rise and Demise of the Motor Steeple, onto the twenty first. So how
- 0:57do you feel about it? Right? Very excited? Is that? Look
- 1:02it what we are We absolutely are's sitting on it for a while and now
- 1:11we can't wait to share it with the world. For sure. There's so
- 1:15much going on. It's kind of like I almost forgot that we had the
- 1:19album coming out with that same so did I because it's that we're like in
- 1:23the middle of organizing the next europe tour and like we've got all these like
- 1:27launch events happening and stuff. It's really exciting. But it's like, yeah,
- 1:33I kind of almost forgot, but it is about this Friday. Yeah,
- 1:37it is is that close? Wow? Now, before we go any
- 1:38further, I've got to ask, like, what the fuck are you even
- 1:42talking about with the album title? What does it mean? Well, it's
- 1:51pretty obvious, the most simple, this gigantic, colossal church on tank tracks
- 2:00that drives the waste eternally and it has no breaks, and the album is
- 2:07about the rise and demise of the most people. Pretty bleeding obvious. It
- 2:14is making really stupid. Now you point if you can't get his sense,
- 2:23probably about the title. Tell us about the album musically, what you're going
- 2:27for with it? Mm? I mean, I guess an expansion of the
- 2:35sound we've been working on for a while, the new exciting flavors to come,
- 2:40just messing around. Yeah, there's a there's a few surprises that that
- 2:51will you will hear on Friday, which will be a fun Yeah, and
- 2:55we kind of branched a bit more out into like the electronics thing, like
- 3:00we've got like this fool kind of dumb don't don't don't give it away.
- 3:07You're not going to publish this on Friday anyway, so you can say whatever
- 3:09you want. Oh, great, there we go. Yeah. I feel
- 3:14like we like really just got super weird with it. And then every time
- 3:16in the studio, we thought, oh no, it's too weird. Weh
- 3:20probably shouldn't do that. We come back the next day and we're like,
- 3:22oh no, that's fucking sick. We have to keep that. So I
- 3:24think it's just like a it's proof that we need to keep getting weirder.
- 3:29Is that possible? It's I remember my first introduction to you guys, and
- 3:38I think for the first time in my life, I was actually taken aback
- 3:39by meeting someone. That's great because if we weren't wearing clothes, well you
- 3:50were wearing minimal players. Yeah, you had someone exactly nothing underneath them.
- 3:58Yeah. So, with all due respect, like you guys were sort of
- 4:03a novelty band when your self debut the album came out in the respect that,
- 4:08like you'd been exposed to a lot of new people and a lot of
- 4:11fans because of the Runner shows that you did with James Addiction and Smashing Pumpkins.
- 4:15So pretty much everything you touch turned to gold because everyone loved you.
- 4:17Like, was there that much extra pressure on this second one now that basically
- 4:23people have got to recognize you as a band, not just the new kids
- 4:26on the block. I guess, Yeah, it's funny that like we definitely
- 4:30are. I don't know. I try not to shy away from the fact
- 4:35that where everyone's got like a novelty element to every famous band, they've got
- 4:41like a novelty about them, you know, ACDC got the school uniform and
- 4:46all this stuff. Like so I always never like afraid of that of people
- 4:50giving us that title. But I feel like those all those shows that we
- 4:57did kind of prepared us really well for what's slowly happening now. It's still
- 5:02unraveling, but yeah, it definitely feels like the record we were supposed to
- 5:12make. And yeah, of course it's been like such a such a whirlwind
- 5:15of a period of time and so much has changed and we've grown so much
- 5:19like as a band, both inwardly and outwardly. But I don't know,
- 5:25we kind of we kind of just got in there and trying to make music
- 5:29that excited us and we thought was cool. And I don't know, I
- 5:34think we feel very confident in it. That was so joked about this before,
- 5:41guys, but you guys have been at a hard slog on this for
- 5:46years and years. But a lot of people just sort of they know you
- 5:47from when you did the Smash the Pumpkin Show, you know, and even
- 5:50your press release says like eighteen months ago they were playing Someway smaller. Now
- 5:55they're doing this. So a lot of people, you guys just came out
- 5:58of nowhere. But there's like you have been doing the hard yards for a
- 6:00while. Yeah, since like twenty eighteen, I think, well twenty seventeen
- 6:09or something. We don't tell people that. We tell people we started last
- 6:13year. Yeah right, yeah, I'm not gonna have to edit that whole
- 6:17thing out. We learned our instruments at the beginning of the beginning of the
- 6:21last tour. Yeah, we just picked them up. It was destiny.
- 6:28Yeah, I was I was going to ask a word, what point you
- 6:30guys thought that people started taking notice of you, But you just answered the
- 6:33question before I asked it. So on the album you've released, the singles
- 6:41are the Key of Solomon, Alfred Amiga, Modusteeple, and pan Gaya Brewer
- 6:46is a Brewer Breaker a Breaker? Yea pan Gaya fucking Gay. There's oh
- 6:58God, Pangaea Breaker. Yeah, so what whatever those songs are called the
- 7:03good expect from the album. Yeah, there's I know, they're all a
- 7:14bit it's weird. Yeah, I don't know, they're all a bit different.
- 7:19I feel like that. I feel like the few songs that we haven't
- 7:24released as singles like even weirder than the ones that we've got out right now,
- 7:29Like they definitely, for sure, Heap's weirder, which is why we
- 7:33didn't release in the singles, and I kind of wish that we did,
- 7:36but you know, I just have to listen to that. Yeah, yeah,
- 7:41very good. Now, just say, we know how many tired arses
- 7:44are are out there that won't buy an album, they're just listening to it
- 7:46for free on Spotify. So give us three songs off the album that people
- 7:49should listening first to make them want to go out and actually spend money on
- 7:53it. What's your should we do? My favorite? My favorite one is
- 8:01the Key of Solomon. Yeah, it's cool. I like I Speak Congus,
- 8:07which hasn't been released yet, but it's about speaking. I would say
- 8:13Pangaea breaker offer an omega, and probably the Key of tie between the Key
- 8:20of Solomon and I Speak Tongues. I did four. I cheated, but
- 8:26you know you did. Everyone else's there. There's no count now you just
- 8:28didn't did it for everybody we're with your music, guys, like it's inspired
- 8:37by seventies rock, like Iron Made, there's sabbath In there, Saxon,
- 8:41there's hell of One there, but you definitely put your own spin on it.
- 8:43So as a band, this is probably sort of more for younger bands
- 8:46coming out. But as a band, how do you how do you tell
- 8:50when you're gone too far with someone else's Like, where's the line between invitation
- 8:54and inspiration? I guess, And where do you draw that line? Yeah,
- 9:00my question. I think at least in I would say my experience,
- 9:07and I would speak for some of the rest of us, Like, through
- 9:11imitation, you can never do it quite the same, so it becomes your
- 9:16own sort of by default in a way. And then the more things you
- 9:20imitate, it just becomes this like kind of unconscious melting pot in a way.
- 9:26And I think that's kind of been the way we've developed over over our
- 9:33recorded career. I guess so far is we're never obvertly, like overtly stealing
- 9:41things, but we're obviously heavily inspired and then you just kind of chase that
- 9:46feeling, and by default, especially with seven of us, it just gets
- 9:50kind of knocked around so much that it becomes your own in a way.
- 9:56Yeah. Then I think the exact same thing. It's like because there are
- 9:58so many of us important very and there's so many of them and kind of
- 10:05like melts into its own thing just due to the number of people of the
- 10:11band. Yeah, yeah, yeah, cool. I hope I'm not completely
- 10:16wrong here and make it fool myself. But you have you ever thought of
- 10:20putting the brass section in to try it? Or have you already got on
- 10:24a brass section? We have technically we have done one before, not a
- 10:28not like an earth wind and fire brass section, but we've done on one
- 10:33of our earliest songs, Motor Got, we had a sousophone, trombone,
- 10:39tuba kind of ensemble that we put on that we can put maybe we can
- 10:43put it in a brewer. Yeah. At sometimes purpose to make me sound
- 10:52like you can't ye coming up a lot. We're all bullies. Sorry about
- 10:58that. So I got two daughters made I know what it's like to be
- 11:01bullied. Oh she's in the background, smiler. Now she's looking at me
- 11:09and smiling. I can't get off the phone, daddy your mind. Now,
- 11:16you guys have been described as a love child of Queen Tenacious, Judas
- 11:20Priest and King Wizard. Like, are you happy with that? I mean,
- 11:26I guess yeah, sick man be iconic. Yeah, I feel like
- 11:35I want to sound a bit more like a dragon, I suppose. But
- 11:39yeah, you guys, yeah, yeah, dragons are pretty cool, the
- 11:46band or the actual beast. No, no, I'm talking about all right.
- 11:52I'm talking to myself going, don't say anything that they're not sound like
- 11:56dragon. But I don't know what you guys, great bad the real life
- 12:05creatures. Yeah. Now, you guys have not long come back from a
- 12:13run of shows in the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands. Was that your
- 12:16first time overseas? One was a consolidation triw It was the first time.
- 12:22How was it bloody awesome? Very cool? Yeah, it was greatly crazy,
- 12:30such a good reception from everyone, had big crowds. It was bloody
- 12:35great. Yeah, on that, I guess on the top reception. Like,
- 12:39you guys are very theatrical and expressive in your shows, and there's a
- 12:43definitely strong presence of Australian humor in there. So the people overseas appreciate your
- 12:48humor as much as we do here, or do they freak out a bit.
- 12:52No, they love it. I mean everyone, Yeah, everyone always
- 12:54freaks out a bit when they see it. But I've always I had always
- 13:00thought that the that that that UK and Europe would like have it, we
- 13:05have a special place in their hearts. So it's nice that we went over
- 13:09there and it was and it was real. I wasn't like lying to myself.
- 13:16Yeah, everyone was really receptive and they loved I think they just love
- 13:20the fact that seven idiots got on a plane from Australia and flew all the
- 13:26way, like how going into that all the way to the UK and Europe
- 13:31and to do a couple of shows for them. So they're just like happy
- 13:33that you're there, which is crazy. Yes, you know, they probably
- 13:37thought that was you normally. That's how you dressed every day in Australia.
- 13:41Yeah, we dressed every day. Yeah exactly. They'd be right, just
- 13:45not just not for interviews. Yeah, we were normal for it. Yeah.
- 13:50I'm going to have to jump off because I've got a band starting to
- 13:52sound check downstairs on the way, but can't. It's been a pleasure.
- 14:00Don't they know who you are? No, they don't, They certainly don't.
- 14:05Yeah, finish, finish it up for me, Elliott. Alright,
- 14:09Dan, just so I got to edit that bit out anyway. I'll ask
- 14:13you this question now, like, are you guys happy for me to use
- 14:16the video here with the Noddy costume or do you got me to just use
- 14:18audio? Oh? No, it's fine. I think we're like whatever,
- 14:24help. I don't know. Actually I'm really talked about it. But whatever,
- 14:28Well, I'm going to publish it till I'll probably do it up tomorrow
- 14:31or Thursday. Saber chat with the boys and let me know. If you
- 14:33don't want the video, I'm happy to live it out. It'll be fun,
- 14:37it'll be fine. Thanks for asking. Chris, No worries my man.
- 14:41All right, So and now you've got now you're home. You're going
- 14:46to be doing a run of Australia promote the album, starting Dune the twenty
- 14:50first in Byron Bay, then heading the Brisbane, Gold Coast, Newcastle,
- 14:54Sydney, Woollongong, Melbourne, finishing Adelaide on July. The stick like,
- 14:58you guys are going to be sick of each other by the time you finish
- 15:00out the Europe jaw. I was sick of them before we even started all
- 15:07the only places up. I guess, yeah, yeah, exactly. I
- 15:13don't know that the Europe it was like it was obviously we've been in so
- 15:16chose quarters before, but it was I don't know. We just love doing
- 15:20it, like we love playing shows. So every time we get like really
- 15:24angry at each other or whatever, then we play a show and we're like,
- 15:28oh no, it's all good. Happened seven of you? So like
- 15:35when do you do have your little chips, like do you split into little
- 15:37factions like the four of yous go in that quarter and three years go in
- 15:41that quarter and kind of whatever. We do have a we do have a
- 15:46snores. We do have a snorers room. You've got to have room.
- 15:52Room actually gets some of the some of the non snores have started snoring.
- 15:56So in process. For those in Australia, in the world actually who have
- 16:07never had the pleasure of seeing a Battlesnake live show, give us a bit
- 16:11of a rundown. What good can they expected? Why should they come and
- 16:12see you on this run? Media training coming in handy. There they'll see
- 16:30robes and flame fire sparks and co two canons and visual crazy visuals with explosions
- 16:40and pentagrams and they'll see shiny golden horns and a volcanoes, tornadoes, dragons
- 16:55and not the band dragon. No, not the We've already covered this,
- 17:02Chris, Are you ever talking about them? The creatures? Actually? Samson
- 17:07ever told you made it out of costume? You look like Jake Gillingol.
- 17:11Wow, I have got that. Maybe you've got that jaw line just like
- 17:17him. Thanks. Wow, Now I know why you wear a costume that
- 17:25wasn't it? Was that not a close you could take it? I'm going
- 17:30to take So where can people find out more about these shows or find out
- 17:36about the band, or get themselves the copy of the album? Uh,
- 17:44they can pre order, I mean, because you're doing this on Friday,
- 17:47they can buy the album on the website. Got records, We're saying all
- 17:49got like these colorful records, fun and they can everything gone dot com dot
- 17:56you. So come on down to the show and yeah at shows, come
- 18:00show. I would come to a show mate. But for the third time
- 18:03in a row, you guys have booked a Brisbane show when I'm out of
- 18:06the country. Is it? What the hell? It's not deliberate or personal,
- 18:10is it? Well? We're checking your Google cow before we're look at
- 18:15the shows. Probably smart all right boy as well. The Rise and Demise
- 18:21of the Motors People is out today June twenty one. If anyone out there
- 18:23knows what it means, shoot me a message and let me know otherwise,
- 18:26gigs, because she's a great beyond the terra quick and Sunday. Can't you
- 18:49break God? I gotta cut. I'm going just run of babes, not
- 19:00a fire with sorts. I drill the size of a costmus over the earth,
- 19:07releasing sens past smile, jail, fine cha, ye jo bright fine
- 19:23chap right up the oalytic or again how you connecten ganged us from the brain,
- 19:33lay in the machine the extras of time? Am I going jail?
- 19:38Break up, l and then make a fire burning about on the funeral while
- 19:47she has sent upon an a mortal scene queer from stall for a thousand years
- 19:53five. Jail break up, fine, Jo, break up, bye,
- 20:02jail right God by jail ye gi right I gian bright by jill chop chop
- 21:18my jail tail right now, my jail, all right now go jail,
- 21:26sail right, jail till my