Against The Flood
Can you introduce yourselves please?
We’re Against The Flood from Croydon, South London. We have Matt Church (Vocals), Jono Weakner (Guitars), James Kentfield (Guitars), Matt Buckland (Bass) and Dan Spry (Drums).
Can you give us a quick background to the band? When you formed, any CDs out?
We’d been writing stuff as a band for a while but couldn’t find a vocalist so it never really left the practice space. We became ‘Against The Flood’ early ’09 when Church joined the band. No official releases as yet, we’re putting the final touches to our 5 track EP out mega soon. You can hear some of the tracks on our myspace.
Why did you form a band?
We really got into the idea of being in a band after going to see gigs back in the days and thinking how sick would be to be up there playing and seeing people go nuts to your music. The whole lifestyle of being in a band, writing music, playing gigs, partying in different places, meeting cool people, the whole sense of camaraderie just really appealed.
Which band or musicians have had the biggest impact on your life?
Dan – For me its probably Travis Barker and the guys from Sikth. Travis just made me wanna smack the shit out of drums and he makes it look so fun, and when I first heard Sikth it just flipped everything i knew about heavy music on its head and opened up a whole new world of playing.
Jono – Wes Borland from Limp Bizkit was the one who inspired me to pick up the guitar. He approaches the instrument from such a unique perspective and is so creative with what he does, such an under-rated player.
Matt B – Protest the Hero really got me into the whole ‘tech’ genre with Arif just going nuts all over the places but I have to say that Linkin Park were the first band I really got into. I love how the mix of epic riffs, Chester’s screams and Mike’s lyrics all fit together perfectly. Hence why everything I play now has to have a groove or I moan about it.
James – Band wise i’d have to say Queen, to me they’re music is amazingly colourful and has some of the best examples of expression in music. Metallica and Chimaira have really influenced my playing style as a rythm guitarist, they’re the best in the buisness when it comes to solid rythm playing!
Matt C – Throughout my life many different changes have occurred as like everyone, and with that certain musical influences have defined those particular times. Growing up my Uncle used to constantly blast out KISS tunes and dress up as Gene Simmones and my dad was into Zepplin so Rock’n'Roll has always been there from the beginning. Bands like; KISS, WASP, Sabbath, Van Halen, etc were the starting point for me musically and influenced me to pick up a Guitar/Mic, be in a band and make my own contribution to music.
Can you describe your sound to our readers?
This is always a tough question, we’re a pretty hectic blend of styles I’d say. Plenty of progressive and heavy riffin’, more than enough twiddle and chug without being self-indulgent. We’d get Rambo two-stepping, Van Damme throwing shapes and Ray Winston windmilling.
Describe your live show to us..
We just get up there, have fun and put everything into it. We don’t act all ‘teh br00talz’ and angry, we’re up there to enjoy ourselves and make sure everyones got a bangover the next morning. As long as people wanna hear more after our set, we’ve done our job.
Tell us about your first gig together?
It was fucking immense, locally there was a lot of anticipation from everyone to hear us, so we pulled a good crowd and put on a really sick show. The feedback was overwhelming and we plan to do our EP release at the same venue.
Any funny gig stories you can tell us about?
Not really a funny story, more of a horror story. On our third gig we were giving it all on stage and getting really into it thinking we’re amazing, until some dude leans forward halfway through the set to tell us the guitar mics aren’t even on.
What are your goals with the band?
Get on some good tours, play with some awesome bands, break through the underground and get ourselves playing abroad would be intense. The UK metal scene is really booming right now and we really wanna ride this explosion high.
What do you think about the rock scene at the moment?
We think people are getting a bit bored of the cliche American metal sound now and as mentioned before the scene in the UK is producing some insane bands with some really original music, its a really good scene to be in at the moment and theres always shows to play or see.
What are your upcoming plans?
We’ve got our EP coming out soon which we’re really excited about. We’re just aiming to play as many gigs and tours as possible and establish a name for ourselves, in between all this we’re writing a lot of stuff to go towards our next release.
Which member of the band has the most annoying habit?
We’ve all got our pet peeves when it comes to being in the practice room. Dan always finds it appropriate to play his drums when someone’s trying to put forward an idea.
If you had a question for any musician out there alive or dead, who would it be for and what would the question be?
Jono – I’d like to ask Kurt Cobain what actually happened that night.
Dan – Adam D from Killswitch Engage, Fancy producing our next release?
Matt B – Rob Flynn (Machine Head), How the hell did you guys write Imperium? I mean… Just how?
James – Axl Rose, when the hell’s the original Guns N Roses gonna settle their differences and get back together and rock out again?
Matt C – Kieth Richards, excuse me mate….HOW THE HELL ARE YOU STILL ALIVE, do you sleep in vinegar!!?
What advice would you give someone thinking of forming a band?
I’d tell them to get their best mates together and just have fun. Play every gig you can, work hard, push yourselves musically and make a name for yourselves.
Thanks for your time. Anything else to say, plug, complain about, promote?
Promoters! We love playing, so if you like our sound send us a message on our myspace or our Facebook. Keep updated with us on Twitter @AgainstTheFlood. Keep an ear out for a EP which is coming soon.
Interview by Graham Finney
Myspace Page – http://www.myspace.com/againsttheflooduk
