Back in Derry having played two nights with Funeral For A Friend, Daveit (Pronounced David), the Lead Vocalist and Guitarist for The Mascara Story talks to Room Thirteen.
Room Thirteen: If you hadn't won the competition what would you be doing now?
Daveit Ferris: We'd probably be doing exactly the same as we are now, doing gigs, recording and writing
R13: Could you please give a brief explanation of how your band got together?
DF: I've known Sean (Bassist) all my life. We went to school together and had started numerous "school bands" together but they had never really worked out. After we left school I started playing in a different band to Sean but always thought I would like to work with him again so when it didn't work out we got together. We put the word out that we needed a drummer and that's how we found Jay. So we've only known him for as long as the band has been together.
R13: How long have you guys been together?
DF: A year and two months!
R13: What's the meaning behind your name?
DF: To be honest there isn't really a meaning behind the name. That's really boring, I know!
R13: Perhaps you should make up some really cool and interesting story
DF: Well we did do that during an interview but when we were interviewed two days later we forgot the story so made up another one. Then people kept asking us why there were discrepancies between the two stories!
R13: You shot to fame via a competition in Kerrang! Magazine. What made you first decide to enter the competition?
DF: It's all a bit random really. I was really bored one day and sat chatting to friends on the internet and someone said check out this site as there is a competition you can enter online. I then sent off a load of MP3's, our biographies and a few pictures and thought I'd never hear anything back
R13: As the heats went through did you ever think you had any chance of winning?
DF: I think when we got down to the final three it sort of hit us. One of them was an absolute knock out onstage. However when we went down to London to play we just tried to confident and I think it showed through.
R13: Do you think it was your confidence that allowed you to win?
DF: Well all the judging panel commented on our confidence so I definitely think it was important.
R13: You got to play twice at Download, once on the snickers stage and once at the bowl. How did the performances compare?
DF: I personally enjoyed Friday's performance more but the other guys preferred the Sunday show. I think for me the Friday show stood out more because we were in the bowl and the audience was all around us along with skaters and bikers putting on a wonderful show. It was just so unique that sometimes I felt myself being detached from the music as all these skaters were so excellent. On Sunday we were on a bigger stage with lots more people. We sounded a lot better and a lot more powerful. I suppose they were both great just in different ways.
R13: Were you annoyed they spelt your name wrong on the lanyards?
DF: Oh yeah! I think we were the only band that they got the spelling wrong for. I think we've once been called "The Massacre Story" But "The Mascare story"? Come on! But what can you do when its on 20,000 laminates?
R13: What was the highlight of the weekend for you?
DF: When we got there we were treated really well. We went backstage and the first people we saw we My Chemical Romance and we're really big fans so that was cool.
R13: Were your family there to see you play?
DF: My family didn't come over but some of Jason's did. His brother does among other things, our merchandise and the whole family helps by chauffeuring us around everywhere. With us only having a limited amount of people we could bring we wanted to ensure they were there.
R13: You don't have a massive entourage then?
DF: We have the usual Tour Manager, Roadies and people like that but I didn't really want too many people there as it may have been a bit of a distraction
R13: As Snickers paid for the whole of your Download weekend, all did you get any free chocolate?
DF: Yeah we got loads! They gave us a massive box each but I gave mine to my family. Throughout this competition Snickers chocolate bars have been everywhere we've been playing and I just don't think I could eat another one again!
R13: So the full prize for the Snickers Unsigned Band was to play at Download 2005 and to record and release your own single. What was it like to work with producer Pedro Ferriera?
DF: When we recorded our EP we did four songs in two days but with Ferriera we did just the one song in three days so it was really different to what we had done previously. Ferriera was really good though and really helped us to keep motivated.
R13: The single 'This Is Not a Bruise' was released on Monday. Have you had any reaction so far?
DF: Yeah a lot of people have been in touch and have said that they really like it. However there seems to have been a mix up over distribution as there have been a lot of people who have asked why it hasn't been available in their area. Over in here in Derry there were just fourteen copies ordered and when you consider we would probably be most popular in our home town it seems a little strange. I think they had sold out after 20 minutes of opening the store.
R13: Where are you hoping this single will lead you?
DF: Well we're doing our first headline tour in August and as the single will probably be the first thing people hear by us I just hope that it gives u a bit more recognition. We are also hoping to release a second single some time soon.
R13: Have you got any other prewritten material ready for an album?
DF: We have a lot of songs that we currently play in our set that are not recorded yet and we have a lot of songs from a few months ago that we don't play but would be suitable for perhaps B sides. We are also writing so we have lots of material.
R13: And so finally should we expect to see you around in twelve months time?
DF: Yes definitely! We're definitely going to be sticking around and doing our stuff!
For more information on The Mascara Story please visit their website www.TheMascaraStory.co.uk