Interview with Hopeless Heroic

With the approaching release of ‘The Mechanical Lions’, the debut Ep from Hopeless Heroic, we caught up with the band's front man Gavin Bain to find out what we can expect from the release and more…

R13:How did the band form?
Gavin:In 2007 Grant and myself found each other out of a mutual respect for the band Billy Talent. We began writing together with our two other friends. After a few line up changes Tony Joined the band and added a unique twist to the bands sound. Then Rob took over on bass. Finally, after a few stick slingers, Dai Knight joined us on drums.

R13:How would you describe the music you care creating?
Gavin:It’s a blend of Punk Rock, Metal and with the bounce of hip hop and the intensity of epic movie score With mixing riffs on the Guitar and Violin the results are as beautiful as they are monstrous. It’s been described as Motion Picture Punk Rock.

R13:What’s going on with the band right now?
Gavin:We’re gearing up to put out our first release, ‘The Mechanical Lions EP’ on November 23rd and the lead single from the EP, ‘Guinea Pig Syndrome’ has a cracking video that we just shot with Richard Poet who was special FX editor on Batman Begins and one of the Harry Potters flicks. It should be on screens soon. The Launch Party for the EP will be taking place at the legendary 100 Club in Oxford Street on November 26th. Then after our last show of the year in Water Rats on 16th December we’ll be hitting the studio to record our album ‘Become the Monster’ which will be released on the 1st of April 2010. Hit our Myspace page for a free tune and details on next year’s tours.

R13:When growing up, what sort of music was inspiring you?
Gavin:I started of listening to Motown and Michael Jackson but loved Mbdonna and most 80’s pop I found my uncles records and got into heavy metal like Motorhead and Sabbath around the same time I started reading comics after Heavy Rock and singing in a Nirvana cover band I found Hip Hop and being an outcast who was pushed around a lot I took it in, or it took me in. I got possessed and soon spent 10 years as hip-hop producer sampling violins and Mozart before returning to Punk Rock eventually. I decided finally I would start a band that had a mixture of my love of all these genre’s and I then I found four genius’s who had been experienced similar musical paths, without these guys I could never have got Hopeless Heroic this far.

R13:Who are your musical influences?
Gavin:At the moment our bands main influences are Rage Against The Machine, At the Drive In, Incubus, Muse, Foo Fighters, Billy Talent, Metallica but we are all massive fans of movie scores and our drummer has actually studied film music.

R13:What sort of music are you listening to at the minute?
Gavin:Alternate Rock

R13:What was the first song you ever wrote, and what was it about?
Gavin:I can’t remember the first song I ever wrote, as it was probably dreadful but the first song we wrote, as Hopeless Heroic was the first song on our EP ‘Mechanical Lions’. Grant wrote the music and together we wrote the lyrics, which were based on an incredible and shocking true story that I was told by an amnesty worker on a bus ride from London to Scotland. It’s about a child in Papa New Guinea who watched his village being invaded and his father killed by American soldiers. On Bush’s orders they were there to take the village from the natives, as the land is rich in oil and natural minerals. This happened only a few years back. The little boy went on to become leader of a gorilla army who has been defending his land against its own corrupt hierarchy and American invaders since. I was captivated by the story. In fact I named it ‘Mechanical Lions’ because in the little boy’s described the American tanks as Mechanical Lions.

R13:What is the process of writing a song?
Gavin:Well, all 5 of us are songwriters so it’s a case of everyone bringing in their ideas and we strip it down and re-work the song from scratch then I slap the words on and bada bing

R13:What is the most personal song you have written and what was it about?
Gavin:On our EP there is a song called ‘Blindly Apparent’, which is about falling for the wrong girl and while all your friends realise how she is ruining your life, you become addicted and finally realise when it’s too late. The album we’re writing is the soundtrack to the autobiography of my life and is a pretty crazy story but every song on that record is true and very personal too me especially the song titled ‘Michelle’ which was written for my sister as a thank you for helping through some pretty dark times.

R13:Are there any specific ideas/feelings/emotions that make for the perfect song?
Gavin:I write best when I’m sick, depressed, hung over or when I’m super happy. Extreme emotions are generally best for spontaneous writers. I think sad songs resonate more. If you think of the best songs ever written they were probably created out of sadness or anger; Clapton’s ‘Tears in heaven’, REM’s ‘Everybody Hurts’, John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’.

R13:You must have written so many songs over the years. How do you decide which are suitable for a specific album/Ep/single?
Gavin: We write the songs, a lot of songs and then depending on the record, its concept the quality of the main tracks, then the 5 of us vote on what are the best tracks and we go with that.

R13:How do you decide if a song you have written should be up-tempo or a slower ballad?
Gavin:I guess it depends what mood your in or whether we feel tired of writing a fast song or slow songs so we just changed it up to surprise ourselves. I know when I had a friend who died I felt compelled to write something from the heart and it naturally came out is a little slower. I think Grant writes similarly. I think we all do.

R13 If you could have written any song, what would it have been?
Gavin: ‘Know Your Enemy’ by Rage Against The Machine or ‘Hero’ by Foo Fighters but that’s probably the most difficult question to answer and even by the time I finish writing the answer I regret it.

R13: Do you ever come across a few musical differences when creating music? How are these resolved?
Gavin:Yeah of course but when everyone is trying to get to the end result it makes it easier. It helps, as we’re very comfortable with each other so we can say, shut up and snipe but that rarely happens. When your working on a great tune and no one wants to waste time or slow the enjoyment of the creative process then it can be a tight rope but most of the time we just give each other the time and space to present an idea and if it doesn’t work its cool. We try everyone’s ideas and because none of us have ego’s it allows us to realise when someone is right or has a better idea. It took me a long time to find a bunch of dudes this good to work with.

R13:What is your recent release about?
Gavin: ‘The Mechanical Lions EP’ is conceptual in the sense that each song is like a mini movie with a great storyline. Some are true stories and some aren’t. For example ‘Mechanical Lions’ is about a child in Papa New Guinea’s rise as the Rebel leader fighting for his land against Governments who want his villages natural resources, Mechanical Lions is the description the boy gives for the sound of Tanks. ‘Guinea Pig Syndrome’ is filled with conspiracy theories. ‘Blindly Apparent’ is a true love no lust story about falling for the wrong person and not being able to realize it till it’s too late. ‘You Got What you Deserved’ is based on a novel I’ve been writing and plan to release down the line. It’s about a girl who is brutally raped and beaten and goes through an unbelievable transformation to wreak her revenge. The book has as much twists as the songs music. The final song on the EP is called ‘Biting Nails and Watching Clocks’ and it’s takes the listener into the last few hours of man who has lost everything and is about to become a serial killer. It’s loosely based on the Washington sniper.

R13:How do you create a live show? Are there any elements you try to create?
Gavin: Firstly we try to make sure we are as tight as possible but we changed things slightly and we’re always heavier live. From a visual point of view rock out but also occasionally put some stunts in the show, it really just depends what space we have. Our guitarist Grant is pretty crazy with guitar swings. We are currently working on instrument swoops and a few other stage tricks. We would always be looking to do some sort of stage show especially if there was a good budget.

R13: Where has been the best venue to play?
Gavin: I’ve played Brixton Academy before and it holds a place in my heart but I’d say so far with Hopeless Heroic our best show was in Dundee at the Doghouse, which was the show for our video shoot, it was absolutely mental and the crowd was so amped.

R13: If you could play any venue in the UK where would it be and why would you like to play there?
Gavin: I’d love to get back to Brixton but I think Wembley or any stadium would be incredible. The O2 seems huge but I haven’t been blown away by the sound.

R13: If you could play with any other band/artist who would it be?
Gavin:Rage Against The Machine

R13:You must have so many tales of the road, what’s most memorable in your mind?
Gavin:Once when we were staying at someone’s house on tour I pissed Tony’s toothbrush for a laugh but it turned out not to be Tony’s toothbrush. Rob and Grant’s voices and impressions on the road are always a good laugh. The last tour up to Scotland was a good laugh.

R13: What has been your best musical experience so far?
Gavin: Supporting D12 on Tour and headlining the lock up stage at N.A.S.S festival.

R13: What has been your biggest achievement?
Gavin: I proved a point that, no matter who you are or where you are from if you believe in yourself you can do anything. Although it nearly killed me doing so, it has made for a great story which I’ve finished writing and an incredible album for Hopeless Heroic which has become the books soundtrack. We will be releasing both in April 2010. My greatest achievement was coming clean on stage at this bands show, a fundraising gig for a friend who unfortunately died but as long as he knew we cared, it was the proudest show of my life.

R13: If you could create your dream band whom would you have it in?
Gavin: Tom Morello - lead guitarist, Dave Grohl - Lead singer and rhythm guitar, Travis Barker on drums and Fat Mike on bass. They’d be a SuperProgRockMetalPunkHipHop group that only covered Elvis tunes in arrangements that I wrote. Obviously I’d buy Elvis’s back catalogue beforehand and bingo ��" millionaire in it. You’re not the only one who can play at that game Cowell!

R13: If you were stuck on a desert island, which 4 others would you want with you, and whom would you make you swim the tides and head for home?
Gavin: Easy, MacGyver, Murdoch, MR T and Ray Mears, no screw Ray I’d have Ricky Gervais, just for giggles. With them, none of us would need to swim because we’d build a frikken war ship out of bubble gum wrappers. That’s if MR T doesn’t ring Murdoch’s neck. Actually if Mr T is going to cause problems I’d take Stephen Hawkins, just for his wheelchair, we’ll make him swim back while we pimp his ride into a superdooperrocketshipspeedboat Woo. I’m actually looking forward to this, when do we leave I got pack my Wrigley’s and some Speedo’s.

R13: What do you see for the band 5 years down the line?
Gavin: Reaching goals, improving, setting trends, living out our dreams, recording our 3rd or 4th albums, touring and generally enjoying life with enough money in the band to help out other artists and take care of people who took care of us for so long.

The Ep is due for release November 23rd.