After ten years and three albums Die So Fluid are gearing up for their set at Hard Rock Hell festival with a string of UK dates. We caught up with singer/bassist Grog and Guitarist Drew to find out what we can expect from this tour and how the well received "The World Is Too Big For One Lifetime" came into being.
R13:These are the first live dates in the UK since the release of the new album, have you integrated a lot of the new songs into the set?
G:We started playing 'Mercury' and a couple of others on the headline UK tour we did earlier this year, but we intend to introduce more in December. They're fun to play and it's getting tough to choose what to keep in the set these days.
R13:The reviews for "The World is too Big for One Lifetime" were very positive, were you pleased with the level of reaction it got?
G:We've been blown away by the enthusiastic reception of the album in the UK, we've had large numbers of rave reviews, but we wish that could also be reflected in the demand for features in the mainstream press. It's starting to freak me out that they appear to be so begrudging about their support of the band, despite the great reviews. Elsewhere we get front covers and interviews for example in Germany and Finland.
R13:Were there songs left over from the album sessions that might get an official release?
G:There is one key track which we really felt epitomised the Die So Fluid sound, and the direction we're heading in, but bizarrely somehow it didn't fit with the flow of the latest album. We decided it would be perfect to set the standard for the next album so we're keeping it under wraps til then.
R13:Was the album written and recorded over a long period of time or in short creative bursts?
G:It was quite focused because this time we had a time scale to work within. We knew when we were planning to record and that pressure was beneficial to the process. I think the most of the material was written, arranged and demoed within about four months.
R13:Your sound is pretty genre spanning, there's a bit of punk, metal and a darker goth side in there, is that reflected in the audiences you get?
G:The audience does have representatives from the Goth, Rock and Metal tribes but not so much from the punk world. That's probably because what we percieve as punk, creativity through deconstruction and music as art, really isn't embraced by modern day punks who regard punk as more of a classical form based on the templates of stiff little fingers and the clash or hardcore which is equally trapped in a time bubble. That's why I think we're more akin to post punk where people took the rubble of deconstruction and started putting the pieces back in weird and interesting ways. Of course post punk is not really a tribe - what does a post punker look like? I just think of it as meaning rock music without boundaries - which is why we'll explore different genres and put egyptian strings on a track if we feel like it.
R13:You're all accomplished musicians, is that reflected in the way you write songs? Do you share that role or is there a dominant songsmith?
G:The writing process has developed in such a way that all our strengths are put to their best use. Mr Drew writes guitar riffs and whole verses and choruses. I get inspired by that, I take the ball and run with it. Generally I write the vocal melodies and lyrics with a few juicy additions from Mr Drew. From time to time I'll write a complete song myself. There's no rules to it. Mr Drew has always been my sounding board for ideas and vice versa. Al writes drum parts as it all goes along, and he's good with the feel of things. He'll interject cool arrangement ideas and object to anything he thinks doesn't work. We do have battles sometimes but we never actually fall out. We just eventually arrive at the best result, which is usually the one that we can't deny sounds best.
R13:From the videos to the live performance there's a very visual side to what you do, does that come naturally or is it something you're very conscious of and work at?
G:It's pretty natural. I've been dressing up since I was very small and have just carried on. It's not too premeditated, it's a part of being in the band that I really enjoy and have fun with. I went to art college and used to design costumes and make installations. So it's actually a big part of the real me. In a way my different guises help to stop people stereo typing me, and I am playful with my image. I make much of my stage wear myself these days, and it's important to me to come across as confident and in control. I think it would look alot more premeditated if I were to suddenly get one of those emo side fringe haircuts. I guess I'm just trying to encourage people to use their imaginations.
R13:The band has been together ten years now, have you reached a level of success you're happy with and what's left to achieve for the band?
G:I'm happy that we have come so far on our own merits, we've got ourselves a backer enabling us to operate and be signed to Demolition without financial constraints. I will only be truly satisfied when the band becomes fully self sufficient. That's extremely rare these days. Over the next few months we are concentrating on touring the new album and reaching places we haven't yet played. We need to get all over the festivals next year so people who haven't yet heard us will get that opportunity and find out what we really sound like, and how good we are live. After that we're setting the bar way high for a follow up album. A lot of changes have occurred in our lives recently, such as my relocation to the USA. I feel like our new experiences are just begging to be creatively directed into the new material.
R13:You all have very active careers outside Die So Fluid, does the band always take priority?
G:Yes, always. Other projects and ventures are great because you learn from them and one thing can feed another on various levels, but all paths lead back to Die So Fluid. Like that Hammer horror film where all the roads lead back to the creepy mansion!
R13:I was interested to see that Drew had played with Xmal Deutschland, how did that come about?
D:Well I met Anja and Wolfgang when I was a teen and moved to Hamburg where we wrote and demoed a record for warners - it never saw the light of day. I'm sorry it didn't go further as Xmal were two of the sweetest people in the world but I can't say we created anything together on a par with their earlier records let alone what I've accomplished with DSF. Still that summer was one of the best times of my life.
R13:You've toured in the US as well as Europe, how do they compare in terms of audiences?
D:In the US the further out into sticks you get the more appreciative the audience seems to be. They whoop and holler from the first second you begin to play and the enthusiasm is infectious. I think cos rock n roll is a big part of American culture that they have a respect for live music that's well played and they're not coy about showing it. In European cities you often get the music police thing where trendy people stand with their arms crossed thinking about whether you're cool or not. We win everyone over though. The energy and sound of our live shows blows people away and though some audiences might need a bit of warming up, once you fall in love with Die So Fluid it's for life.
R13:There are only a handful of UK dates on this tour, when can UK fans expect to see you again?
G:We're setting off on a European tour in January, commencing in Finland. We return to the UK for another run of shows in March, with a London show at Dingwalls on March 6. See you there!