Hello there, how are you these days?

Just fine thank you.

One year ago you put out your latest record „Painted“. How were the reactions from fans and critics?

We had a really positive and overwhelming response from both. We were on tour in the US just after the record came out and were notified as reviews and comments were coming in. It was really encouraging feedback whilst on the road and helped make for a great tour. We’ve had a lot of encouragement to come back to Europe too and are really looking forward to the forthcoming tour.

As I read you didn't record the album as a whole but by sending file via the internet and discussed the songs via Skype because you were denied the access to the U.S.. Why did this happen?

I was previously denied access to the US because I didn’t posses what is called a ‘performer’s visa’. This allows you to play music i.e. ‘work’ in the US, which is funny because we don’t make any money doing it. It seems to be more for the technicality that promoters are paying the band and thus I must be receiving a ‘wage’ or something, although that’s far from the truth. We would be very lucky to get near breaking even each time. This also applies to recording with possible intent for it to be distributed and sold within the US. These documents take a long time to process and are expensive. I’m the only non-US citizen in the band and now have to go through this bureaucracy each time to enter the US. As a result, this was the only way we could make recording happen this time around

As you played some shows in the U.S. last year after your record release I suppose you are allowed to access again?

Yes. It took a while but I’m glad we managed to make that happen.

Recently you announced nine dates for your upcoming European tour. Two of these are in Germany, one in Berlin, one in Karlsruhe. Why only two? Is it hard for a band your seize to get dates here in Europe especially when the members are split up on two different continents?

We get a lot of interest to play in Europe however we can never tour for too long. We all have jobs that have vacation restrictions that we have to adhere to so for each tour we have to keep it concise. I think people and fans who know that about us, appreciate how rare it is for us to play and all the extra coordination and organization it takes for us to make it happen. You can really see it in those people come out to the shows, sometimes even from a few hours away, who enthusiastically support and share the experience with us.

Your support bands differ from country to country and even from location in one specific country. Do you handpick the bands and why aren't Strife and Coliseum on the whole tour? Can we expect another support band in Berlin?

It’s important to us that we check out and choose the supports for any of our shows. We love to play shows with friends and check out both new and local bands. We’re sometimes not as knowledgeable on more local artistes so we look at links that we get sent directly from bands and also ones that the promoters suggest. We then discuss it all between us as band and present our preferences to the promoter and go from there. Our show with Strife in Prague is purely coincidence as we were already booking our tours and this date happened to cross over. Coliseum are good friends of ours and we heard that there was a slight possibility that they could be in the UK for a few dates. We always have a great time playing together so looked at every possibility as to how we could make it happen for us both to do the UK. We’re so stoked that this could work out.

If I am right, your last tour in Europe was 2011. How were the reactions back then? Are there differences between shows in Europe and shows in the U.S.?

I would say that every show is different no matter where we play. Every time we have been to Europe it has been awesome. The more fun shows for me are when people seem to let go of everything around them and just engage themselves in cutting loose and having fun with us. It’s such an amazing feeling when that energy just bounces between us all in the room.

I guess with only nine dates in your tour plan the whole journey will be “non profit”. So what is your goal touring?

You are correct. Most, if not all of our tours, can be considered as non-profit endeavours. This whole thing started through our friendships with one another and has grown through the enjoyment in creating and playing music together. There is no specific goal other than hanging out with each other and playing hard for whoever comes to see us.

Do you have any plans for a new record yet?

There are no plans as yet however we talk about these things from time to time. When the opportunity next presents itself for us to do something then I’m sure we’ll get on it.

Thanks for answering my questions! The last words to the allschools.de-readers are yours!

Thanks for taking an interest! We can’t wait to get back to Europe and play these shows. Come rage with us.