Having recently been on tour across the UK with their new friends in Welsh rock band Lostprophets, I had the pleasure of catching up with electro-rock/dubstep quartet Modestep on their tour bus outside the Corn Exchange in Cambridge shortly before the bands’ set opening up for the Prophets in Cambridge that evening (If you’d like to read a review of the awesome performances by both bands please click this link). Having been on a few tour buses now over the last few years, what you don’t see everyday is a cannister of pledge. So that’s where this interview starts….
P.S. Apologies to the guys in Modestep if I attributed anything said to the wrong band member!
Jamie: I’m gonna kick this off with a bit of a random question, give you guys something a bit different that you don’t hear every time. Your tour bus appears to have a cannister of pledge on it, why do you have pledge?
Tony: Because we all stink! *laughs from all sides*
Nick: Grotty men!
Matt: Nine men in coffin shaped beds sweating and partying and that’s why we have pledge basically, ooo yeah! *laughs*
Jamie: That’s as good a reason as any.
Tony: We’ve got some febreeze as well just in case for backup *laughs*
Jamie: You’ve been on the road with this tour for awhile now, the tour is nearly done, has it been a good tour?
All: Yeah.
Tony: Yeah it has, I think we’re all changed men after this. It’s been blood sweat and tears hasn’t it Matt?
Matt: Intense man, really, really intense. More intense than we thought. A lot more fun than we thought too.
Jamie: Did I hear or read right that one of you did yourselves a bit of a mischief part way through the tour?
Matt: That could’ve been any of us! You’ll have to be more specific…
Jamie: Crowd surfing or something like that?
Nick: Actually we were told specifically not to crowd surf, so we’ve kept to that.
Tony: But we were also told not to do any moshpits or walls of death, and we’ve ignored that every single night.
Jamie: Excellent!
Matt: We don’t incite them….
Tony: Yeah we do! We turn the music down and say split the fucking room apart!
Nick: The words “wall of death” don’t come out of the mouth.
Jamie: Well so long as you don’t say that then you’re completely fine.
Tony: Exactly! It’s in the contract so y’know…we’ve got it covered.
Jamie: Is it right then that you had to do a DJ set at one or two of the shows rather than playing a full band show?
Matt: That’s because of me, that’s the mishap. Basically I woke up one day and I’ve got a little bit of repetitive strain injury in my foot and I don’t know what I did it to it in the night but when I woke up it was twice the size and I couldn’t walk. There’s some rather funny footage floating about of me in a wheelchair at the hospital.
Nick: And you up on stage on crutches!
Matt: I did get sent up, I was forced to come on stage, they wouldn’t let me off! I got into the centre of the stage and went “raaaaaahh” and got a big cheer for rockin’ out on crutches so I think’s a first.
Jamie: That’s a great effort.
Matt: It was indeed.
Jamie: I know the guys from Parkway Drive had one of their guitarists in a wheelchair last year but its a bit different when its a guitarist to a drummer…
Matt: Yeah you do kinda need the foot…
Tony: But then again Def Leppard?! One arm and he still fucking gives it some.
Matt: I’ve still got a fucking good left foot and I said I’d do it but I was on codeine so it probably would’ve been a bad idea.
Jamie: Is this the first tour you’ve done with an established rock band or hard rock band as opposed to with other dubstep or dance acts?
Nick: Yeah pretty much.
Tony: Yeah
Matt: It’s our first ever tour pretty much.
At this point Josh the singer joins the party.
Josh: Bum Bum Willy! That’s how I enter *laughs*
Jamie: Since you’ve said you’re all changed men, would you do a tour like this again?
Josh: Hmmm……
Tony: 100% Yes I’d love to!
Josh: With the same kinda band?
Nick: Yeah I think it’d be good with another big rock band.
Matt: Let’s do it with Slayer next time see how that goes down…
Tony: Probably like a sack of shit!
Josh: Yeah let’s not do that that’s a bad idea.
Matt: We are playing with Slayer!
Nick: We are?
Matt: We are playing with Slayer this year.
Josh: Fuck off are we?!
Matt: Slayer, Bizkit, Mastodon….
Nick: Oh yeah..
Tony: Yeah yeah yeah!
Matt: It’s in…
Tony: Poland!
Josh: Ah Poland, we’ll be fine then. We’ve got a big Polish fanbase *laughs*. They love us out there.
Jamie: Do you think doing (this tour) has opened you up to a lot of new fans who wouldn’t have heard you otherwise?
Tony: Absolutely.
Josh: I wouldn’t say it’s opened up the genre, because I wouldn’t say we’re necessarily dubstep but like electronic music and I think it’s opened some people’s minds as to what a rock band can be as well.
Tony: We’ve totally gained some new fans. Some people have been really surprised, they came in thinking they were going to hate us and came out converted saying they loved it and loved the band and buying our merchandise. So win win!
Jamie: Whenever we do interviews we always ask people to send in questions and one that I got told to ask was what’s your favourite remix that’s been done on any of your songs?
All: hmmm…..
Josh: Well, our new single Show Me A Sign has been done by Todd Edwards who’s my favourite producer of all time and literally THE reason why I got into music.
Nick: Didn’t Diesel do one?
Josh: Diesel did one of Show Me A Sign as well that was also really good. I’ve gotta say that the Break The Noise & The Autobots remix of To The Stars is probably our most popular remix.
Tony: But my favourite has to be the Camo Krooked remix. So we’ve all got different ones.
Jamie: That’s exactly what she said you would say as well.
Tony: Really?! *laughs*
Josh: Different opinions, different needs
Nick: Different people!
Matt: Different drinks! What’s that, a lager? I’ll have a cider! *laughs*
Jamie: You guys are booked up pretty solidly for the rest of the year now, your schedule has you going all over the place…
Nick: It’s going to be pretty manic.
Jamie: Is there any one place or any one festival that’s coming up that you’re looking forward to most?
Tony: Leeds!
Matt: Reading.
Josh: EDC man
Nick: Australia for me it’s a full on epic tour.
Tony: Yeah, that is going to be amazing.
Jamie: I’ve spoken to a lot of bands who’ve done Soundwave or Big Day Out in Australia and every band that goes there seems to love it.
Tony: The Aussies are up for it man.
Josh: We did Big Day Out actually on New Years Day this year and it was incredible!
Tony: I think EDC is going to be incredible but nostalgia wise it’s got to be Reading because it was the first ever festival we all went to.
Josh: I’ll be quite nervous for Reading actually…
Nick: Yeah I will as well.
Matt: I think it’s going to be a really, really good show that one.
Josh: EDC Vegas: 300,000 people.
Jamie: Wow!
Tony: It’s going to be big as fuck!
Jamie: When is that?
All: June, couple of months…
Jamie: Not long then.
Tony: Yeah..
Matt: We’ve got lasers and robots and all that kind of stuff on the stage…
Josh: And dancers on Trampolines!
Tony: They go all out in Vegas!
Jamie: Ok guys one last question, which is a standard question we like to ask everyone: Who is your favourite Simpsons character?
Matt: That’s a tricky one that…
Josh: It’s gotta be Ralph! He’s clearly the funniest.
Jamie: Ralph is a very popular choice.
Matt: I quite like Groundskeeper Willie, he’s brilliant.
Tony: I like the bully.
Matt: Nelson?
Tony: Yeah, Nelson.
Josh: Ha Ha!
Matt: I wonder why…*laughs*
Josh: And Nick likes Lisa, because shes hot *laughs*.
Nick: Has there ever been a chinese character in the Simpsons?
Matt: There is….
Jamie: There’s the sushi restaurant guy….
Matt + Tony + Josh: Ahhhh yeah!
Matt: Japanese, close enough.
Josh: And that’s enough of the racist interview! *laughs*
Jamie: Well guys that’s it, thanks very much!
Tony: No worries man, good questions!
Modestep will be on tour across the entire world throughout the remainder of 2012. For those who want to catch them in the UK they will be appearing at the following festivals and shows:
June 3rd – Trevelgue Holiday Park, Newquay
June 30th – On The Pond Festival, Northampton (DJ Set)
July 6th – Wireless Festival, Hyde Park, London
July 7th – NASS Festival, Somerset
July 13th – Phoenix Arts Centre, Exeter
July 20th – Redfest, Surrey
July 21st – Portsmouth University Graduation Ball, Portsmouth
July 28th – Global Gathering, Stratford-Upon-Avon
August 25th – Reading Festival (Saturday)
August 26th – Leeds Festival (Sunday)
Interviews like this one just shows that you never know who Rocksins will be talking to or interviewing next so please keep touching base with the site for all the latest news, reviews and interviews.
