Strung Out
Words: Rob Lyon
Soundwave 2012 is set to be epic beyond all proportions. The list of bands is extensive and has whet the appetites of many fans right around the country. One such band that continues to visit Australia and features on the bill is Strung Out.
Hats off to Strung Out for carving out a career that has spanned over twenty years and seven albums on the Fat Wreck Chords label. More recently, Top Contenders – The Best Of Strung Out commemorated twenty years of the band. Jordan Burns spoke to Caught In The Mosh about playing at Soundwave and their plans to record their eighth album, which has been touted as being “some of the best fucking music we’ve ever made”.
Another Australian tour coming up? You must love it here?
Yeah, are we over-doing it? The worst thing for any band is to actually play yourself out, but we feel like we’re always welcome down there. Every time we come it definitely ends up being a great tour for us. Australia has always been really good to us and we definitely enjoy coming down there but at the same time, you want to make sure that you pace yourself a little bit and not over do it. I think we’re doing all right.
Is it a huge accolade for the band to be included on the Soundwave line up?
Obviously we’re really excited to be a part of the festival this year and it has been something that we’ve wanted to do. The shows are something like thirty to forty thousand at the festival so not only is it a great opportunity to play to all our fans and the people that want to see us, but a chance to win over some new fans. I’m sure we’re going to play in front of a lot of people who haven’t seen us as well. We’re excited to be hanging out with all the people we know on the your and will definitely be a great time. It’s like I said that we’re really excited to be a part of it this year.
If you have a chance, what bands will you watch on tour?
I’d like to see Steel Panther, Slipknot for sure and our friends from Zebrahead. I’ve never seen Shadows Fall and there’s a tonne of bands like Bad Religion, who we’ve played with quite a bit, and System Of A Down that will be cool to watch.
Are there any secret shows planned, like last time you were in Melbourne?
I don’t think so. We’re doing what the Soundwave people have organised for us and we’re just rolling with the flow of that. Basically it’s the five Soundwave Festivals and the two Sidewave shows and that’s going to be it. There are no secrets I’ve been told about!
Hats off to Strung Out for carving out a career that has spanned over twenty years and seven albums on the Fat Wreck Chords label. More recently, Top Contenders – The Best Of Strung Out commemorated twenty years of the band. Jordan Burns spoke to Caught In The Mosh about playing at Soundwave and their plans to record their eighth album, which has been touted as being “some of the best fucking music we’ve ever made”.
Another Australian tour coming up? You must love it here?
Yeah, are we over-doing it? The worst thing for any band is to actually play yourself out, but we feel like we’re always welcome down there. Every time we come it definitely ends up being a great tour for us. Australia has always been really good to us and we definitely enjoy coming down there but at the same time, you want to make sure that you pace yourself a little bit and not over do it. I think we’re doing all right.
Is it a huge accolade for the band to be included on the Soundwave line up?
Obviously we’re really excited to be a part of the festival this year and it has been something that we’ve wanted to do. The shows are something like thirty to forty thousand at the festival so not only is it a great opportunity to play to all our fans and the people that want to see us, but a chance to win over some new fans. I’m sure we’re going to play in front of a lot of people who haven’t seen us as well. We’re excited to be hanging out with all the people we know on the your and will definitely be a great time. It’s like I said that we’re really excited to be a part of it this year.
If you have a chance, what bands will you watch on tour?
I’d like to see Steel Panther, Slipknot for sure and our friends from Zebrahead. I’ve never seen Shadows Fall and there’s a tonne of bands like Bad Religion, who we’ve played with quite a bit, and System Of A Down that will be cool to watch.
Are there any secret shows planned, like last time you were in Melbourne?
I don’t think so. We’re doing what the Soundwave people have organised for us and we’re just rolling with the flow of that. Basically it’s the five Soundwave Festivals and the two Sidewave shows and that’s going to be it. There are no secrets I’ve been told about!
Was the release of Top Contenders – The Best Of Strung Out last year a nostalgic experience for the band?
Definitely. It’s spanned our career, from start to present, and also includes three new songs. I think its a really good collection of songs that gives a good insight to what Strung Out is all about and what we’ve done over the many years we’ve been together.
Is there a secret to keeping Strung Out together for so long?
I don’t know what the actual secret is. There are obviously the good times and obviously the bad times. It’s like a five way relationship and not everyone is going to get a long all of the time. There’s pushing and shoving and it’s a roller coaster ride but what makes you stick it out is the fact that everyone enjoys playing and making music together. I think that is the common bond in all of us that we really enjoy this band, we enjoy what we get to do, we like touring and we’re quite appreciative that so many people love the music that we play. That’s the glue that holds the whole ship together.
What’s the next big challenge on the horizon for Strung Out?
I don’t know! Is my quick answer I think we’ve met most of our challenges and some of the biggest challenges we’ve met is that we’re still here, we’re still making music and people are still coming to see us. I think that with all the bands that are out there and the flood of music, I think that’s been a challenge in its self. That’s something we’ve overcome. What other challenges are out there for us? I don’t know! It is always a challenge making better music, that more and more people are going to be stoked on than the challenge of making it better than our last album. I think we’ve always done a pretty good job at pulling it off.
Do you still believe in the concept of an album these days or is that total bollocks?
We’ve talked of it and we’ve heard of bands that release one song at a time or a song a month for twelve months. Maybe it’s a part of staying creative or trying to keep with the times but I think overall we’ll stay focused on making an album. Sure, album sales have dropped off dramatically, the internet and technology and I think you can look at it both ways. You can either look at it as a great thing and a god send to the industry or look at it as if it’s fucked the whole industry. Either way you look at it, you have to be a part of it; you don’t get a choice. We’ll continue to do the things we’ve always done and hopefully that continues to work.
Definitely. It’s spanned our career, from start to present, and also includes three new songs. I think its a really good collection of songs that gives a good insight to what Strung Out is all about and what we’ve done over the many years we’ve been together.
Is there a secret to keeping Strung Out together for so long?
I don’t know what the actual secret is. There are obviously the good times and obviously the bad times. It’s like a five way relationship and not everyone is going to get a long all of the time. There’s pushing and shoving and it’s a roller coaster ride but what makes you stick it out is the fact that everyone enjoys playing and making music together. I think that is the common bond in all of us that we really enjoy this band, we enjoy what we get to do, we like touring and we’re quite appreciative that so many people love the music that we play. That’s the glue that holds the whole ship together.
What’s the next big challenge on the horizon for Strung Out?
I don’t know! Is my quick answer I think we’ve met most of our challenges and some of the biggest challenges we’ve met is that we’re still here, we’re still making music and people are still coming to see us. I think that with all the bands that are out there and the flood of music, I think that’s been a challenge in its self. That’s something we’ve overcome. What other challenges are out there for us? I don’t know! It is always a challenge making better music, that more and more people are going to be stoked on than the challenge of making it better than our last album. I think we’ve always done a pretty good job at pulling it off.
Do you still believe in the concept of an album these days or is that total bollocks?
We’ve talked of it and we’ve heard of bands that release one song at a time or a song a month for twelve months. Maybe it’s a part of staying creative or trying to keep with the times but I think overall we’ll stay focused on making an album. Sure, album sales have dropped off dramatically, the internet and technology and I think you can look at it both ways. You can either look at it as a great thing and a god send to the industry or look at it as if it’s fucked the whole industry. Either way you look at it, you have to be a part of it; you don’t get a choice. We’ll continue to do the things we’ve always done and hopefully that continues to work.
Is there a new album in the works?
I’d like to think we could pull off a new release in 2012 and we’ve been definitely been talking about it. A lot of the guys have different song ideas and it’s now a matter of getting together to collaborate to assemble all the material so we can start going for it. Right after Soundwave we’re heading to Japan for a tour and once we get back we’ll start cracking down a bit basically getting on with making some new music.
From a sonic perspective how do you think it will pan out?
I’m thinking it will probably be like some of the best fucking music we’ve ever made ever! I don’t know! I’d like to think each time we’d be able to outdo ourselves but I can’t foresee if it’s going to be this style or that style or whatever. I think it will be typically what Strung Out is, which is a variety pack of many different styles and that’s what I hope we continue to do.
Is the measure of success the number fans that have Strung Out tattoos?
You can look at it a number of different ways, as there’s always more success to be had. Are we a successful band? I think the answer is hell yeah! We’ve travelled the world and been doing this for a long time. Thousands of fans with Strung Out tattoos is incredible and everyone who has a Strung Out tattoo has a place in their heart for our music and our band, which is a good feeling. All in all I think we’ve had a very successful career. Could we be bigger and better? For sure. But we’re lucky to have done everything we’ve done and be a part of the things we’ve been a part of on our own terms. We’ve always been on our own terms and we don’t have some crazy label telling us what to do and we’ve never had a manager. I’ve essentially handled everything and we’ll continue to do what we always want to do.
I’d like to think we could pull off a new release in 2012 and we’ve been definitely been talking about it. A lot of the guys have different song ideas and it’s now a matter of getting together to collaborate to assemble all the material so we can start going for it. Right after Soundwave we’re heading to Japan for a tour and once we get back we’ll start cracking down a bit basically getting on with making some new music.
From a sonic perspective how do you think it will pan out?
I’m thinking it will probably be like some of the best fucking music we’ve ever made ever! I don’t know! I’d like to think each time we’d be able to outdo ourselves but I can’t foresee if it’s going to be this style or that style or whatever. I think it will be typically what Strung Out is, which is a variety pack of many different styles and that’s what I hope we continue to do.
Is the measure of success the number fans that have Strung Out tattoos?
You can look at it a number of different ways, as there’s always more success to be had. Are we a successful band? I think the answer is hell yeah! We’ve travelled the world and been doing this for a long time. Thousands of fans with Strung Out tattoos is incredible and everyone who has a Strung Out tattoo has a place in their heart for our music and our band, which is a good feeling. All in all I think we’ve had a very successful career. Could we be bigger and better? For sure. But we’re lucky to have done everything we’ve done and be a part of the things we’ve been a part of on our own terms. We’ve always been on our own terms and we don’t have some crazy label telling us what to do and we’ve never had a manager. I’ve essentially handled everything and we’ll continue to do what we always want to do.