The Living End - Andy Strachan
Questions: Cass Fuller
Following the withdrawal of Stone Temple Pilots from the 2014 Soundwave line up, The Living End have been added as last minute replacements and are certainly ready to rock! In an interview with drummer Andy Strachan, I sussed out how the band felt when they were asked to play Soundwave, what he’s been up to during the band’s spare time and who he’s looking forward to seeing perform.
At the beginning of the interview the pleasantries of “how you going?” were exchanged and when I replied with “a little bit nervous!” (because this was my very first phone interview) he calmly responded with “Don’t be nervous… Just chill, close your eyes and ah… talk!” From here on in, I knew the interview would be rockin’!
You’re a last minute inclusion on the Soundwave lineup, that must have been a bit of a surprise… How did that come about?
It was a phone call. It was like... it literally happened within... it was all said and done within about 6 or 7 hours. Our manager obviously got a phone call and that went to our booking agent and then our manager called us individually and asked “Can you do it? Are you up for it” and we obviously said, “Fuck yeah!”
Haha! Of course you would have!
Yeah, yeah, yeah, there was no hesitation on anyone’s part. I mean Chris lives over in L.A. and Scotty’s up in Byron and I’m down the surf coast of Victoria. It’s always a logistical nightmare when we have to get together but it was just like we have to make this work, you know? Whatever we were doing, we have to, you know, cancel all plans - Chris, get on a plane, hurry up! You know, that sort of thing. It was an absolute no-brainer, so yeah, it was literally sort of talked about… it was worked out within a few hours, and obviously we’re pretty stoked to be a part of it!
Of course you would be! Do you think there is an expectation to fill ‘big shoes’ now that you’re in and the Stone Temple Pilots are out?
Nah! Not at all. We’re just gonna do what we do, I mean, yeah sure, we’re in amongst some of the biggest bands in the world, but you can’t think like that. We just have to do what we do and people are gonna either love it or hate it. Hopefully everyone will love it! We’re stoked to be playing it and we’re gonna bring good vibes to the table and that’s all we can do. We’re just gonna go out there and do what we always do and give it 110%.
Yeah exactly! How did you hope the country would respond to finding out that, you know, great Aussie rockers like yourselves were now going to perform at a festival, primarily filled with large international acts?
Ohh… I hope everyone’s stoked! I really haven’t looked into it! Haha!
At the beginning of the interview the pleasantries of “how you going?” were exchanged and when I replied with “a little bit nervous!” (because this was my very first phone interview) he calmly responded with “Don’t be nervous… Just chill, close your eyes and ah… talk!” From here on in, I knew the interview would be rockin’!
You’re a last minute inclusion on the Soundwave lineup, that must have been a bit of a surprise… How did that come about?
It was a phone call. It was like... it literally happened within... it was all said and done within about 6 or 7 hours. Our manager obviously got a phone call and that went to our booking agent and then our manager called us individually and asked “Can you do it? Are you up for it” and we obviously said, “Fuck yeah!”
Haha! Of course you would have!
Yeah, yeah, yeah, there was no hesitation on anyone’s part. I mean Chris lives over in L.A. and Scotty’s up in Byron and I’m down the surf coast of Victoria. It’s always a logistical nightmare when we have to get together but it was just like we have to make this work, you know? Whatever we were doing, we have to, you know, cancel all plans - Chris, get on a plane, hurry up! You know, that sort of thing. It was an absolute no-brainer, so yeah, it was literally sort of talked about… it was worked out within a few hours, and obviously we’re pretty stoked to be a part of it!
Of course you would be! Do you think there is an expectation to fill ‘big shoes’ now that you’re in and the Stone Temple Pilots are out?
Nah! Not at all. We’re just gonna do what we do, I mean, yeah sure, we’re in amongst some of the biggest bands in the world, but you can’t think like that. We just have to do what we do and people are gonna either love it or hate it. Hopefully everyone will love it! We’re stoked to be playing it and we’re gonna bring good vibes to the table and that’s all we can do. We’re just gonna go out there and do what we always do and give it 110%.
Yeah exactly! How did you hope the country would respond to finding out that, you know, great Aussie rockers like yourselves were now going to perform at a festival, primarily filled with large international acts?
Ohh… I hope everyone’s stoked! I really haven’t looked into it! Haha!
Haha! Well I’m certainly stoked, that’s for sure!
Oh good! Yeah I mean everyone that I’ve spoken to has been really
happy. I actually knew a couple of people that were going to Soundwave and they’re stoked. So, haha, you know, its going to be good. And I’m
kinda glad we’re playing a little bit earlier than what we might normally. I think its like 2 o’clock or something. I think it’s a good thing for us, because we get people when they’re fresh, but also we get to see a lot more bands! In a selfish way, you know, we get our job done and uh... put some dry, clean clothes on after our gig and go out and get amongst it!
Who are you looking forward to seeing at Soundwave?
Oh man oh man! There’s so many! I reckon Green Day. The Living Colour guys would be insane - I’ve never actually physically seen them play live. Jimmy Eat World - they’re incredible. Love Jimmy Eat World. And I just think it’s a really nice sort of break from whatever else is going on at the festival, I think they’re gonna bring a nice little diversion there. I’d like to see Eagles of Death Metal again, just ‘cause they’re so, you know, just fun. And Rocket From The Crypt - they’ll be amazing; they’re a crazy band! Oh man there’s just so many!
It’s such a good lineup!
Yeah yeah yeah! There’s not too many dodgy bands! Haha. Some of the real big heavy bands I wouldn’t mind seeing just ‘cause its not really stuff I’ve ever really been exposed to, and you know, like Mutemath - they’re incredibly technical and they’re a great band but seeing the real heavy stuff - I’ve never really seen much of it, so I know as musicians, they’re just mental, really, really full-on. Biffy Clyro too, far out! There are so many!
Your last multi-city tour was in Germany last year, how do you think Soundwave will measure up?
Ummmm.... how can I answer that... Well, Soundwave’s mega! It’s a massive festival and I think it’s a very similar kind of festival to some of the big overseas ones, and yeah like we played through Germany last year and we were playing to some enormous crowds over there. It’s a very similar thing. Its rock ‘n’ roll on a very large scale. Its kind of like going to a car race or a motorcross event or something like that - you can kind of smell it. You can smell the energy. I dunno, there’s something about a festival, and particularly one like this with such heavyweight bands, you know, there’s a real energy when you walk through the gates and people are just getting psyched and really excited about seeing their favourite band of all time, you know? They’re gonna be talking about seeing Green Day and they’re gonna be talking about seeing Rocket From The Crypt and, you know, it gonna be cool!
Oh good! Yeah I mean everyone that I’ve spoken to has been really
happy. I actually knew a couple of people that were going to Soundwave and they’re stoked. So, haha, you know, its going to be good. And I’m
kinda glad we’re playing a little bit earlier than what we might normally. I think its like 2 o’clock or something. I think it’s a good thing for us, because we get people when they’re fresh, but also we get to see a lot more bands! In a selfish way, you know, we get our job done and uh... put some dry, clean clothes on after our gig and go out and get amongst it!
Who are you looking forward to seeing at Soundwave?
Oh man oh man! There’s so many! I reckon Green Day. The Living Colour guys would be insane - I’ve never actually physically seen them play live. Jimmy Eat World - they’re incredible. Love Jimmy Eat World. And I just think it’s a really nice sort of break from whatever else is going on at the festival, I think they’re gonna bring a nice little diversion there. I’d like to see Eagles of Death Metal again, just ‘cause they’re so, you know, just fun. And Rocket From The Crypt - they’ll be amazing; they’re a crazy band! Oh man there’s just so many!
It’s such a good lineup!
Yeah yeah yeah! There’s not too many dodgy bands! Haha. Some of the real big heavy bands I wouldn’t mind seeing just ‘cause its not really stuff I’ve ever really been exposed to, and you know, like Mutemath - they’re incredibly technical and they’re a great band but seeing the real heavy stuff - I’ve never really seen much of it, so I know as musicians, they’re just mental, really, really full-on. Biffy Clyro too, far out! There are so many!
Your last multi-city tour was in Germany last year, how do you think Soundwave will measure up?
Ummmm.... how can I answer that... Well, Soundwave’s mega! It’s a massive festival and I think it’s a very similar kind of festival to some of the big overseas ones, and yeah like we played through Germany last year and we were playing to some enormous crowds over there. It’s a very similar thing. Its rock ‘n’ roll on a very large scale. Its kind of like going to a car race or a motorcross event or something like that - you can kind of smell it. You can smell the energy. I dunno, there’s something about a festival, and particularly one like this with such heavyweight bands, you know, there’s a real energy when you walk through the gates and people are just getting psyched and really excited about seeing their favourite band of all time, you know? They’re gonna be talking about seeing Green Day and they’re gonna be talking about seeing Rocket From The Crypt and, you know, it gonna be cool!
Yeah I reckon! So, this is your first Australian tour since the Retrospective Tour back in 2012. How was that tour for you? It must have been exhausting!
Yeah it really was. It was huge! But, it was great. I think individually we’re all really stoked that we did it because - a) its never been done before and I don’t think its likely to be done anytime soon by another band, but um, you know, we knew it was gonna be a huge work load, and we took it on and once we got through the end of it, it was quite fulfilling I s’pose - that we gave that to our hardcore fans. I think it was a pretty good present - sort of through all their years of support, and um, we’re so lucky to have such a loyal fan base and it just felt like a really special thing to do.
Yeah! What prompted you to do it? It’s such a massive thing to pull off! How did the idea happen?
I think it was sort of born from the self-titled record. That was before my time, but you know, that got voted pretty bloody high in the Hottest 100 Albums on Triple J, I think it was number 4 or something like that. We were just having a beer or something one day and someone said we should do a tour and just play the first record, you know - front to back. And then, you know, I think we probably had a few more beers and said “Fuck it!” We should do every album! And then you know a few more beers later we probably said “All right, we’re doin’ it!” I can’t remember, but it was something like that!
Haha that’s awesome!
Haha yeah, a crazy idea at the time, but you know, it was really cool. It was worthwhile and yeah, we’re proud to have done it I think.
Yeah, it was a fantastic idea! Are you looking forward to seeing all your fans again?
Our fans? Fuck yeah, all the time! Its fantastic, we love it. There’s always a familiar face in the crowd. We’re most excited this time ‘round because I think at Soundwave there’s gonna be a lot of people that may not have seen the band, or certainly not seen the band in a long time. You know, it’s a different kind of festival for us. I think we’re gonna be getting up in front of a lot of people that we can win over! And that’s exciting for us! Playing overseas in front of people that don’t necessarily know the band is a real challenge for us and we like that! We kind of get off on the idea of winning a crowd over. So I think that’s what we’re most excited about.
So, during your little break you teamed up with Scott Owen and Ash Grunwald for the Gargantuan album. How did that one come about?
Ahh yes... Hahaha it was so weird! Scotty and Ash live up in the Byron-shire so they got to know each other just through surfing and having beers at the pub or whatever, and yeah, it was just so random. They were just sort of cruising around in a van, surfing, and Ash had a show in Geelong and they said “Ohh you should come down and play drums just for tonight” and I did, just for fun. It sounded awesome. We had a good time and then we played a couple of more shows and then there was a little bit of an excitement thing
Yeah it really was. It was huge! But, it was great. I think individually we’re all really stoked that we did it because - a) its never been done before and I don’t think its likely to be done anytime soon by another band, but um, you know, we knew it was gonna be a huge work load, and we took it on and once we got through the end of it, it was quite fulfilling I s’pose - that we gave that to our hardcore fans. I think it was a pretty good present - sort of through all their years of support, and um, we’re so lucky to have such a loyal fan base and it just felt like a really special thing to do.
Yeah! What prompted you to do it? It’s such a massive thing to pull off! How did the idea happen?
I think it was sort of born from the self-titled record. That was before my time, but you know, that got voted pretty bloody high in the Hottest 100 Albums on Triple J, I think it was number 4 or something like that. We were just having a beer or something one day and someone said we should do a tour and just play the first record, you know - front to back. And then, you know, I think we probably had a few more beers and said “Fuck it!” We should do every album! And then you know a few more beers later we probably said “All right, we’re doin’ it!” I can’t remember, but it was something like that!
Haha that’s awesome!
Haha yeah, a crazy idea at the time, but you know, it was really cool. It was worthwhile and yeah, we’re proud to have done it I think.
Yeah, it was a fantastic idea! Are you looking forward to seeing all your fans again?
Our fans? Fuck yeah, all the time! Its fantastic, we love it. There’s always a familiar face in the crowd. We’re most excited this time ‘round because I think at Soundwave there’s gonna be a lot of people that may not have seen the band, or certainly not seen the band in a long time. You know, it’s a different kind of festival for us. I think we’re gonna be getting up in front of a lot of people that we can win over! And that’s exciting for us! Playing overseas in front of people that don’t necessarily know the band is a real challenge for us and we like that! We kind of get off on the idea of winning a crowd over. So I think that’s what we’re most excited about.
So, during your little break you teamed up with Scott Owen and Ash Grunwald for the Gargantuan album. How did that one come about?
Ahh yes... Hahaha it was so weird! Scotty and Ash live up in the Byron-shire so they got to know each other just through surfing and having beers at the pub or whatever, and yeah, it was just so random. They were just sort of cruising around in a van, surfing, and Ash had a show in Geelong and they said “Ohh you should come down and play drums just for tonight” and I did, just for fun. It sounded awesome. We had a good time and then we played a couple of more shows and then there was a little bit of an excitement thing
going on. We went into a studio one day, just for fun really, and we thought we might just record a couple of songs and then by the end of it, we had a record pretty much! We had ten songs or something recorded in one day and bang! There you go! And then we thought oh, might as well do a tour (laughs). It was just very organic and very unplanned, which was really nice. A very casual kind of vibe and its been good just to keep playing. Obviously we (The Living End) are on a little bit of a hiatus at the moment, with Chris being over there (L.A.) and in between records, but as a musician you just wanna keep playing. It’s what you do.
Did you learn much from the experience of playing with Ash and the different style of music?
Yeah, I mean again, that’s a thing about being a musician - you never really stop learning. Its just a matter of working another person out in a musical way, and that’s always exciting when all of a sudden you start clicking and knowing what they might do next, you know? It was a very casual kind of affair. Every gig was pretty laid-back, which is very different for us. It was a nice thing just to go out and play music for music’s sake and you know, not worry too much and to have a good time!
That’s great! I love that! Are there any other Australian musicians you’d like to team up with?
Uhhh.... Yes?! Haha there’s some great musos in Australia. I s’pose up until this point I’ve never really been open to the idea because The Living End has always been so busy. We’ve always been touring or whatever and the main focus has always been that. Its silly not to at least look at potential ideas, you know? Shit yeah, there’s so many great musos out in Australia, and yeah I mean, I’m sort of open to anything.
Prisoner of Society and Wake Up were two of the songs that I actually listened to as a teenager to sort of escape what was going on around me. How do you feel knowing that The Living End’s music can have such an influence on somebody and be able to take them to, you know, that different place - to escape their demons or whatever?
It's awesome! That’s what music’s about isn’t it really?! I think anyone that’s passionate about music has that same... I mean, we’ve all got that, as musicians, we all have those favourite songs through life that take us away from shitty times or remind us of good times. That’s the ultimate. When you can write a song or be a part of the writing process of the song that actually inspires hope or... I mean, inspiring hope is a very cool thing. That’s the ultimate prize at the end of this musical tunnel is to be able to do something like that, and to be an influence on someone’s life in a good way is just, you know, it’s a gift. It’s incredible.
Did you learn much from the experience of playing with Ash and the different style of music?
Yeah, I mean again, that’s a thing about being a musician - you never really stop learning. Its just a matter of working another person out in a musical way, and that’s always exciting when all of a sudden you start clicking and knowing what they might do next, you know? It was a very casual kind of affair. Every gig was pretty laid-back, which is very different for us. It was a nice thing just to go out and play music for music’s sake and you know, not worry too much and to have a good time!
That’s great! I love that! Are there any other Australian musicians you’d like to team up with?
Uhhh.... Yes?! Haha there’s some great musos in Australia. I s’pose up until this point I’ve never really been open to the idea because The Living End has always been so busy. We’ve always been touring or whatever and the main focus has always been that. Its silly not to at least look at potential ideas, you know? Shit yeah, there’s so many great musos out in Australia, and yeah I mean, I’m sort of open to anything.
Prisoner of Society and Wake Up were two of the songs that I actually listened to as a teenager to sort of escape what was going on around me. How do you feel knowing that The Living End’s music can have such an influence on somebody and be able to take them to, you know, that different place - to escape their demons or whatever?
It's awesome! That’s what music’s about isn’t it really?! I think anyone that’s passionate about music has that same... I mean, we’ve all got that, as musicians, we all have those favourite songs through life that take us away from shitty times or remind us of good times. That’s the ultimate. When you can write a song or be a part of the writing process of the song that actually inspires hope or... I mean, inspiring hope is a very cool thing. That’s the ultimate prize at the end of this musical tunnel is to be able to do something like that, and to be an influence on someone’s life in a good way is just, you know, it’s a gift. It’s incredible.
I think that’s fantastic. All right, last question... You guys located all over the place now, what does that mean for the future of The Living End? Are there plans for a new album? What’s in store?
It means that Chris has to fly a lot (laughs)! There’s lots of times sitting in airports. There’s definite plans for a future record. But when and how and all those sort of questions are yet to be answered. But you know, I think we’ve done a lot and we did that big tour that we spoke of at the end of 2012 and up until then it was just nice to sort of sit back and just, you know, not think too much about it. Doing the tour through Germany last year, we did it on a real low budget and we were playing some really small clubs as well as some enormous shows but we got back to basics and it was just such a blast. We loved playing together again. It was just a real invigorating experience for everyone, you know, to get back in the bus and play and sweat and realize that rock ‘n’ roll is what we do best. I think that’s what we’ll do, you know, one day when the times right, we’ll get in there and get sweaty and do it all over again!
Well I’ll look forward to that! Its gonna be great!
And I think that’s our time is up now, I heard the little beepy thing just before...
Well your first interview was fun! I enjoyed it!
Thank you! I enjoyed talking to you too!
Don’t change!
Haha! Thank you very much for taking the time out to do these interviews, it’s a great learning experience, it really is!
It’s my pleasure, and you did very, very well!
Thank you very much Andy! I look forward to seeing you at Soundwave!
Yeah come and say hi!
I will! I’ll see you then! Enjoy the rest of your day!
Ok, thanks. You too! Seeya!
It means that Chris has to fly a lot (laughs)! There’s lots of times sitting in airports. There’s definite plans for a future record. But when and how and all those sort of questions are yet to be answered. But you know, I think we’ve done a lot and we did that big tour that we spoke of at the end of 2012 and up until then it was just nice to sort of sit back and just, you know, not think too much about it. Doing the tour through Germany last year, we did it on a real low budget and we were playing some really small clubs as well as some enormous shows but we got back to basics and it was just such a blast. We loved playing together again. It was just a real invigorating experience for everyone, you know, to get back in the bus and play and sweat and realize that rock ‘n’ roll is what we do best. I think that’s what we’ll do, you know, one day when the times right, we’ll get in there and get sweaty and do it all over again!
Well I’ll look forward to that! Its gonna be great!
And I think that’s our time is up now, I heard the little beepy thing just before...
Well your first interview was fun! I enjoyed it!
Thank you! I enjoyed talking to you too!
Don’t change!
Haha! Thank you very much for taking the time out to do these interviews, it’s a great learning experience, it really is!
It’s my pleasure, and you did very, very well!
Thank you very much Andy! I look forward to seeing you at Soundwave!
Yeah come and say hi!
I will! I’ll see you then! Enjoy the rest of your day!
Ok, thanks. You too! Seeya!
The Living End hit the main stage around Australia for Soundwave 2014. Tickets on sale now from Soundwave and Oztix.
Sat 22nd February - Brisbane, RNA Showgrounds
Sun 23rd February - Sydney, Olympic Park
Fri 28th February - Melbourne, Flemington Racecourse
Sat 1st March - Adelaide, Bonython Park
Mon 3rd March - Perth, Arena Joondalup
Sat 22nd February - Brisbane, RNA Showgrounds
Sun 23rd February - Sydney, Olympic Park
Fri 28th February - Melbourne, Flemington Racecourse
Sat 1st March - Adelaide, Bonython Park
Mon 3rd March - Perth, Arena Joondalup