It’s more than safe to say that Vinnie Caruana lives and breathes music: establishing himself as a solo artist, he was the frontman of the mighty The Movielife and is now the vocalist of I Am The Avalanche and Peace’d Out; where does he find the time to commit to all of this? We were lucky enough to catch up with the man himself at Hit The Deck Festival to chat about his musical projects, how he finds the time to commit to them all and what he has planned for the rest of 2013.
Already Heard: Hey Vinnie! So how has Hit The Deck Festival treated you so far?
Vinnie Caruana: Honestly, these two shows in Bristol and Nottingham are some of my favourite UK solo shows. There seems to be a basic interest in all of the songs that I’m playing, there seems to be a really good reaction to the solo record that I’ve just released, obviously The Movielife and I Am The Avalanche songs go down really well; it’s just one big sing-a-long it’s great! I’m on cloud nine.
AH: Yes the venue here today in Nottingham was super intimate and what we loved about your set was that you asked for requests from your fans too. Do you tend to do this at all of your shows?
Vinnie: I don’t even make a setlist!
AH: Last year saw I Am The Avalanche at Hit The Deck, how does it feel to be invited back as a solo artist?
Vinnie: We actually had to cancel last year so I guess I should say that I’m glad to finally play it. We felt awful last time but it was completely out of our hands; we had some business to handle at home. So to finally do it and get this response is a dream, it’s great.
AH: As part of your solo acoustic performances you still play songs from both The Movielife and I Am The Avalanche’s back catalogues alongside your solo material; do you feel that the solo record that you’ve just released allows you to focus on the personal aspects of your life that you may not have done otherwise with the other bands?
Vinnie: It does get more personal, with the lyrics but everything that I do is quite personal to begin with; but it is a bit of a different feeling. I’m up there alone which is nice, and I would never play The Movielife’s songs with I Am The Avalanche so it’s a nice opportunity to play those songs because I know that people, especially here in the UK, give a lot of support to The Movielife and Avalanche as well. So to be able to play these songs, even in a stripped down way having a big sing-a-long, it just seems right to me, I’ll always keep doing that. My solo shows will always consist of all of my work.
AH: So that’s always been something that you personally like to do within your sets; include songs from all three musical careers?
Vinnie: Absolutely. I want to give people what they want; I want people to leave fulfilled and be happy. Plus I love to play these songs you know, I don’t get chance to sing The Movielife’s songs and in a solo setting I can just do whatever I want to do; that my attitude towards it. If I show up to a random place where it seems as though nobody is paying attention to The Movielife songs I’ll just leave them out and play newer songs; but pretty much across the board people want to hear some of those.
AH: Talking about all of your musical projects, you have your solo material, I Am The Avalanche and also Peace’d Out. Do you find it difficult to commit your time fairly to all three?
Vinnie: It is a bit difficult; I do have to do a bit of juggling when it comes to touring and recording but I have people at home who help me with that. I have a team who help me to execute my year, so usually at the beginning of each year I’ll know what I have in store and it’s basically all up to me what I want to do.
AH: Unfortunately you had to pull out of play Groezrock last year with I Am The Avalanche, are you excited to head out there on your own?
Vinnie: I am so excited. I’ve only heard stories of Groezrock and how great it is. I’ve never been so I’m sure that it’ll be one of the highlights of my trip.
AH: And then once you’ve finished up at Groezrock, what are your plans for the rest of 2013?
Vinnie: We go home then I spend a bit more time writing the I Am The Avalanche record and then mid May we start recording the full length.
AH: Any final words before we leave you to enjoy the rest of the festival?
Vinnie: Just thanks to the UK fans and I’m overwhelmed by the support that I have received; it’s just been so great and makes me know that I’m doing the right thing by playing music. They’re just so loyal so thank you, I’ll be here again and again and I’ll never stop ‘til I’m dead; hopefully dead later than sooner! So yeah, thank you to everybody and thank you for the interview!
‘City By The Sea’ by Vinnie Caruana is out now on Xtra Mile Records (UK) and 5th February on I Surrender/Run For Cover Records (US).
Vinnie Caruana links: Facebook|Twitter
Words by Hannah Gillicker
