{"id":10352,"date":"2015-05-05T11:00:35","date_gmt":"2015-05-05T11:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/interview-brawlers-2\/"},"modified":"2018-03-21T22:07:52","modified_gmt":"2018-03-21T22:07:52","slug":"interview-brawlers-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/interview-brawlers-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Brawlers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/figure>\n

We\u2019ve been fans of Leeds\u2019 Brawlers<\/b> from the first time we heard ‘Instagram Famous\u2019<\/i> from last year\u2019s ridiculously good \u2018I Am A Worthless Piece of Shit\u2019<\/i> EP. 2015 began with high expectations which the quartet recently delivered on thanks to their debut full-lengh. ‘Romantic Errors Of Our Youth\u2019<\/i> combines break neck riffs and pop sensibilities delivered an authentic punk rock manner. They cut off the fat and keep it simple and as genuine as possible.<\/p>\n

Next week they head out on tour with American symphonic pop-rockers Set It Off and fellow UK rockers Decade for a three week stretch across the UK and Europe. It\u2019s just the latest in a series of tours for the four-piece following recent outings with Milk Teeth and Max Raptor. Before they head out once again, we spoke to vocalist Harry George Johns at the Hit The Deck Festival<\/b>.<\/p>\n

We questioned Harry about the importance of playing festivals like HTD<\/b>, the transition to making an album, the forthcoming tour with Set It Off and Decade. He also shared his thoughts on not getting tied down in gimmicks.<\/p>\n

AH: So this is your first time at Hit The Deck. How are you finding it so far?<\/b>
Harry George Johns: I love it man. I love it. You can tell the Nottingham one is the original one because everyone is super into it. There is really positives vibes here. It\u2019s really nice. The sun\u2019s out. I\u2019m loving being here.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: This year is slightly scaled down compared to previous years but I think community feel is still here.<\/b>
Harry: Yeah. I\u2019ve never been to it before so I don\u2019t know if it has been scaled down or anything but it feels really cool. Some of my favourite bands are playing. You get the impression everyone knows each other and stuff, so that\u2019s cool.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: Who are you looking forward to seeing or did you see anyone yesterday?<\/b>
Harry: Today I\u2019m going to go and see Cancer Bats because I really like them. Yesterday we saw Decade, who are friends of ours and that was really great. I would of like to of seen AllUsOnDrugs. They\u2019re our buddies but they\u2019re playing exactly the same time as us. <\/i><\/p>\n

AH: I just caught five minutes of them.<\/b>
Harry: How were they?<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: Yeah they were good. They had quite a big crowd which is good for the main hall.<\/b>
Harry: Good on them. I heard they struggled a bit yesterday actually but that\u2019s cool. I\u2019m just happy to be here. <\/i><\/p>\n

AH: How important is it for a band like Brawlers to play a festival like Hit The Deck?<\/b>
Harry: It\u2019s a funny one because it is safe to say that Hit The Deck is a mid level festival, so yeah it\u2019s really important because the amount of people who will spend \u00a330 just to go and see While She Sleeps and Cancer Bats will do that and then here they\u2019re like \u201clet\u2019s waste some time until those bands play, oh I heard Brawlers have got some good press\u201d or something like that. It means it gives people the opportunity to see the smaller bands. The thing is with Brawlers, we have never really played, and never have, will play like a support band. That is not what it is about. We\u2019re really proud of what we do, so we play like it is our show even if it really isn\u2019t. Like this afternoon wasn\u2019t really our show but we still played like we are worth being on this amazing bill. I think that is the main thing. We need to prove our worth for being asked in the first place.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: I watched your set and I think you left a great impression with a lot of people who may have not of heard you before.<\/b>
Harry: I hope so. The thing is with our band we are in this weird position where a lot of people have heard of us but haven\u2019t seen us. So there is an onus on us being good.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: So you\u2019re trying to persuade people who have heard the hype as such and get them on board?<\/b>
Harry: Yeah. Prove to people who have heard the hype we are a legit band, which we are, but nobody likes being told what to listen to. Which is essentially what the music press does these days. If someone said \u201cgo and listen to Brawlers\u201d, I would go out of my way to not watch them. So we have to pull all that back and be like \u201cthis is what we\u2019re all about.\u201d We play, we\u2019re here to have a good time, we want to make friends and play tight. We want to put on a good show that people will remember.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: The album came out earlier this month. From what I\u2019ve read the feedback has been positive overall so far?<\/b>
Harry: I would say so. We\u2019ve been really lucky. Kerrang!, Rock Sound, Big Cheese have been good to us, those places like us. There are so many people writing about music on the internet, in the magazines and on TV. I think we live in an age now where people care the least about reviews, so it is just an added bonus to us that these amazing publications have said some nice things about us. We really appreciate it.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: How was the transition from the EP to the album in terms of songwriting?<\/b>
Harry: The album is more considered. The EP came out in a rush because we got signed after our first ever show. So this isn\u2019t just a hobby, which it still is, but it very quickly became something a bit more serious. We got asked to do a release and we didn\u2019t feel ready to make an album at that point. We were then given a bit of time until we felt it was the time to do an album. I think the difference between the EP and the record is that the EP can come across as a little jokey, even though it\u2019s not, because of the references to Instagram and silly front cover. So the album was our opportunity to be like \u201cok we\u2019re going to make an album and this is going to be exactly what we\u2019re about\u201d. We wanted to make an honest record about where we were at that point. The first song, ‘Annabel\u2019, is literally about where we are; \u201cwe made you a record so we won\u2019t your time\u201d is the lyric in it and it\u2019s true.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: I heard an interview you did where you talked about doing a record a year. Is that still the plan?<\/b>
Harry: Yeah but we have thousands of different people telling us what to do at the moment. We would love to make a record a year though.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: You recently toured with Milk Teeth and Max Raptor, and you\u2019re heading out with Set It Off soon. I think that\u2019s quite interesting as I consider them a pop-rock group.<\/b>
Harry: Yeah. I think we are a bit grittier than those bands but at the same time us and Decade come from the same place songwriting-wise. We\u2019re really obsessed with choruses. We maybe are a bit dirtier, a bit punkier or whatever you want to call it but we all come from the same place which is regardless of genre, we just want to write good songs.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: Also because Set It Off have a growing fanbase over here, it is a good opportunity to play to new crowds?<\/b>
Harry: Yes I would say so. Set It Off are a funny band. When they announced this tour, I think not many had heard of them really, and I think since announcing it and with having the press and all that, it has gained momentum which makes me a bit more at ease about the whole tour. Doing a whole tour off the back of \u201chype\u201d can be quite dangerous, so for Set It Off they probably feel like they need to prove themselves on this tour which is really exciting because that\u2019s how we feel everytime we play. So in a way we are all on the same level. I know Decade are trying to move away from the pop punk thing and we\u2019re trying to move away from the pop punk tag and just like I said, Set It Off has something to prove. It is going to be really interesting. Three bands who are very focused on what they are doing.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: It should be an interesting tour then.<\/b>
Harry: I think it is going to be a tour where we all constantly learn things from each other.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: Back in January, we named Brawlers one of our 50 bands to watch in 2015. <\/b>
Harry: Thank you very much.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: What bands do you think our readers should be paying attention to?<\/b>
Harry: A band called the Water Rats. They\u2019re from Brazil. They\u2019re a punk band and they are fucking incredible. They are just a proper punk band. Don\u2019t get me wrong there are heaps of bands here I like and respect, but for me punk rock has lost something. It\u2019s become watered down. So they (Water Rats) are straight up Ramones-influenced. We started this band because of The Ramones, that\u2019s a fact we might not sound like that but that is where we come from, and Water Rats come from exactly the same place. They\u2019re from Brazil. Four chords. Great guys. Great band. Tight. Just super rad. I wish more bands sounded like them.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: Going back to the album, it seems you don’t get tied up gimmicks or what other people think?<\/b>
Harry: Oh man we are too old to care. If I\u2019m honest. There comes a point if you’re a musician or a dentist where you think “if I constantly think about what everyone else thinks of me then I\u2019m just going to stay in my bedroom and never leave\u201d and that\u2019s not life. For me, to live life to the fullest, you need to stop caring what everyone else thinks and do what you want to do. That is what punk rock is about and what life is about. Just do what makes you happy. Maybe you\u2019ve got some friends, maybe you\u2019ve got a girlfriend and if people don\u2019t like what you\u2019re doing then fuck them. It shouldn\u2019t mean you shouldn\u2019t do it. Just stop trying to please everyone. We live in a world where everyone is trying to please everyone. We\u2019re just really happy to be here and to be doing what we are doing. If you want to get behind us, then that\u2019s ace. If you don\u2019t then go and listen to another band.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: Any closing comments?<\/b>
Harry: Just thanks so much man for being behind the band. Already Heard have consistently been behind us and it\u2019s really good. Gone are the days where it\u2019s more important to appeal to bigger publications. I don\u2019t think any publication, of any size, is important as the next one. I think it\u2019s really cool that you\u2019re behind us. It\u2019s awesome. Thank you.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u2019Romantic Errors Of Our Youth\u2019<\/em> by Brawlers<\/strong> is out now on Alcopop! Records<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Brawlers<\/strong> links: Facebook<\/a>|Twitter<\/a>|Bandcamp<\/a><\/p>\n

Words by Sean Reid (@SeanReid86<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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