Having the honor to serve my daughter the first introduction to punk rock must feel pretty good, haha! That’s right, UK’s COLT 45 was the first punk rock band that was introduced to my 2-month old daughter and paradoxically has everything to turn out to be a fine first acquaintance with punk rock to everyone not already enrolled with the genre. This Cumbria, North West England trio signed to Visible Noise in June 2013 and released a re-issue album with the label in November entitled ‘Coughing Up Confessions’. The guys had a manic year of touring last year and are now gearing up to head into the studio to record their debut full-length album due for release in May this year.
Their catchy, anthemic punk rock songs will surely gain them favour with all types of audiences, from traditional rockers, through pop punkers, to all of you dark and heavy tough guy hardcore monsters who like to sing along to melodic tunes once in a while :)
I caught up with COLT 45 for a quick chit-chat about their work and future plans. Scroll down to read the full interview.
Hey guys! Thanks so much for taking some time with me!
I’m sitting here with coffee warming my heart with your piece called “These Unspoken Arguments” and the coffee starts to take on a taste of rum, haha! Well, the whole record is bloody amazing and I truly thank you for this catchy yet diverse and thoughtful set of tunes!
How’s the winter on your side of the pond? How are you keeping warm over there?
Adam Lewis (drums): Struggling to be honest! We’re holed up in our rehearsal room making final preparations for our new album – coming out in May on Visible Noise. Our rehearsal room is FREEZING, so we have to keep playing to stay warm, which means we’ve got a load of new tunes we’re really excited to release! We’re all used to the cold though – growing up in Cumbria gives you a thick skin! It’s a good time of year for us, and the cold just makes us more eager to get out and play!
Poor you, haha! What’s the state of progress?
Neil Harper (vocals): We’ve got a couple of songs to finish off for the album, but we worked hard throughout 2013 on new songs, so it’s just a case of tightening everything up really!
What’s the creative process behind writing a new album? What’s the hardest part about the preparations?
Neil Harper (vocals): The creative process has been much like it has been for some time…we all have our own ideas that we bring into the practice room and we all just work on the tunes until we’re all happy with them…things can go through various incarnations until we’re all finally happy with something…but we usually get there in the end! Lyrically, the new stuff is a lot more optimistic…I feel completely different now to how I did when we did the songs on Confessions…my opinions on things have changed…getting out on the road and seeing more of the country has definitely opened my mind to a lot of new stuff and I think the new songs definitely benefit from it!
The hardest part about the preparations…I don’t know…I think we all really enjoy practicing, learning new songs, working hard in the room…so we don’t really see that as hard work. Probably just keeping on top of everything…it’s the first time we’ve ever had to work to deadlines and stuff so that’s probably the only hard part…
What are some of the other cons working with Visible Noise? Haha! ;)
Gareth Jenkins (bass): There hasn’t been any cons since being signed to Visible Noise, more the opposite really! We have a lot of freedom now to focus on more important things like writing and getting the best out of each track. But if I had to say one is that we aren’t our own boss anymore, so we can’t get away with being lazy! Seriously though, the people at VN are amazing and our manager is from our hometown which is great. We get along really well.
Ok guys. There’s a lot of acoustic stuff you’ve recently offered. Are you planning on putting more acoustic feel to your new album?
Gareth Jenkins (bass): Yeah our recent acoustic stuff was something new for us and it was fun exploring that area as a band and putting a new spin on some of the more upbeat songs. Regarding the new album we are a punk rock band at heart and that won’t change. Well… not at the moment, but I guess you never know!
Lyrically, where does it place an importance on?
Lyrically, the new songs are a lot more upbeat…positive…realising that there’s maybe more to life than the day to day drags that darken our days. I like to let the lyrics speak for themselves rather than going into detail about what each song means…
What are your plans around touring the new album?
Plenty of shows up to the summer, hopefully a few festivals…we love playing shows so we’ll be on the road as much as possible I think…
You’ve played some great festivals last year. How do you think your experiences in past fests have helped you prepare for the upcoming dates?
Yeah, every one is a learning curve I think…we’ve been lucky enough to play some really good festivals, in front of some really big crowds. For me, I just like to know what to expect when playing a show…so it helps that way for me…
Where is the furthest COLT 45 has traveled for a gig?
The furthest COLT 45 have travelled for a gig was a 960 mile round trip. That was a show in Falmouth in Cornwall, which is about as far away from West Cumbria as you can possibly be in the same country…
Alright guys, so let’s sum it up. What do you look for in this year for yourself, both as listeners and as a band?
For ourselves, just to release an album we’re all proud of and enjoy listening to, then hopefully spending as much time on the road performing it to new people. As listeners, we’re looking forward to a few new records this year – THE MENZINGERS and BRAND NEW are both due to drop new stuff soon so we’re keen to hear that.
Ok guys. Good luck with the recording! Till next time! Thanks!
Thanks very much! Look forward to hopefully playing over there for you one day!
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