We chat with Does it offend you, yeah? who are the supporting act for Prodigy when they stop off in New Zealand on the Invaders Must Die tour on the 25th of February.
Every kid dreams of being a rockstar when did you first stop and think that the dream was becoming a reality?
I don’t think it’s a reality yet really, We’ve done really well and we’ve played some amazing gigs all around the world, but we’re not exactly millionaires!
What were some of your early influences?
Me and James are especially big fans of Rage Against the Machine, Nirvana, Prodigy and Daft Punk.
What have been some of this years highlights for you?
Well we’ve been locked away in a studio for most of the year, but we did manage to come out and do a headline tour of Australia and do some shows with The Prodigy over christmas which was good fun.
Has there been any stand out gigs?
I would say playing in Dublin on the last date of The Prodigy tour was pretty special, we all had quite a lot of Champagne that night, but the ferry home at 5am was a bit ridiculous!
What do you enjoy most about being on tour with the band?
Obviously playing gigs that go well is always a great feeling as it really gets the adrenaline pumping, but the downsides are Airports early wake up calls and general waiting around
What do you like to do when you’re not on tour?
Well James has a daughter so he likes to spend as much time as he can with her, which is hard because we’ve been so busy recently. I like to read quite a lot and I can’t live without an internet connection for more than a couple of days.
Are you excited about coming back to Australia? When was the last time?
As I mentioned earlier we did a headline tour of Oz last September, it’s always a great place to come touring, the crowds are always fun and the beer is always good.
What was your impression of the Australian crowds?
Australian crowds are always warm and friendly and they’re not afraid of stage diving which is great.
Did you get to see much of Australia and how does it compare to back home?
Normally we only get a couple of days off on a whole tour, and after four nights hard partying its hard to go anywhere but the beach or a nice restaurant in the evening. We all went to Taronga zoo though once and that was good fun.
What can we expect from your upcoming performances in Australia?
Well we will be playing material off our new album “Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You” plus stuff of our old album.
Who do you guys want to party with/watch from side of stage at the Future Music Festival?
Obviously we’ll be hanging out with The Prodigy a bit, but it would be good to catch Franz Ferdinand and Empire of the Sun too.
What are your top 5 festival must have items for Future Music?
For me it would be
Synthesizer, Laptop, Sampler, Sunglasses, Iphone.
Who would you love to work with in the studio?
Dr Dre. (I want to hear his new album)!
Which famous person (dead or alive) would you invite for dinner?
There’s this famous British TV reporter called Alan Whicker, I really like his old documentaries from the 60’s and 70’s. I’ve just read his book and he would be the perfect dinner guest.
And what would you cook?
I’d get him to recommend a restaurant, he knows the best ones all around the world.
Who is your all time hero?
Today it’s Martin Rushent (James’ dad) he’s really come through for us with some amazing help recently with the new record.
What makes you happy?
I like the usual things, hanging out on beaches plus good music, good movies, good wine, good food and good company.
What pisses you off?
Politicians, power hungry people, shitty weather and snobs
What’s the coolest thing in your house?
Me (not really). I’ve got the first ever poster for a DIOYY gig folded up in my room somewhere, and a NME classic album award which someone snapped in half and threw in a bin as they thought it was a load of shit.
When was the last time you were really proud of yourself?
When i lost a load of weight after getting fit for this tour.
Tell us something we might not know about you?
I’m left handed.