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This room has tragedy on the walls.
Right now is an amazing time for British music, and with so many talented bands already flying high, it may be difficult for any newcomers to break through. However, All Forgotten have already earned a solid fan base whilst managing to secure places on some of the most hotly tipped bills of the year. And with two tours already lined up for the winter months, they show no signs of slowing down.
We managed to have a chat with the band after their appearances on the Atticus-sponsored Good To Go tour, to discuss all manner of subjects; from Tom Delonge to late night bus driving.
If you want our advice, we think you better get ready to hear more from these Surrey boys very soon...
OS: Recently, you've have the opportunity to be apart of some great tours and shows, such as Slam Dunk Festival. Which would be your favourite experience?
Jon Thorne [vocals]: I'm gonna say the Good To Go tour with We Are The Ocean, just because we're really good friends with We Are The Ocean, then we met Canterbury and they were fucking awesome as well. Like, a few days in, we had just become such good friends with them. Some of the shows as well... Like, we played here - Newcastle Academy 2 - on that tour and it was one of the best shows ever. Like, knowing full well that none of the kids knew who we were because we'd never played here before and they all went crazy!
OS: Do you prefer the intimate club setting for a show, or bigger shows, like Slam Dunk?
Tom Peacock [bass]: Doing stuff like Slam Dunk is cool, but not too much. You've got the intimate shows but then the big ones are quite... Well, I say 'big ones' but we've only done one... [everyone laughs]
OS: More to come!
Jon: Hopefully, yeah.
OS: Back in March, you toured with You Me At Six and We Are The Ocean. Back then, there were people queuing around the venues just to get in. How did it feel to be apart of something like that?
Steve Foy [guitar]: It's overwhelming!
Jon: It's awesome! At least we know we're doing something right, I guess, if they're all going mental for it.
Dan Wheeler [guitar]: I think the majority were there for You Me At Six and We Are The Ocean though.
Jon: Yeah, definitely.
OS: The great thing about that tour was the actual package of bands. It meant that you were introduced to some great new bands. We actually reviewed at the York show.
Steve: The York set, that was in Fibbers right?
OS: Yeah.
Steve: We played... Where did we play the other day on the Good to Go tour?
Jon: The Duchess, which is the new venue next to Fibbers. It smelled of paint. It was new.
Tom: it was alright.
OS: What do you feel would be your ideal kind of a show?
Tom: A sell-out. [laughter]
Jon: Just a night where every single kid was off their feet.
Dan: Everyone knowing the words as well. That's always a massive boost; everyone singing back to you.
Tom: We had that at Islington and that was quite a big deal. I was shocked, you know.
OS: Is it frustrating to also have to deal with crowds who don't want to get involved in the ways you want them to?
Tom: Definitely.
Jon: It is, yeah. Plus, we don't know how to deal with either. You can try and hype them up as much as possible, but when they don't want to move, they're not gonna move. For me, as a front man, it's so hard to do it because I just don't have that confidence.
Tom: It pushes us. It always pushes us on, and we think "next time we get a crowd like that, we've gotta..." It helps, having stuff like that. Having a good crowd every gig...
OS: It just gets a bit easy?
Tom: Yeah. It's amazing, don't get me wrong, but you need stuff like that.
Jon: To make you work for it and make sure you're still learning.
OS: You're set to record an EP later this year. What can we expect from it?
Jon: General awesomeness.
OS: Good answer!
Steve: If we had to describe it... We started writing a new song the other day and it's kinda heavier. It's got heavier elements than we've ever done before. But, it's also got a more melodic side.
Jon: It's just generally a bit more grown up than 'At A Guess' and 'I'm Not Bitter' and stuff.
Steve: What we're writing now feels more us, compared to what we were before.
Jon: Definitely. Especially now we're a five piece.
OS: How would you describe the writing process of All Forgotten?
Tom: Steve tends to spark with the guitar, then the whole thing comes together as one.
Steve: Then, we'll break it down. They'll say what they like and what they don't like.
Dan: It's usually Jon to turn around and say...
Jon: "Nah, that's shit." [laughter]
Steve: We'd rather have that sort of atmosphere at practice, rather than one person sit at home and do everything. We all like to get involved and write chunging tunes.
OS: Do you hope for your songs to have a specifically live feel to them?
Jon: Yeah, that's definitely all we're looking for. We never want to record anything that we couldn't pull off live. Then, it becomes a step down for your live show. Recording is one thing but that's for MySpace and your CD player, but everything's atthe live show.
Steve: I respect bands a lot more when they're actually doing everything live. When you see bands that press 'play', and the music just plays. You know what I mean, it's just like cheating.
Tom: We definitely thrive on the live thing. It's a big thing for us.
OS: Everyone has a specific album that they love more than any other. What would be your favourite album?
Tom: Mine's the latest Brand New album, 'The Devil and God...' It's fucking amazing.
Jon: Mine's Saosin's Self Titled. It's all I ever listen to.
Dan: Err, Between the Buried And Me, 'Colours'
Chris Velissarides [drums]: 'Morning View' by Incubus.
Steve: And Circa Survive.
Jon: What album?
Steve: First one, man!
Jon: Good choice.
Steve: Actually, I like the new one too. I'm easy.
OS: Is there a particular song that you think made you a fan of rock music?
Tom: 'Smoke on the Water', Deep Purple! To be honest, probably every Blink 182 song.
Steve: Yeah, we've all been big Blink fans... Except for him! [points to Jon] He's never been keen.
Tom: He hates them.
Jon: Blink 182 were the most expensive joke of all time.
Tom: That's a horrible thing to say.
Jon: I know it's a horrible thing to say, but what are they writing about?
Steve: That's not the rest of the band's opinion. Just his opinion!
Jon:... The music, a five year old could write. I'm not joking, they really could. No good, mate, no good.
Steve: Like I said, just his opinion!
Tom: We put Blink on in the van sometimes, just to annoy him.
OS: What are your goals as a band?
Jon: Just writing more and seeing what we can come up with, just hoping that kids get into it. Get someone who's gonna get behind us and take us to new places.
Tom: Just try and work on more tours and stuff.
Jon: Keep getting a name and building a name.
Tom: Eventually, world domination.
OS: How do you feel about the possibility of involving a record company to help you more?
Dan: We're good doing it by ourselves.
Jon: Yeah, we're good for it at the moment. It depends how desperate we are for a release. We're planning on recording the EP, and either self-releasing it in the new year, if we can afford it. If not, we're gonna sit on it, and hope management or booking agents come by and say, "look, if you're releasing that, I wanna do it." Just hope people get interested. Like, labels are just gonna take so much off though, I dunno...
Tom: There's upsides and downsides. There's stuff you need them for, then there's stuff you really don't.
OS: Especially with their cuts from merchandise sales etc.
Jon: Yeah, like 360 deals and stuff. It's just a joke. I'd rather have someone that we can trust doing that stuff for us, in a perfect world.
Steve: To be fair, 360 deals are the only way labels are making much money at the moment.
Dan: Labels are definitely slowly going down.
OS: The thing is, it seems a lot better for bands to survive without labels for as long as possible. The whole DIY industry is almost more of an admirable route.
All: Oh, definitely.
Jon: Just working for it.
Tom: All the best bands started doing it themselves and they ended up being the best bands in the long run anyway.
OS: As you mentioned earlier, Chris recently joined the band. How does it feel to finally be a five-piece?
Jon: Wooo!
Steve: You don't even understand!
Jon: It is such a relief. Like, a whole year without a drummer, just trying to get by with "Can this drummer do it? Can that drummer do it?"
Steve: Calling in loads of favours from our friends.
Jon: But, the god is here! To save our asses.
Tom: Yeah, we've been trying to get him in the band for ages. Then, he finally said yes.
OS: Obviously, each member brings something different to every band. What would you say each of you bring to this one?
Tom: I annoy everyone.
Jon: Tom annoys everyone.
Chris: I'm the only one who finds him funny! He's absolutely hilarious.
Dan: These two [Tom and Chris] just sort of gel.
Jon: I have a go at everyone when they're doing stuff wrong.
Tom: I snore.
Jon: Steve... Steve prangs out a lot.
Steve: Someone's got to!
Jon: Yeah, someone's gotta prang out and Steve does that.
Tom: And Dan...
Jon: Dan just chills. He plays his guitar. He's good for it.
Dan: I do a lot of driving.
Jon: Yeah, he drives a lot.
Tom: It's because he's the best driver.:
Chris: You can decide that after I start driving.
Tom: I drive too fast and too risky.
Steve: Yeah, Chris has got his driving try out tonight.
Jon: He can drive legally.
Steve: He's definitely good for it.
OS: And how did you come up with the name 'All Forgotten'?
Tom: It came about a while ago, because this band's been around in different forms, for a really long time. And we were just in school one day and thought it sounded cool.
Jon: It just sounds good. No meaning.
Tom: But...! No...
OS: Carry on!
Tom: I was gonna say, we bring meaning to the name, but we don't.
Chris: Isn't it out of a Boxcar Racer song or something?
Tom:... Yeah, I didn't want to say that...[laughter] Yeah, it's a lyric in a Boxcar Racer song. That shows the Tom Delonge influence on this band. ...That's the only Tom Delonge influence on this band!
Jon: I resent that.
OS: What can fans expect in the coming months?
Tom: Lots of us. We're gonna give them as much as we can.
Jon: New songs, better songs. Better live shows.
Dan: Hopefully, the EP.
Jon: Just, a lot of shows in their town hopefully.
OS: Finally, will we be seeing anything new in the set tonight?
Steve: We've got some new stuff in our set, which might go on the EP. We're just gonna see how it goes.
Jon: The song that we open with, I really want to go on the EP because I really like it, but we'll see what we write.
Tom: We've still got three and a bit months before we actually go to record it and demo it, so we've got a while. It depends on what we write.
All Forgotten will be touring in September with Forever The Sickest Kids, before hitting the road in October with Dividing The Line. |