COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED!
Want one of these? Well, Topman have convinced Lags from Gallows to create a design specifically for them as Gallows roll through Topman’s CTRL. There’s only 50 in existence and I’ve been offered one as a prize to give away.
SO, if you’re a fan of the band (and after their album ‘Grey Britain’ earlier this year why wouldn’t you be?), drop me a line through the contact page with the answer to this simple question:
What is Gallows’ drummer Lee’s favourite Metallica album?
HINT: Read the following interview with Lee and Lags from the band.
CTRL: Gallows Interview
Q: OK so new bands then, give us a few off the top of your head…
Lee: The first band is probably Sharks we’re taking them out on tour in November December… They’re a bit different you know, they’re like a mix of Joy Division and kind of a new….
Lags: ….Undertones.
Lee: Yeah, Undertones, a lot of like more Indie Brit pop influences, they put on a really good show too.
Q: Are they still quite heavy as well?
Lags: They’ve got a real new wave feel to them, which is cool cos’ there aren’t too many new wave bands around today, like they look as though they should be in the Smiths or something not Kings Of Leon like most other bands these days.
Q: Are they going to confound the expectations of the Gallows crowd?
Lags: I think what we’ve always done in the past, like when we took out Lethal Bizzle, is show our eclectic taste in music, we don’t want to be one of those bands that gets thrown in with every heavy punk hardcore band.
Lee: Also on this tour is Trashtalk - this Californian hardcore band, and you need to check out their live shows on Youtube because they are just insane.
Lags: I’ve got a feeling there will be some sort of competition – who can destroy themselves the most?
Q: What is the worst gig related injury sustained by Gallows to date?
Lags: Well I knocked myself out recently on stage, there are loads! Hit myself in the face with my guitar, Frank’s been knocked out…
Lee: …I broke a rib stage diving!
Q: Any other new bands? Anything else you’ve heard recently?
Lags: This band called More Than Life who are from the West Country – they’re farm boys. The thing about the UK hardcore scene is that I think a lot of it sounds the same whereas these dudes bring a bit more musical edge to it. The songs are quite catchy but are still really heavy and raw.
Lee: I’m gonna mention our bass player Stu’s band, this other band. They’re called Spycatcher. It’s actually 3 or 4 of our friends from back home are in that band. What does Mitch play? Guitar doesn’t he?
Lags: Yeah
Q: Can you see yourself shifting towards other styles as the band goes on?
Lags: Oh yeah definitely. I mean if you listen to our new record there is big piano and orchestration and stuff on it, which I wrote myself. I’m really into the idea of writing soundtracks and more epic soundscapes as it were
Lee: I think it could go any way really, I don’t really know what’s going to happen with our new record. It could end up even heavier!
Q: Shall we talk about places around the world – maybe its places you’ve visited, certainly venues that you’ve enjoyed playing around the world, or maybe scenes that you find inspirational.
Lags: One of my favourite places is Austin in Texas, we’ve done it twice, with south by south west, and we also played there again on our last headliner US tour. The atmosphere is electric and there is such a creative vibe and buzz about the town and we have so many friends there, and like all my favourite times hanging out with people have been in Austin. And the girls are beautiful!
Lags: Another place, which is just amazing, is Japan, if you want to go somewhere and feel like you’ve landed on another planet, then Japan is probably the ultimate place. Its just got such a crazy atmosphere, when we’re hanging out in Tokyo, and we’re going around all the shops and the cool parts of town, everyone is just dressed as if they are going to go on the biggest night out ever, but that is just how they dress everyday.
Q: What is the scene like for you out there?
Lee: It was actually really weird when we touched down the first time we went over there, like literally two or three minutes after we’d left our hotel a gang of Japanese kids came up to us, they knew who we were and they had all our records ready for us to sign, and that totally blew our minds, like no one recognises us in England.
Q: How do you go down in the rest of Europe, where about are the kind of hot spots for you?
Lee: Milan is also awesome.
Lags: I really like Berlin, I think Berlin is an awesome city, its quite a big place but there is a lot to do.
Q: Do you get much of a crowd in Berlin, it doesn’t really seem like that much of a rock city?
Lags: Last time we played Berlin we were supporting Korn and Machinehead so it was a bit of a weird gig, it was in some fort just outside of the city, some castle where you have to cross a moat to get in.
Q: Cool, shall we talk about albums that you either grew up with or there are stories associated with.
Lags: You’re going to say Bowie aren’t you.
Lee: Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars! My dad is a huge Bowie fan and he took me to go see him when I was about 4 or 5. Its like 11 tracks of the best rock and roll music you’ll ever hear- the production is awesome considering it was made in the early 70’s and every track on that record is a classic and I’ll never get sick of listening to it. If anyone doesn’t have that album then they need to buy it or their house will fall down.
Q: What other Bowie albums come close?
Lee: A lot of his older one’s come close, like Hunky dory is great and I really like Low even though it is a bit more experimental, I like every record he’s put out to be honest. I think he is just one of the greatest artists of all time, well the best Britain has ever produced anyway.
Q: Which Metallica album stands out to you?
Lee: The Black album is the one I remember. I was in my early teens back then and I’d not really heard any heavy music. I remember going into Virgin Megastore in Watford and you were working there..
Lags: Right..
Lee: … and I remember asking if I could listen to the ‘Black Album’ and you put it on for me on the listening post and I remember thinking this is the best thing I’ve ever heard. It was so heavy and sounded so tight. Being a drummer, I’d never even heard much double pedal, I took it home and listened to it everyday for about two years. I still listen to it every week – its one of my all time favourite. Its still not as good as ‘Justice For All’, but The Black album that’s the one with a story for me behind it.
Lags: I think the Beatles are such an inspirational band, they are one band who have created modern music to me anyway. They came just after the whole rock and roll boom but they just took music and made it pretty much unreachable for other bands at that time. For me I think ‘Revolver’ was that change and songs like ‘Eleanor Rigby’ and ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’, and I just think that back then that was probably the craziest thing that any band could ever do and they were doing it and they were all the more successful for it, and so for me like that album definitely set the bar for every other band to follow them.
Q: Have you ever seen McCartney play live?
Lags: Our second Gallows gig was in London and we were walking past EMI in Soho Square, or Apple, well whichever office, and Paul McCartney was walking out and that was the closest…
Q: You didn’t run up to him then?
Lags: No there was already a million Beatles fans there with records.
Q: Was classic British metal important to you or not? You share management with Iron Maiden.
Lee: I think they put on one of the best live shows out of any UK band.
Lags: I’m a huge Sabbath fan. I know people have argued that the first heavy metal songs were The Kinks ‘You really got me’ or even The Beatles ‘Helter Skelter’. But Sabbath, they created heavy metal as we know it from the imagery to the music and the first album. They recorded that album in like two days, so at the same time they are inspirational to other musicians out there to just get tight and play instruments and don’t rely on Pro Tools.
Q: Okay, lets talk about favourite things.
Lee: Well I’d start with my parents and my girlfriend, family. They are probably my biggest fans. My dad comes to near enough every show- he likes to think he’s the fifth member of the band sometimes.
Lags: I’ve got a mum and dad tattoo and then I’ve got family on my wrist. I can’t believe how supportive my mum and dad were, even when they had doubts that I was ever gonna get anywhere in life.
Q: How did you expect your parents to react to the announcement that you were jacking everything in to be in a band?
Lee: I think they were a bit resentful at first that I was sitting around some days when we were not on tour doing nothing. My dad was still going to work and I used to just laugh like ‘yeah I’m just sitting here getting paid for it you know’.
Q: Maybe that’s why your dad wanted to become the fifth member of the band!
Lee: Yeah but then they realised that the band’s an every day thing- that even when we’re not playing, the band is our lives. I think it’s hard for any parent really to understand that their son or their daughter is going to be in a band and tour the world. It’s just something you don’t expect!
Q: Better than working in an office then?
Lags: The problem with rock and roll is that there are so many vices connected to it – parents are bound to be scared that you’re gonna go on tour and come back a heroin addict or whatever. But they know us so well and they know that we’re not the kind of people to fall into any trap, whether it be drugs or alcohol or women.
Q: Okay that’s a good entry, what’s number two?
Lee: I’m gonna be really geeky and say my collection of Batman comics, they are a favourite thing of mine because I’ve spent about the past 6 months to a year building up my collection so I now pretty much own them all. I’ve got a batman tattoo so, it’s just a personal thing to me!
Lags: Definitely my music collection. I remember when I was buying CD’s growing up my mum would go spare that I’d be spending all my pocket money just buying music. Even today I’m not the kind of guy who would download something, I have to have the physical format.
Lee: My season ticket to Tottenham is probably one of my favourite things. I’ve had it for about 10 years now. Football is my main passion other than the band.
Also, I think our laptops should probably be in there somewhere..
Lags: Yeah everyone has got to have an laptop, I don’t think I could survive without it, if you’ve got it on tour its just the ultimate tour accessory; you’ve got movies, music, you can record guitar riffs, you know it can do everything, you just compile all the things in your life into it. If it could cook for me, it’d be amazing. If I could just press a button and sushi rolls started coming out!
Tags: 2009, interview, music
