What is your name and role within British India?
My Name is Will Drummond and I play bass on stage.
Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there?
I live in Melbourne. The music scene here is thriving as always, hubs shift from year to year but there are always new small venues popping up and always the stalwarts that never close creating a diverse music culture that people from all over Australia and the world love coming to play for and to come and see.
How did you first start playing music?
I was the youngest of five children. In my house there would be Linda Ronstadt playing in one room, The Presidents Of The United States in another, Metallica emanating from the strange smelling bungalow out the back. So when I was cognisant enough to find the guitar with very few strings on it I wanted to replicate all the sounds I had been listening to as a younger kid.
How did the band form?
Four bored teenagers in high school who were stealing beers from Nic’s Dad’s bar fridge one Friday night when we started writing songs. We never looked back.
What’s been happening recently?
I was recently in Europe travelling. I went to Hellfest to see Refused, Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, Sumac and Kiss to name a few. It was in a small town in France called Clisson and it’s easily the best run festival I have ever been to. Highly recommend a pilgrimage for any lover of Punk and Metal.
You have a new guitarist Jack Tosi in the band after your last guitarist left, how’s the band dynamics now that you have Jack on board?
Those dynamics will play out on tour. We have been rehearsing and Jack is a supreme guitarist. But the real dynamics of a band play out when you spend a lot of time together.
The band will be touring Australia in October to November, what do you have planned for this tour and what do find most challenging and rewarding whilst being on the road?
This tour is about playing with Jack, he’s toured Australia many times himself however every band does things differently so it will be interesting to see how he copes with our entrenched habits and intricacies. The most challenging is always missing things back home, seeing friends, celebrations etc. And the most rewarding is easily playing the songs to people who have travelled to come and see them.
How do you prepare for each live show?
I have no great ritual. I usually get to the show an hour before hand to hear the noises, get the vibe have a drink and maybe run into some friends.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
My favourite albums of the year so far are.
Craig Finn – I Need A New War
Fontaines D.C – Dogrel
Helado Negro – This Is How You Smile
The Hold Steady – Thrashing Through The Passion
What do you like to do away from music?
Travel without working. I love being able to get on a plane with nothing but carry on and landing to walk around a foreign city.
What’s planned for late 2019 going into 2020?
This tour, playing shows with a new guitarist is a daunting thought, Jack is very talented but we will not know what it’s going to like until we stand up on the stage together for the first time.
Favourite food and place to hangout?
I’ve been living in and around Fitzroy for a long time now and it’s such a great place for food and hangouts. If you want a cheap Bahn Mi, Trang is my old faithful. The coffee is always great at Everyday or Terror Twilight. I love trying new and different beers at BeerMash and The Catfish, having Pina Coladas at Shady Lady, catching a punk band at Old Bar, or a doom band at the Bendigo.
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