For this blog post, I’ve had great pleasure in interviewing alternative rock group Calling All Astronauts:
Band Name: Calling All Astronauts
Members: David B (Vocal/Programming), Paul McCrudden (Bass/Keys) & J (Guitars)
Genre: Alternative Rock
Founded: November 2012
Originated From: London UK
Discography: Albums – Post Modern Conspiracy (2013) &
Anti Social Network (2016), EPs – Hands Up Who Wants To Die EP (2014) &
Influences EP (2018) + 15 singles (2013 – 2018)
How would you describe your music?
We are very influenced by the 70’s punk scene The Pistols, SLF etc, 80’s alterative scene, bands like Killing Joke, Bauhaus, Cabaret Volatire, Gang Of Four, Industrial bands like Ministy, Skinny Puppy and The Young Gods, but also modern dance acts like Pendulum and Skrillex and Rock acts like Lamb Of God and Korn, our music tends to be all the above mashed up together, because we don’t have a drummer we are able to do lots of interesting things with drums and percussion, we also use lots of keyboards, which are layered over with metal guitars
How did the band form?
We had all been in seminal rap metal band US:UK together, the band had run it’s course, J went off and formed Caffeine, touring with the likes of The Offspring, Blink 182, AFI, The Dickies, Paul joined Goth stalwarts The Marionettes, I (David) was in a short lived Industrial 2-piece called Detroit, but went on to manage Caffeine for several years. One day after I’d stopped managing Caffeine I bumping into J and we decided to have a jam, we recruited Caffeine drummer Andy and my ex wife Kristi in on bass, Andy went travelling round Asia, so I taught myself to programme drums, Kristi then left to have a baby, so having played with Paul previously, we gave him a call, and the rest is history
Who influenced you within the music industry?
The list of our influences is endless, I think every great record you hear influences you as an artist, I listen and analyse all sorts of music and watch lots of tutorials on youtube to pick up production tips and tricks, I’ve watched all sorts of producers, some may well surprise people when you consider the music we make, but I’ve watched loads of Avicii, may he rest in peace, and Martin Garrix
Have you performed live much and what was your favourite gig to play at?
We haven’t actually played live a lot, which is quite surprising when you look at the number of releases we have, but J and I have young children which makes touring very difficult, we have played several festivals, we really enjoy playing festivals, we headlined a stage at Beautiful Days that we really awesome, we would really love to tour when the next album comes out in 2019 I’m hoping we will.
What is the best thing about being in a band/musician?
We see making music as art, we are like three sculptors or painters all making collaborative art together, seeing our art start off as a drum track and ending up as a piece of work we all love, is without doubt the best thing about being in a band, and then if people actually like our art it’s a bonus.
What plans have you got coming up in the coming year?
We’ve just had our “Influences EP” out, several of the tracks are still receiving considerable airplay. We took four songs that have influenced us; Gary Numan’s “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?”, T-Rex’s “Metal Guru”, David Bowie’s “Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)” &Deep Purple’s “Smoke On The Water”, and recorded versions of them in our own style, we released them all individually as singles two weeks apart, and then as a complete EP, it was really fun putting our own take on such well known tracks. We [hope to] do “Influences EP Part 2” one day.
To find out more about Calling All Astronauts, check them out at www.callingallastronauts.comYou can also find them on Facebook, Twitter & Youtube.
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