From the mouth of Rory Friers, whose birthday it is today – of the ever inspirational four piece And So I Watch You From Afar.
“We’ve learnt a lot more about doing this on such a full-time level. We’ve really strengthened up individually and as a unit, and we’ve got a really strong group of people around us now who help make sure everything is running the way we need it to be. Having Smalltown on board brought that next level we needed for the album. They’re so good to us, they really give us loads of room to try stuff out and take risks.
We learnt only to jump off speaker stacks when there’s someone there to catch you. We’ve learnt that Ireland as a whole has an amazing music scene which is easy to take for granted. We learnt that some people won’t understand that it can be really difficult being away from home all the time and will become pretty cold-hearted towards you. We’ve learnt that you’ve got to become as thick-skinned as possible to keep pushing towards what you want from life.
We’ve learnt that we have the most amazing, supportive friends and family in the world. We’ve learnt that regardless of having to make peoples’ Christmas presents for the first time in twenty years because you literally don’t own a penny, if you’ve been in Kerrang or played the Mandela Hall, some people will think you’re rich. We also learnt that six Irish guys at their first ever European festival with a free bar the night before they play a main stage isn’t a good idea. We learnt never to try and drive from Leeds to Vienna in one go, even if Faith No More are playing because despite what Google Maps says, it will take twice as long. We learnt that no matter how much you have it serviced your van will break down on the Autobahn.
Chris learnt not to ask the woman on stage in a venue where the sound “man” is because predictably she IS the sound man and will be very offended.”
…full article here.