Ben caught up with Dance Gavin Dance before they took to the stage at Slam Dunk Festival in Leeds.

Obviously we’re at Slam Dunk today, how are you enjoying the day so far?
All: It’s great!

Will Swan (Guitar): We have plenty of cider, so all is well!

How does it differ from the festivals that you’re used to playing back home?
Jonny Craig (Vocals): Errrrr, we’re in England!

Jordan McCoy (Bass): It’s weird to not see a bunch of trailers and sprinter vans everywhere, most festivals back home are outdoors, so it just feels a bit strange at the moment.

Jonny: But we have lots of Strongbow.

Do you think that these kind of shows differ much from regular Dance Gavin Dance shows?
Jordan: I love festivals, I think that they’re a blast. The sound usually kind of sucks though, you kind of haphazardly throw your stuff on stage and hope for the best. It’s difficult to get a proper soundcheck too, but we have high hopes for today.

You’re currently over in Europe doing promo for Downtown Battle Mountain Part II, how has it been going so far?
Will: It’s been going really well, we really enjoyed Paris – I think it’s our favourite city.

Jon Mess (Vocals): Amsterdam was pretty fun too.

Jordan: We loved the two London shows too, they were both sold out and really well received.

Which night got the best reception – Downtown Battle Mountain Part or Part II?
Jordan: We were talking about this earlier, but we think they were pretty much the same to be honest.

So are you happy with the reaction you’ve been getting to the new record?
Jonny: Yes.

Would you say that it has surpassed your expectations?
Jordan: We had no real expectations, we never do. But yeah, we’re stoked with the reaction that it’s got so far.

It’s fair to say that you’ve had a fair few line-up changes in recent years, does this feel like the DGD that it should be?
Jordan: Yeah, definitely.

Jonny: Amen to that.

Will: We’ve been having a lot of fun together.

Do you think that it has the longevity to last this time around?
Will: I’d like to think so, it kind of feels right at the moment, y’know? We’re all very happy how it’s working out.

Obviously Jonny is back with the band, what is it that he brings that nobody else can quite achieve?
Will: It’s pretty simple, the voice.

No disrespect, but most bands would think ‘once bitten, twice shy’, why is it that you’ve bought Jonny back?
Will: It just seemed like the right direction to go in, it’s working out so far and we really like the line-up and how it works. We’re enjoying touring together, writing together – it’s good.

So everything’s on the straight and narrow then?
All: Yeah!

I know you’ve only just released the new record, but have you put any thought into a DBM Part III at all?
Will: The next record probably won’t be a part, it will probably just be a new thing altogether.

What was the idea behind having a record in two parts?
Jon: We’ve always had songs that have had different parts, but it was never really the intention to make a record in more than one part, it just kind of happened.

Will: Before we even decided to do this there was tonnes of buzz online, the idea seemed cool to us too.

I imagine that you have a lot of friends here today, who are you looking forward to seeing?
Jordan: There are quite a few: There For Tomorrow, Yashin, The Starting Line…

Finally, what does the rest of the year hold in store for DGD?
Jordan: We’re going to be doing Warped Tour back at home.

Jonny: And then….and then…

Jordan: We don’t know really. We’re going to start writing in the winter, and we’ll be back over here at the start of next year.

Jonny: We’re going to open a strip club.

Jordan: Yeah, that’s pretty much our main focus at the moment.

Interview by Ben Connell