James caught up Ross and Barry from Twin Atlantic to talk about their recent tour in Amercia, their current headline UK tour and plans for 2012.

You have not long got back from your American tour with Awolnation and Middle Class Rut, how did you find the tour?
Ross: Fantastic because we got to go to places that we’ve only been to once before and some that we’ve never been to before in America and there were people to play to because it was obviously their tour. It was really good fun, we got to see a lot of America that we hadn’t seen before and they were nice chaps (laughter)

Barry: It was good to play to crowds because in the UK people have a bad habit of coming down late to shows just to watch the band that they’ve bought the ticket for but, in America most people tend to come down when the doors open because their up for watching new bands and checking out new things.

Ross: Everybody does that, I do it as well. You just go and see who you want to see and it’s horrible, you shouldn’t do that but you end up doing it all the time.

How do the American shows compare to those back here? And how did it feel to explore new places?
Ross: The shows we’re doing on this tour are a similar size but they’re our own shows so it’s a totally different thing. As fun as it is to go and play to people who don’t know you it’s also amazing to play to people who you can see that they’ve come because they want to listen to the songs and not just through default and you’re trying to win them over. It’s kind of a different experience altogether isn’t it?

Barry: Yeah it’s massively different but they’re both good. It’s two different challenges I guess, as Ross said it’s totally different trying to win people over as opposed to people who have already got some sort of familiarity or affinity with your music. What you just try to do is put on the best show possible so that they leave having had a really good night.

Do you have plans to revisit the US in the near future?
Ross: I think we’re going back at the start of the year again and in the summer for various. I think next year we’ll probably be there a lot more than we were this year as things are starting to roll out over there. I think the album only comes out in January in America so that means a lot more time over there but still focusing on here mainly because that’s where we’re from.

You are currently on a headline tour of the UK, how have the shows been so far?
Ross: We’re three shows in and all three have sold out which we didn’t expect at all. That was kind of overwhelming but everybody has been up for getting involved and having a good time.

Barry: I’ve been looking forward to all the shows but there’s something about this show. We’ve been here quite a few times and this has usually been the place where things are going to go wrong or there hasn’t been as many people, so tonight is quite exciting for us because we’re playing a slightly bigger venue.

You have Arcane Roots and Dinosaur Pile Up supporting you on tour, how have you found touring with them? Do you enjoy their music?
Barry: Yeah totally. They’re two totally different bands. Dinosaur Pile Up are more of your throw back 90’s Nirvana grunge band and Arcane Roots are more techy, it’s kind of schizophrenic at times but that’s cool. They’re both great bands for different reasons we’re excited to have them both playing with us.

You originally released ‘Free’ back in April but it is due for release as a single again on the 19th December, what was the decision behind this?
Ross: We kind of felt at the start that we really liked the song and because the amount of people coming to our shows has taken such a big leap since we released it we wanted more people to get to know it. People seem to be picking up on it and the video seems to be being played a lot so we though if people want to hear it then bring it on. If we were fed up with it then I think it would be different but as the album has only been out a while it’s still quite new.

You have just announced the Twin Atlantic ‘Instagram Project’, can you tell us a little more about this?
Ross: Basically we’ve teamed up with the people at instagram to do this thing where people can upload their pictures to our specific instagram account and all of the photos are going to go into a limited edition lithograph. So if you take a photo it’s going to go onto a Twin Atlantic artwork lithograph so when you get one you’ll see your photo and everyone else’s. It’s cool as well because the more photos that get added the more stuff gets unlocked. I don’t know if that’s the right word but photos will be added and an acoustic video that we recorded.

Barry: And some B sides that never got released.

2011 has been a massive year for you but what would you say your main highlight of the year has been?
Ross: This is funny because this is a question that keeps popping up. We haven’t done a lot of press just lately because of being in America but this week we’ve had a few people asking us to look back and remember stuff from the year. Up until this week we hadn’t done that because we’ve been so busy with releasing the recording and going on tour.

Barry: Having done so this week I’d probably say getting to play Reading and Leeds for the first time was incredible for us. Well just festivals in general because we got to do a big slot at T in the park as well.

Ross: For me it’s been this week and being able to these shows has been a highlight. We’ve been working so hard all year and been away so much so it’s almost like having an end of year gift which has been amazing. It’s almost like a reward for us, being able to come back and play on these stages and have fun. It’s a really enjoyable experience, not that being in a band isn’t because there are some things which are hard but this is like a Christmas present a present

Barry: A Christmas present (laughter)

You hail from Glasgow, which seems to have a great music scene at the moment but what new bands from Scotland would you recommend?
Barry: We had a band out last time called the Lafontaine’s and they’re a weird blend of rock music, pop music and hip hop. Maybe they’re kill me for describing it like this but if you take Professor Green and fucking oh I don’t know, I honestly don’t know. Maybe the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and mashed them up and somewhere in the middle you’d have this thing that was them but not like either of them. That was a really shit analogy right there but that’s what I’m going for.

Ross: There’s so many it’s hard to name them. There’s a band called The Xcerts who are good friends of ours, they’re amazing and they’re doing really well right now. They’ve been out on tour with a few bands that I like, they’re all really good guys and their album came out earlier this year and it was a really good album.

Do you plan to have a much earned rest over the festive period?
Ross: I mean when we go home we’ll probably have a couple of days before Christmas.

Barry: Yeah we’ll have a couple of hours to ourselves (laughter)

Ross: And then the time before Christmas and New Year except for our rehearsal for our New Year’s show in Aberdeen.

Barry: After this year we’ll definitely need to recharge our batteries and Christmas is one of those times when most of your friends and family are back home so it’s always nice to see them. We always say we’ve got such a selfish lifestyle because we leave all the people we love for months and months so it’s nice when we do come home and spend some time with them.

What can we expect from you in 2012?
Barry: We’ve got loads of touring that we’re just about to announce and then we’ll probably have to think about new material as well. Not that we haven’t been but we’ll have to think seriously about what we’re got do and when we’re gonna do it.

What’s your take on music reality TV shows such as the X Factor?
Ross: I actually really like them, I’m a total sucker. I watch it as much as I can because I think it’s so different from normal music. For young people who might not ordinarily get into music because they might not have an access point. But if they here one of them sing something like a Queen song and really like it then that’s like an access point for them into music. It’s also so different from this world of music that I don’t even think that’s it’s offensive. It’s a competition to find a performer and there will always be good performers whether there was a TV show or not. Simon Cowell was always going to sign somebody to sing a song written by blah blah blah so I don’t see a problem with it.

Barry: I used to like the X Factor more than I do now. I used to like the audition stage because you’d have a dude walk in and you’d have literally no idea what he was going to sound like. Sometimes it’s fairly hilarious and other times the guy comes out with an incredible voice. Now it seems to be more of a popularity contest rather than about singing. Like this year Frankie Cocozza is possibly one of the worst singers I’ve ever heard but he was put in front of millions of viewers week after week because people thought he was funny or hot. He’s a dreadful, dreadful singer and because it wasn’t about the voice I stopped watching it.

Where do you hope to see yourselves in a year’s time?
Barry: Who knows, a whole lot can happen in a year. When we look at the wacky journey we’re had this year it’s hard to fathom where we’ll be in a years’ time. Ideally back in Birmingham playing downstairs in the bigger room (laughter). For us this band has always been about progression. When you go to a place for the first time and there’s five people watching you and you go back again and there’s twenty people then it’s amazing because you can see that bit of growth. I think there’s 600 people in tonight but if we come again and there’s 750 or 800 then that’ll be amazing.

One last random question that we ask every band, if you could be an animal out of a zebra or Giraffe which one would you be and why?
Ross: There’s pros and cons to both because Giraffes and eat from up high but if you have to fight then you have to do this neck whip thing and that looks really sore. Zebras have the worst camouflage of all the animals

Barry: Not true, Zebras have black and white stripes because it confuses Lions.

Ross: Zebra then.

Barry: It’s an evolutionary thing and it’d also be really cool to wear a black and white jacket every day. One thing you couldn’t do as a zebra though would be come into town because if you used a zebra crossing you’d just blend right in (growns)


Thanks for your time is there a message for your fans reading this?
Ross: No (laughter) thank you for….

Barry: I want to see where this is going (laughter)

Ross: I don’t know, thank you for buying our record and if anyone has been to one of our gigs then thank you for coming.

Interview by James Daly