Neil and Marc managed to catch Never Means Maybe for a quick chat on Sunday about the festival and their performance on Friday.

Can you tell us how you came together and how you came up with Never Means Maybe?
Renz: your good at this one

Matt: yeah, basically me and drew the drummer, we're drummers. Played in bands for a number of years. Finished my first year of uni, missed being in a band. got together with a couple of mates. Renz gained about six months later. Had a couple of line up changes along the way. But had a solid line up for 18 months now. It's been pretty sweet. The name doesn't want mean anything but we like to refer to it as B-Side by the Smiths or a chapter from a Roald Dahl book depending on how you want to look at it. We literally came up with it because it sounded cool. I think If I'm honest it kind of sums us up quite well, we've had a lot of bad luck we've had a lot of good luck we've had a lot of bad luck and we've still kept going so now it probably means more than when we came up with it. I just came up with it because it sounded cool and it looked good on a t-shirt.

How do you feel about Never Means Maybe compared to the other bands you have been in? Is this more natural?
Matt: Yeah it's completely different. the first band I was in was the same like your band

Renz: My band was awesome,

Matt: No don't get me wrong, my band was the best band around. But i was learning to play guitar while I was in a band and we never did any touring just played local gigs and things like that whereas we've stepped it up a bit with this one I'd say,

Renz: I'd say so yes

Who would you say your musical influences are?
Renz: we go across the board. It's such a clashed answer but we've got so many different influences and stuff. I like stuff like the smiths all the way to Jonny Cash, all the way though to Slipknot and stuff like that. Hip-hop and things.

Matt: I just listen to Korn all the time. All the time, no other bands.

Laughs

Matt: No I don't actually.

Renz: Why did you pick Korn

Matt: Duno, why not.

Because he can.

Matt: Yeah exactly, because that's all I listen too.

Have you seen many of the bands this weekend?
Matt: Yeah we've caught quite a lot. As always the line up is ridiculously strong. Who have you seen Renz?

Renz: Bury Tomorrow, very good. We went on tour with them a few years ago. cool dudes. Devil Sold His Soul were absolutely fantastic.

Matt: Glassjaw were fun.

Renz: Andrew WK were a life changing experience.

Matt: Highlight.

Renz: Highlight for me.

Matt: Yeah Watched Mallory Knox this morning there our boys and they absolutely smashed it. I Divide were wicked. Watched Lower Than Atlantis and Deaf Havana on friday, that seems like six weeks ago now.

Renz: Yeah it does doesn't it.

Matt: The weekend seems to have gone on forever. But yeah they were wicked as well. As always it's been a ridiculously good line up.

You've got the advantage of finishing early and being able to drink and party for the rest of the weekend, no worries.
Matt: That was a bit weird if I'm honest. It was like oh sweet four O'clock on Friday I'd finished.

Renz: Let's get drunk.

Matt: Yeah something like that.

Laughs

You've done quite a few festivals and tours, what would you say has been the best experience of the year?
Matt: Hevy 2012.

Renz: Of course. My favourite one was the first Download we did because that was the first festival we played. T in the Park overall for me.

Matt: Yeah the first download, I'd always wanted to play download I had a number of things when we started the band and we started touring more that I always wanted to do and Download was the top of the list. But Download this year literally blew my mind. We clashed with Lower Than Atlantis, which A I was gutted about because I really wanted to see them but I was like "great no one's going to come and watch". but the tent was packed and everywhere you looked there were people singing along and it was like Jesus Christ this is ridiculous. We wrote these songs some of them in my bedroom some of them in a shitty practice room, and now there's people i don't even know by name singing along. Blows my mind.

You've got quite a big tour planned with Soil and Breed 77 are you excited about that?
Matt: Yes very much so.

Renz: Yeah it will be good to get back out on the road. This year's been mainly writing so we've not played as many shows. It'll be really good to get back on the road.

Matt: Yeah it's nice to finish the year off on a big tour like that. We're playing the electric ballroom in Camden which is a dream come true. And we're touring with Fozzy, doesn't get much better than that.

Do you prefer doing those sort of tour's or do you prefer doing festivals like this?
Matt: That's like picking between your kids.

Renz: That's hard man.

Matt: Which one's your favourite kid.

Renz: I think it will have to be festival just. I love touring though. You can't make me pick. I won't.
Matt: If you could play a festival and play every day I'd be there.

Renz: Warped Tour.

Matt: Warped Tour would be the dream.

Renz: That's a festival every day.

Matt: I love the festival vibe, and you get to see your mates, and there's loads of bands that your friends with that are playing. A lot of the time you don't necessarily get to see them play, but this time weekend we've been really lucky. Because we were playing on the Friday we got to see all the bands we really wanted to. But I love touring, it's hard work but its work it. I literally Couldn't tell you.

Where do you hope to be in a year's time?
Matt: Leeds. I dunno why I just want to go to Leeds.
Laughs

Matt: We haven't been there for a while. No. We're recording an album in October hopefully. Just sorting it all out now. Want to release that. Obviously we've got the tour coming up. Want to go back to Europe, we went there for the first time this year and it was wicked. Just keep touring and having a good time.

So have you started writing for the album?
Matt: Yeah, were pretty much there. We've got a good collection of songs that we're happy with but we're going to keep writing up until the first day of recording. We're well pleased with it. For us being in a band is a natural extension of what we've done in the previous EP, so if you liked what you heard you will like it.

Which song would you say sums you up as a band, or would you say is your favourite?
Matt: I think some of the new ones that people haven't heard probably are up there. We've got a new single coming out next month called "The Tide" which probably airs towards the lighter side of what we do but it's got a massive chorus that were really excited to hear people singing back. Do you agree?

Renz: I concur.

Matt: But I'd say playing Ziva Killed Houdini which is the song we end on because we can just go mental when we play it. It's a lot of fun.

I was looking at the video for Inhale The Chaos show was making the video, was if fun or was it a lot of pressure?
Matt: It depends.

Renz: It's very tiring. Basically your putting on your biggest most energetic show but like a hundred times. Over and over and over again.

Matt: Yeah the video we did for In and out of the chaos we did with Stewie Birchall who's worked with Architects, Enter Shikari and stuff like that. That was in a massive warehouse. That was absolutely wicked, that's the biggest video shoot we've done. So that was a lot of fun.

Was it a lot different routine form the others?
Renz: A lot bigger production.

Matt: Yeah a lot bigger production and stuff. He's like a really really acclaimed music video director and he knew what we were doing. It was nice in that respect. Yeah I love it, it's all part of it. Doing a video means you're going to release something and people get to see it. I love it.

Our last question, we ask everyone this. Would you rather be a Giraffe or a Zebra and why?
Renz: I'm going to need some time to think about this, I don't want to be hasty. I think a Zebra, just because I think it would be awkward being a Giraffe. I can't get over how long their necks are.

Matt: I think I'm going to go with a Giraffe.

Renz: There herbivores aren't they.

Matt: They are yeah.

Renz: Zebra's aren't are they?

Matt: They don't eat other Zebra's.

Renz: Well no. but do they eat meat?

Matt: No. They just eat trees.

Renz: Zebra a Zebra.

Matt: I'm going to say a Giraffe because I'm tall anyway. I don't have a long neck but I have long legs. Also I can't remember ever seeing a wild life program where a Giraffe has eaten by a Lion. Zebra's get knocked down, it's ridiculous. People don't notice a Zebra going down.

Renz: I knew I'd get the wrong one.
Matt: And and, If I'm a Giraffe at least I can reach the leaves, you just get what I drop, and then get eaten by a Lion. Matt Matt grab that apple, and I'll be like yeah here you go here's that apple throw it over there. Lion. Straight in. One nil. Banter.

Interview by Marc Rich