Behind Crimson Eyes – Back on the road

It’s about time Behind Crimson Eyes got back on the road. After recently signing an international deal with legendary Roadrunner Records, they have been locked in the studio for most of ‘06, recording their debut full length. Now they’re getting ready to come back and rock out! I spoke to bassist Garth Buchanan about their upcoming tour schedule.

First off, they’re playing at the Thank God It’s Over Festival. The festival hits Melbourne and Brisbane in October and is hailed as a “muck up day” for schoolies. Behind Crimson Eyes will be playing alongside an eclectic line-up with Grinspoon headlining in Melbourne and Hilltop Hoods headlining in Brisbane. Other bands gracing the stage will include Dallas Crane, Gyroscope, Kisschasy, The Casanovas and British India. When I ask if he’s looking forward to seeing anyone in particular, Buchanab excitedly responds,

“Definitely Hilltop. That’s going to be the highlight for all of us, I think. And it’s the only real chance we’d have to play with them. They’re a hip-hop band; we’re a real heavy band. It’s just awesome.”

The festival is an all-ages event, something he feels is very important for both the band and the fans.

“I know how it feels to be excluded and miss out. Some of my favourite bands of all time [would come to Australia] and they’d only play over-18s shows. A lot of the market is an all-ages market. Which is why these festivals are great because kids can go.”

BCE have been a part of quite a few festivals including the recent Come Together Festival and last year’s Taste of Chaos. They’ve also performed a whole host of supports and had their first headlining tour last year. For Buchana, it’s hard to pick which type of gig he prefers.

“I like playing both. I think a mixture of both is really good. Obviously with bigger festivals you’ve got great sound, a big stage, you’re not restricted at all, there are a lot of people there… But you lose intimacy at shows like that as well. So we love the small shows ‘cause you’re right up the front with the crowd. It’s a lot more intimate. [The crowd] get to know the band a little bit more.”

However, he’s quick to declare that the Sydney stint of the Come Together festival was his favourite show he’s played with the band, after replacing original Bassist Prashant “Baz” Raju a short time before the gig.

“It was my second or third show [with BCE] and the kids just went crazy! It was way bigger than I ever expected. It sold out really fast in Sydney, there [were about] 3000 people and so many kids came to see us. It was just an amazing experience for me to witness that. And to be a part of it was really special.”

The TGIO festival actually kicks-off BCE’s second-ever headlining tour, The Shakedown Tour. It will be the first headlining tour for both Garth and drummer Cameron Gilmore (who replaced Steve Szalay at the beginning of the year). Both are looking forward to this.

“Just going on tour, I really miss it. I did it with my old band [The Amity Affliction] and it’s been a long time for me. We’ve been locked down in the studio for so long… which has been amazing but we’re all really missing touring.”

BCE’s first full-length, A Revelation for Despair is due for release on November 4th. Buchanan describes it as “heavier than anything we’ve ever done” and emphasises the point that they “haven’t said ‘no’ to anything on this record. We’ve been really open minded.” He describes the writing process as being very laid-back saying, “None of us came to practise with a song. Every day we’d just walk in and start playing anything. It was very organic and raw.”

Both the band and their label have their sights set on releasing the record internationally. They hope that within nine months of its Australian release it will be released in Europe, Japan, and the UK. Then in the States if that all goes well.

The first single from the album, ‘Shakedown’, will be released on Tuesday 10th October, exclusively through iTunes (“it’s been a while since [the fans] have heard anything new from us… and they’ve been so good to us. [But] as much as we want to give kids something before the album, we definitely want to keep the focus on the album.). The single will feature 2 previously unreleased B-sides, including an acoustic version of the single.

Often when signing to a bigger label, a band loses some control over their music making. Not the case for BCE.

“We would’ve never gotten involved with anything we didn’t have complete creative control of. [Roadrunner] are happy for us do whatever we want. And as far as we’re concerned, we’re the musicians, we’re the artists – They do what they’re good at and we do what we’re good at.”

BCE have supported many big name acts including New Found Glory, MxPx and Something With Numbers. I asked Buchanan who would be his ultimate band to support and it turns out to be a tough question!

“That’s really hard ‘cause I’ve got so many favourite bands. They’re all different sounding bands so obviously we wouldn’t fit with all of them. That’s actually a really cool question. But I don’t know, I think… oh man, that’s such a good question! I’d really like to see us supporting some different sounding bands. I would love to support Tool. Or I’d love to support From First to Last. I think we’d really suit AFI. I’d love to do that too and that’s coming up. There’s lots of bands but I definitely think AFI and Tool would be two that I’d love to support, personally. I think they’re most suited to our band.”

Whether or not they get any of those gigs, I’m sure their fans will just be happy to see them back on the road!

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