DZ Deathrays had SXSW in the bag this year. In Austin for their fourth time at the festival, Shane and Simon may not have gone done the 50 shows in 4 days type route this year, but the gigs they did fit into their time in town were as high octane as you’d expect from the band by this point.
Having been in the US for a little while until this point, touring and reconnecting with American fans off the back of Black Rat‘s release, the boys comment on how their time in the States has treated them, whether or not they’ve noticed any change in their crowds and response to the music.
“It’s kind of hard, because our last record never made it out here.” Shane says. “A lot of people just get annoyed at us that our record’s still not out. If we get a label over here to put out probably the third record, we could probably tie in and put Black Rat as well. It just remains to be seen. We’ve got a new agent out here, he’s great; he’s keen to book us some shows and we were offered a couple of shows at SXSW and we got a little run together, that was enough.”
Of course, the new DZ record is in the making still, with fans in Australia eager to see what else the band has got coming, especially off the back of the release of “Blood on My Leather”. Their upcoming tour with Violent Soho may see a little indication of this but both Shane and Simon agree that there ahead lies a messy few weeks of touring.
“I’ve got to write a will before we go on that one!” Simon laughs.
“It’s just party, I think.” he says of the new DZ material. “Just want to keep it pretty party; the sort of songs you can play at festivals when everyone’s starting to get a little bit off the level.”
In terms of how the new material has come together, the boys take us through the writing process and the difficulties and challenges of forming new material. Though, when the good stuff hits, the final result is so worth any period of writer’s block.
“When I get an idea that I’m excited about,” Shane says. “It makes me fall in love with being in a band again. Even if it’s a little riff and it’s like, ‘This is sick’ – it keeps me going. Obviously, there are times where you spend three weeks, a month, where you haven’t written anything. You can’t get the idea down and then all of a sudden in a week, you write four songs. You’ve just got to keep doing it; it’s so random whenever your inspiration comes in to write a tune.”
Watch the full interview below!
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Photo: Luke Henery
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