Interviews: Calling All Astronauts

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Punk/Electro band Calling All Astronauts from the UK. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?

Like all bands we were struggling to find a name, and I’m not going to name them but some bands should have thought longer, well, NASA were advertising for astronauts, I picked up the paper one day and the headline read “Calling All Astronauts”

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

I’m not sure it is an actual genre, we’ve kind of made it up as we go along, we mix Metal, Goth, Industrial, EDM, Alternative Rock, Electro and Drum & Bass, and come up with something we hope is original

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

Yes, we played together in seminal Rap-Metalers US:UK, we did lots of great shows, headling Camden Palace, The Astoria, The Marquee, we sold out big venues as an unsigned band, it was a fantastic time. 

4. Each band member favorite band?

David – New Order 

Paul – Alice In Chains

J – Kiss (Paul and I turn a blind eye to this)

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

The news, there is so much right wing shit happening in world politics, Populism, Nationalism, Xenophobia, Racism etc, we don’t want to live in a society that thinks the empowerment of people who believe in these things is acceptable, so we write songs about it.

6. Where was your last gig?

The Levellers “Beautiful Days” Festival, we headlined one of the stages there, it was fantastic, we love playing festivals, people who have never seen you play before get a an opportunity to see what you are about.

7. Where would you like to play?

When J was in the band Caffeine, he played Wembley Arena opening for The Offspring and AFI, I was managing them at the time, and this show really sticks in my memories as amazing, although we did get fined by the venue for handing out flyers for the next gig at Camden Underworld.

8. Who would you like to support?

There are lots of bands we’d love to open for, Ministry, Sisters Of Mercy, The Cult, Public Enemy, Nine Inch Nails, Gary Numan, the list is almost endless, really anyone we admire, we opened for A Place To Bury Strangers, and when I looked out during our show, they were the front row, I love it when bands support the other bands on the bill.

9. Who not?

Metallica, they are so un-politically current, I think I’d be rude to them, and I wouldn’t like to do that, they are legends I suppose, but that doesn’t mean I have to like them, even if I respect how successful they have been, Morrissey is another, yes I love The Smiths music, but Morrissey is just offensive

10. Any of you has ever suffered from stage fright? Any tip for beginners on how to beat that?

I get terrible nerves before going on stage, I’ve been known to be physically sick, but once I get on their I run on adrenalin, A tip for new acts is don’t drink before you go on stage, you’ll fuck up, and secondly, you should be nervous, that way you’ll focus on the job in hand.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

I find any band I see live that puts on an awesome show inspiring, from New Order to Lamb Of God, Editors to Pendulum, SOAD to Chase & Status, people who really leave it all out there, I really don’t like bands that appear to be just going through the motions and are there for the money, some of us do it for the art.

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

A fan on Twitter once asked me if I like girl band Fifth Harmony, I was like “do I look like I like Fifth Harmony” and then proceeded to tell them how we’d walked out of a showcase they did in a hotel lobby in LA, I think I upset them, but I try to tell the truth whenever possible.

13. What do you think of your fans?

Obviously, we love our fans, I doubt you’d ever hear a band say otherwise, but we have a real rapport with them, we are very active on twitter, and reply to everyone who ever tweets us, well, except for the trolls, we block them without comment usually, we got one of those blue ticks a while back, and they are like a troll magnet.

14. What do you think of our site?

It’s a nicely laid out site, easily navigated, plenty of stuff to look at, pretty much everything what you want from a music site, I hate those sites that have so many bells and whistles you cant find your way past the animated landing page

15. Something to add?

We have a new single “Give Them A Leader” out now, and our third album “#Resist” drops on June 5th, please find us on Twitter, YouTube, Spotify etc, and come and say hi, we don’t often bite