It’s cold, wet and miserable outside, I’m late for the interview because of one very delayed bus and the only thing I can think of is to apologize for my lateness and remark on the bout of horrible Sydney weather. Only thing is that I’ve forgotten that The Hot Lies, drummer Jared Brown, guitarist Luke Szabo and vocalist Pete Wood, [As well as bassist Leaton Rose and guitarist Benjamin Pix not in attendance] have been living and breathing Sydney over the past 3 months while recording their debut album Ringing In The Sane. “It’s been pretty cool living in Sydney while not actually living here, you don’t get frustrated with taking forever to get anywhere.” laughs Jared.

The Hot Lies have been through the ringer in the past two years since their second EP Heart Attacks and Callous Acts was released. From an incredible leap up the indie charts with their ear catching track Promise Me to constant touring, opening for acts like My Chemical Romance and just recently Yellowcard and Sum 41. But the most prominent source of anxiety has been the unsteady role of lead guitarist, with Josh Delsar leaving the band for other pursuits and replacement Mikey gone just as quickly as he arrived.

“He was just on a different page, he came to us and said he didn’t want to do it anymore. We had sensed that something was up.” Pete explains of Mikey’s exit. Jared elaborated, “It was one of those personality clashes, we as a band are more collaborative we go through everyone’s ideas, rather than one person steering the ship.”. With five individuals trying to work together the guys felt as though Mikey didn’t want the same things. “It was of convenience to him at the time. He’s an awesome musician, but he tried it out and he realised it just wasn’t his thing” says Pete.

So in stepped Luke Szabo, who left the comforts of his former band, The Scissor File, for something new. “It was just one of those opportunities that came up, at the time I had been writing with the same person for 8 years. It’s always great to meet and collaborate with new people and I think it was time to do just that. It worked out really well, I haven’t looked back, though I still have heaps of respect for The Scissor File” Luke smiles.

The rest of the band seems just as happy with Luke’s decision, putting importance on how well they mix together “You need to be able to gel because you’re sitting in a van and you’re living in small hotel rooms together. At the end of the day it’s only about 40% of how we play together and more about how well you get along with one another. That’s where we ran into issues with other people”.

So with a new guitarist on board, they also had the chance to collaborate with a somewhat unusual source from another Australian act, Eskimo Joe. “It was pretty cool, it was like a big jam session. We just wanted to see what would happen.” Pete beams. “They’re not necessarily that close in sound to us, but we have a lot of respect for them, they built from themselves up from the ground, with each CD they’ve have learnt more and more about song writing. So when the opportunity came to go over there and write some songs, we couldn’t pass it up.” says Jared “It became really influential on the rest of the album, it helped us to re-think some of the songs we had already written and I think it made a big difference.”

So with suggestive song titles like Can’t Stand The Heat and an album called ‘_Ringing In The Sane_, will we be getting an insight into The Hot Lies lifestyle? “We came up with the name one night and we realised how much it embodied the whole band with everything that was happening at the time, like not having guitarist and the turmoil of trying to write the record,” Pete says of the album title.

“Over the past two years the band has been our lives, so lots of the album, especially for me, hints at the different kinds of roads you take with the band, things that happen to you along the way”. Now with the impending release date looming, the boys are more excited than ever to hit the road perform their new tracks to their legions of fans. Jared sums it up nicely, “It’s been a long and winding road trying to get the album out. But it was definitely worth it.”

The Ringing In The Sane album launch travels nationally through September.
THU 13th September – SYDNEY, ANNANDALE HOTEL
FRI 14th September – ADELAIDE, THE GOV (All Ages)
FRI 21st September – MELBOURNE, EAST BRUNSWICK CLUB
SAT 22nd September – BELGRAVE, RUBY’S LOUNGE
FRI 28th September BRISBANE, CLUB 299
SAT 29th September – BYRON BAY, GET ROCKED FESTIVAL!

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Ringing In The Sane will be out September 15th on Liberation Music through Warner.
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