The My Filthy Riot bill is quite epic and very eclectic – how do you feel about playing with all these bands?
Karina : We feel honoured to be listed alongside such an extensive list of independent Australian bands. It’s heartening to see such a unique festival can happen and I hope that it gets all the support possible.
Josh: Very good as I have not heard of some of the newer bands, let alone seen, much of the bill in action, so we’re gonna kill a lot of birds with one stone.
Do you have any local bands that you are loving at the moment?
Karina : As a whole band- definitely Sugar Army from Perth, I always like seeing Children Collide perform, A Secret Death from Brisbane, The Nation Blue, Bowcaster… the list goes on!
Josh : Blueline Medic are splitting up err I mean going on indefinite hiatus! as of their NYE Arthouse show this December. people should be flying in for that shit.
You were recently slated to play Jakarta Rock Parade and a number of other gigs in Indonesia (which I hear you had to pull out of) how did these gigs come about in the first place?
Karina : In April this year my long time dream of playing back in my hometown/country came true when we finally confirmed a proper tour of Indonesia, we did like 13 or 15 dates around Java- Nugie and I had been wanting to go over and play shows over there for quite some time, especially upon discovering a radical new scene in early 2000.
Last year we signed a record deal with a label over there so that definitely aided in making our long-time ambition a realisation. We were lucky enough to be able to play shows of that scale, the ticket prices were subsidised (thanks to sponsors)- which meant the rich and poor could come and hold hands in the pit. (Yes, we had people in the pit hold hands to form a daisy-chain circle pit)
Unfortunately we had to pull out of the second tour (Jakarta Rock Parade) as the organisers were unfortunately… um disorganised.
Since winning Triple J Unearthed you have had a really big year or two – what has been the best moment for you since then?
Karina : It’s been the same moment that we loved since the start- playing shows! (Releasing our debut album, our album tour and touring with Midnight Juggernauts & Damn Arms, Gyroscope & Sugar Army, Shihad and Calling All Cars).I loved playing with The Faint in September, the Indonesian tour and all the great food we ate!
You played with CSS when they were in the country – what was this tour like?
Karina : Yeah, CSS was so much fun, Louisa (Lovefoxx) was incredibly sweet- she made me a special message on a peppermint teabag.
You released your debut album last year to a very good response – are you itching to record something new yet? Have you had time to write new music?
Karina : We were itching to record after the album had been released- the songs on that record were Y&R as it was from the beginning. We just wanted to capture the spirit of the band. We’re happy with how it turned out.
Now that we are on a new page, we’ve taught ourselves a different way of approaching songwriting- we’ve already started recording new demos, and hopefully the recording process will start all over again very soon.
With Nugie still based in Canberra, it can be hard to find the time (to write), but we do make it work thanks to cheap flights and everyone’s enthusiasm.
How has having a new guitarist affected the dynamic of the band?
Karina : Having a new guitarist is like having a brand new limb- it has affected so many different facets of how the band works- it’s amazing!
What albums are in your CD player at this very moment?
Karina and Josh : Metallica
What does the future hold for Y & R?
Karina :: If only I had a crystal ball…but our definite plan is to put that second album on tape.
