My Awesome Compilation Are SetTo Go

Mon 10th Apr, 2006 in Features

After literally hours in the country, and a good nights sleep, My Awesome Compilation are enthusiastic and excited to be in Australia. Here to support Welsh buddies Funeral for a Friend on their headline tour, Chris and Andy Driver and Darius and Woody Cobb – yes, that’s two sets of brothers – had big plans for their first full day in Sydney. “We were planning to head out to Bondi Beach today, but now the weather’s like this…” Woody, keyboard maestro, indicates to the wet, grey day outside their hotel. “It’s like being back home, really. Hello England!” jokes bass player Darius. I let them in on a local secret, that you should never plan to go to the beach because the weather will always turn out pissy like today. Dismal weather aside, I ask the guys if they are excited to expose the music to a brand new audience. “Yeah, definitely,” the band agrees. “Also, it’s good timing, because the album only came out, like, 2 weeks ago in Australia, so it’s good to be here to play the music for people who might be hearing it for the first time,” says Darius.

After touring the same album for so long, are they sick of playing the same songs night in night out? “No, we’re not sick of it, because every time you play the songs to a new audience, it’s completely different. It’s always a different reaction, and every time you play it you just want to make the show as good as you can,” Andy replies. “We mix it up a little bit, change the songs we play, and we’ve added in a few new ones just to keep it interesting,” says Chris. “And we were just so proud of the album when it came out,” adds Darius, “and we still are so proud of it, that when we play the songs we can still think ‘This is a good song’, it’s still as good as the first time we played it.”

As a result of their tireless touring, My Awesome Compilation have a dedicated fanbase in the United Kingdom. The band’s popularity has also been bolstered by positive reviews from both independent and commercial music press. But it’s not always easy, trying to describe how music sounds using only written words. How would they describe their sound? “We’re sort of melodic rock-esque,” says Darius. Melodic rock-esque? “Okay, lose the ‘esque’, just melodic rock.” “That’s what we always say,” replies Andy. “I mean, I’ve always played in punk bands, and the bands we would play with at home are all punk bands, so that’s the kind of environment we come from. There’s a few sort of emo bands around as well, but they’re not very good. There’s a lot of wannabe Funeral for a Friends around at home.”

So MAC don’t embrace the ‘emo’ label? “No, just because that’s not what we sound like.” With their energy, hooky guitars and the keyboards for a little something interesting, the band do manage to avoid the common trap of falling into imitation American emo mediocrity. What scene or genre do they place themselves in? “Just rock,” says Woody. But Andy has another opinion. “Kick ass. That’s what style our music is.” The first thing you’re likely to discover about this band is their reputation for playing an amazing, energetic live show. British underground and mainstream press have held much praise for the My Awesome Compilation’s “uncompromising” stage show, and commended Actions for its aptitude in reproducing their live sound.

With all this hype, was is it that’s going through the boys’ minds when they’re up on stage to consistently produce these remarkable gigs? “When you’re playing live you’re not really thinking at all,” claims Andy. “Once you play the first couple of chords, you forget about everything else and just play off the energy.” “That’s true. Every time Darius hits me in the face with his guitar, I forget all about it till I walk off stage, and then all of a sudden I have this pain in my head,” says Chris. “When we were in Japan, at one of the shows we played I dislocated my shoulder in the first song, by the time I got it back in place I was in absolute pain for the first couple of songs, like this,” Darius grimaces in imaginary pain. “But then I just forgot about it and got into the show. It wasn’t till I walked off stage I remembered how much it hurt!”

Touring the world and playing for thousands of new kids, the band are using old fashioned hard work to earn themselves some new fans. But do they worry that achieving mainstream success will alienate those fans that have been with them for years now? “Not really,” Darius says, and the band murmur in agreement. “A lot of the fans who have known us for ages know who we are, most of them have had a drink with us after a show at one stage or another, so they know that we’re not gonna change just because we’re more popular.” Chris jumps in. “That’s what you want as a band, to play to as many people as you can.” “And if they decide that they don’t like you anymore just because you’re popular, then they weren’t really real fans in the first place,” concludes Darius.

Newer fans of the band might be interested to know that the “Awesome Compilation” of the band’s name refers to a mix tape that vocalist Chris made years ago when the band were starting out. Drummer Andy suggested that the inventive title of the mix could also be a good name for their band. And so it was. But I wonder, what was on the tracklist of the original ‘Awesome Compilation’? “Mostly punk, punk rock, whatever I was listening to at the time,” replies Chris. “I can’t really remember now, it’s still sitting in my shelf at home, with all my other stuff.” In the event of the band becoming super famous, would he ever consider selling it on eBay? “I’ve always thought about that!” he laughs. Andy adds, “We could auction it off for charity or something.” But don’t expect to see it popping up for bidding any time soon. “I sort of think, I’ll sell it and make a bit of money, but then I can’t really bring myself to part with it. Maybe if we run into hard times. I’ll save it for a rainy day.”

Taking the idea to a new level, the band executed what they called ‘The Awesome Compilation Swap’ when touring the UK last year. Basically, punters heading to the show had to make their own mix tape or CD and bring it along to the show, receiving a discount on entry fee for their efforts. Compilations from one town would then be taken to the next stop on the tour, and swapped with the kids bringing in new contribution. As a result, kids all around the country were able to express themselves, and in return got to experience the taste of a likeminded individual. “When we were travelling around on the bus, we would just pull a CD out of the bag and stick it on,” says Chris. “It was good to hear what people were listening to, there were a lot of good ones.” “Some people cheated though,” pipes up Woody. “Yeah, there was one that we heard which was just one song by a band, I can’t remember who it was, but then the rest was just an A [British alt. rock band] album all the way through!”

But all in all, you can attest that your fans have pretty good taste in music… Darius smiles, “Well obviously, because they like us, I mean…” “It’s not just that they like us though, they like the same music that we listen to as well, so it’s cool,” commends Chris. Laughing and joking throughout the whole interview, I have to ask the guys – what is it like to tour with your brother for months on end? Does it ever come to blows and slamming doors in each other’s faces? “Sometimes it’s like we’re all just one happy family, and then sometimes it’s just like we’re mates, hanging out, and not brothers at all,” explains Woody. “And we couldn’t really fight on tour,” adds Andy, “because our parents would be upset!” “We wouldn’t want to disappoint them,” Darius concludes.