‘We had fun with the songs’

HOW IS LIFE IN THE BAND AT THE MOMENT?

“It’s good. It was interesting earlier this year.

“We had a fourth member who had some issues getting into the US, so we were down one member, then Eric had to drop out for a bit, so Bill and I kept going, just the two of us.

“We were the gruesome twosome for seven shows, and it was great. We were playing two-hour sets, getting out in the crowd and mingling, it was great.”

HOW WAS RECORDING THE SECOND ALBUM?

“It was a wonderful experience. We got off tour, hired a church upstate New York, and we were basically snowed in for five weeks.

“It’s owned by the friend of a friend, and he filled it with vintage instruments. We set up our gig and had a great time for five weeks. We did some extra bits and pieces, had 21 songs all in all, and then went to Bridgeport, Connecticut with another producer and put together what we had.

“We worked long hours, pushed ourselves and it was a really enjoyable experience.”

WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE MAKING THE RECORD?

“Capturing what we sound like when we play live, really. We have a very distinct sound on stage, and we wanted to get that down.

“We’re in agreement that we managed to do it too.

“The backbone of the album and the arrangements were done before we started recording the album, so when it came to recording we just had fun with the songs and put a bit more energy into them.”

ARE YOU PLAYING SONGS FROM BOTH ALBUMS ON TOUR?

“Yes definitely, we want to cater for the people who have the new album, but also those who haven’t got around the buying it yet.

“It’s mix and match. We mix it up for ourselves too, because we know that we’re going to be on the road for the next couple of years before we make a third album.”

HAVE YOU BEEN GETTING GOOD FEEDBACK?

“Yes, so far so good this year. People have really been enjoying themselves. We love playing live and hopefully that’s infectious.

DID YOU PLAY ON THE FIRST AUGUSTINES ALBUM?

“No, there was a previous drummer, Tommy, from the band Bill and Eric were in before.

“Tommy said he didn’t want to be in the band anymore, so when they released the album they needed a drummer and he recommended me, so I toured the album but didn’t play on it.

“It’s very special being on this second album after touring for so long. It feels like we finally consummated the relationship.

“For more information and ticket details go to www.weareaugustines.com