The ground floor-level gaping mouth to the dingy heart of the Camden Underworld is offered by The World’s End, a pub so apocalyptic the toilets are doused in a doomed red, flicked with specks of UV horror. Behind the dinner lady kitchen lies a staircase not out of place in a horror novel which in turn leads to the murky depths of the venue. The World’s End is purgatory where alcohol and dodgy wallpaper while away the time before we are dispatched downstairs. Billy Talent detract from the general gothic doom and gloom. Fresh from playing to 85000 in Germany at the Rock AM Ring festival at the weekend, tonight’s intimate fan show is pretty much the equivalent of Chris Martin playing an acoustic set in a Starbucks. Evidently still riding off such a colossal high, guitarist equipped with one of punk’s most extravagant hair does Ian D’sa and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk take a breather to talk charity work, Billy Talent III and the fad of Ramones t-shirts that’s swept the UK for years…Dots: Looking at the punk mentality, having not played here for quite some time Camden seems like the ideal place to stage a tiny club show for the fans- walking around today everyone could be part of a Billy Talent crowd…
Aaron: Whenever we’re here we just try and spend as much time in all the neighbourhoods but Camden’s awesome. Just driving in today brought back a shed load of memories but it’s been an age since we played the Underworld.
Ian: We’ve played here once before, maybe about five years ago in support of the first album so times have changed slightly…
Dashes: What I find bizarre is that with the genres that you’re often categorised into, the fans that buzz around the bands could maybe be labelled as borderline obsessive. There have been people sat outside today from about three in the afternoon. Why is it that you feel you attract such devoted followers?
Ian: I’m not all that sure myself. The show’s been sold out for a while now and it’s a miniscule venue compared to last time at Brixton Academy so I guess kids want to get up close and intimate when seeing the band live and this is the perfect venue for that.
Aaron: We played Luxembourg last week and I noticed a bunch of people lining up ridiculously early there too so I guess it’s just that they really enjoy seeing us play.
Dots: Generically, lumping yourself into a single musical style, how would you describe the sounds of previous albums and indeed next month’s third record?
Ian: Primarily “rock”. The first album was a load heavier than the second and the third, released here on the 22nd July, pretty much returns to our heavy rock roots as well as some of our American grunge roots. The punk influence is still there but we definitely wanted to come up with a more groove-orientated flow.
Dashes: I think something that’s always been key to the Billy Talent sound and maybe why you’ve stood out in a crowded genre for so many years is the melodic tendency within that always shines through, no matter how screechy the vocals are and how distorted the guitars are. Yet without sounding disrespectful, is it difficult to see other bands fluctuate up and down festival bills for instance whilst you linger in the shadows of mainstream rock?
Dots: If you look at this year’s Reading bill for example, we’ve got a completely different slot to that which we’re used to, headlining the Lock Up tent so that’ll be fun. I feel we’ve always been consistent in where we play at festivals in England.
Aaron: I think it’s because we spend so much time meticulously piecing together our records, rather than simply pumping them out year after year. It’s a lost art form to spend three months on a song instead of spending three months on thirty songs so we really take our time and work on these songs until we’re completely satisfied. I guess that hinders you in the line ups but next year, Reading and Leeds, we’re always searching for the night time shows.
Dashes: The fan base this side of the pond seems to be both colossal and dedicated as well as maintaining a wide range of people you might not expect to grace the gothic innards of the Underworld. How important are these intimate gigs when compared with the British festival circuit, in which you’ve become more or less an annual staple?
Ian: These club shows are vital. We do them specifically for our fans and so where some of them can’t get to festivals, we try to make up for that by playing clubs that they can get to. The festivals are always amazing too to gain new fans and broaden the base and I think we’ve done that pretty efficiently over the past few years.
Aaron: We’re playing the Lock Up at Reading and Leeds this year as something of a thank you to our fans too though and when we saw the others playing on that stage with us, Anti-Flag and Alexisonfire, we’ve toured extensively with those bands. So when we found out that we could build this phenomenal stage around that, we jumped at the opportunity as it’ll be incredible not only for our fans but for us too.
Dots: Reading or Leeds?
Aaron and Ian: [in unison] Reading!
Dashes: You’ve become renowned for making the odd cameo appearance on stage with those bands and vice versa although not all that many collaborations have been committed to record. How much do you value such artistic gatherings?
Ian: It’s always fun finding yourself in a setting when you never quite know who’s going to be on stage at any one time. It’s the freedom and unity of the punk community.
Dots: Particularly compared with the competition demonstrated by nigh on every British indie band, keeping haircut tips to themselves… It’s refreshing to experience a community in which everyone’s pushing each other along supportively rather than down festival billings and NME ratings… However, regarding the image transmitted by punk today, the focus seems to be on how many Black Flag t-shirts you own rather than how many Black Flag records you’ve actually listened to…
Aaron: Definitely. And particularly referring to a younger generation of fans.
Ian: I think it’s a double-edged sword though when you see those t-shirts in Urban Outfitters amongst other stores; I think it’s a great shame that some of these inspirational punk bands have become a fashion statement and that’s the unfortunate part as people who’ve never listened to the records will go and buy the shirts. But on the other hand, people that are actually paying attention will see that shirt and go out and buy a record instead. Creating awareness for bands like that’s awesome and the same happened with The Ramones. Right until those dudes died, they were nowhere near breaking into the mainstream market. But now you see endless Ramones shirts and at least they’ve been given the recognition they deserved, taking to their throne in punk-rock history.
Dashes: Even though they’re being sold off in TopShop…
Aaron: Yeah, I don’t know how many kids who buy that stuff there buy The Ramones’ records…
Dots: I’m not convinced either… They should be demanded to name three albums at least before they’re deemed worthy of getting the t-shirt. Finally, particularly with Aaron being here, I wanted to ask about the charitable side to the band, not only in putting on delightfully intimate fan shows but also in support of MS and African development programmes. Every impact you’ve made on aiding others seems to have been in a tremendously positive light, without the clichés and self-benefit of Bono and other worldwide celebrities. Whilst it’s obviously vital for Aaron, do you see it as something vital for Billy Talent as a single entity and as a collective?
Ian: It’s in almost everything we do. Although we’re obviously not as important as a guy like Bono, I think if you have any power you should utilise it for positive things and that’s what we’ve done. We have the ability to influence a load of people, particularly our fans and so we do as much as we can to raise awareness for worthy causes. We went over to Kenya and filmed a documentary which is going to be shown in high schools across America so all those kids will see it and open up their minds to what’s really going on out there.
Dashes: Do you feel it would have been so easy to get involved had you not been touched so closely and personally?
Aaron: I think we would have been involved regardless. If we think something is a great cause and we get approached, it’s almost impossible to say no. All our tickets in Canada have a number printed on them so that kids having a hard time can ring it and actually talk to somebody. We know one of the operators and they told us that once we started that scheme, the number of calls went up and kids were starting to actually get stuff off their minds. But it’s really no skin off our backs.
Dots: I think it’s particularly inspirational that you can keep up with these three and seem so completely determined to prevent MS from hindAarong your lifestyle. Do you find occasionally that the disability makes touring and other commitments harder than they would otherwise be?
Aaron: I get a lot of rest and base every day around the hour and fifteen minutes that I have to play. So I sleep and then I eat and then I rest. Even if you’re a super-healthy person, touring can really beat you up if you don’t take care of yourself so I’ve just opened my eyes to being as healthy as I possibly can be. And I’m still not as healthy as I can be but I’m having fun. Music’s keeping me healthy! Staying healthy at Download this weekend might be a task- it’s so much fun. Loads of long hair and crazed outfits but a lot of debauchery. There’s nothing like it in England. For heavy music, there’s nothing like it. It’s awesome.
With Download now out the way and the dark side of the underground British scene conquered, the cross hairs and lasers are all on the charts.
The stupendous follow-up to Billy Talent II, Billy Talent III is let loose on these shores on 13th July and can be caught here.
Billy Talent- A Devil in a Midnight Mass
Billy Talent- Rusted From the Rain
Billy Talent- This is how it goes
Photo courtesy of Greendaii's Photostream
