Jen discusses with Eric from Crash and Burn their new Double A-Side single Sever/Don’t Bury Me

Melbourne’s badass heavy rock outfit Crash and Burn today announce their Double A-Side single Sever/Don’t Bury Me, as well as a frenetic, heavy as an anvil on your foot filmclip for the lead single, Sever. The tracks will be available for online purchase from iTunes on April 1st.

Jen chats to Eric about their news and more.

Hi Eric,

Contrary to my first perception of your band, you guys are not new comers to the Music scene. You formed in 2006 and played live shows until 2011, then took a break to write your debut album. Now you have written two songs that have cast the spotlight of the music industry on you.

Firstly, how are you guys feeling at them moment with the hype and the imminent release of your Double A-Side Single Sever/Don’t Bury Me?

We’re stoked with the response we’ve received for the tracks. We’ve had messages from people all around the world saying how much they are digging the tunes, how they are downloading our previous work and asking about upcoming material. This has easily been the best response we’ve seen for a release to date, which is an awesome feeling.

Do you feel taking some time off and focusing on writing has improved your song writing?

Absolutely, taking the time from gigging to write our debut album was exactly what the band required at the time. Up until that point we had been looking on with admiration (and some jealously) at bands are able to keep their live show in tip top shape and at the same time writing, demoing and recording great material. We had to look inward and realize that what works for some, doesn’t work for all. With that in mind we knew we had to take some time off, knuckle down, give the material the time it needed and do it right.

Many Melbournian artists record at The Basin studios with Drew Dedman and Matt Darcy. How was that experience for you? “ Heaviest and Fattest sounds’ are mentioned in the press release.

Having Darcy and Drew behind the controls with their super chill, no fuss, “let’s see how this sounds” attitudes allowed us to be as creative and musical as the band has ever been. We were afforded the chance to experiment with some killer hardware and equipment resulting in a sound that we couldn’t be happier with.

You are described as ‘Melbourne’s badass heavy rock outfit ‘ can you describe to me why you are labelled like that? Would love to hear why!

That’s an interesting one. I guess the band writes what it writes and does what it does because it’s exactly what we all enjoy most. In that way it could be considered uncompromising and self-assured, which is badass.

Your cover for Sever/Don’t Bury Me is eye catching, no pun intended! It is really hard to take my eyes of the red face. Cleverly designed. Did you design the cover yourselves?

The cover art was designed by Robert Rankin, who has done all the artwork for the band since its very beginning. We got the pre-pro to Rob with some very brief guiding points and let him take creative control. Needless to say, we were blown away with the finished product.

 

Personally I really like the lyrics to Sever. I have felt like this a few times and have gone through that when I moved to another country. I severed many ties most of them negative influences on my life. Felt so good!

Was this song written from personal experience? If so can you share why?

It’s absolutely written from personal experience but to heave it down and wrap a defining rope around it would subtract from what I believe to be the biggest assets of the tune, its ambiguity and accessibility. If you find yourself engaged with the lyrics and relating to them, then that is what the tune becomes about and it’s a total success.

I can imagine that people will connect to this song. Have you heard any positive feedback now the music video has been released?

Absolutely, we’re received some truly kind comments. People have said that they enjoyed the mystery of the band in the clip along with the juxtaposition of the band and the second storyline shots.

I have watched the music video a few times now and love it. Where was it shot?  Did the filming go smoothly or were there any hitches?

The paddock shots were in the South East suburbs and the band shots were filmed at a rehearsal studio in the eastern suburbs. We leaned on our good mate Daniel James of Projectrvisual for the music video. He’s a true professional and the easiest guy in the world to work with, he made sure there were no hitches from the initial concept all the way to the final product.

The viewer can see and feel the emotion of the guy screaming and releasing his emotions. Smashing the mirror is a perfect image for this song. Very well played there! Who came up with the concept of the video?

We let the music guide the concept for the clip. The tune was sent to DJ at Projectrvisual who came up with the concept. We discussed the fine details over a few beers at the pub, and got into it. It’s taken us a long time to realize that sometimes the people who can most easily see the concept within the music are people who are a step removed from its creation. Just as with the creation of the cover artwork, we got a concise third party interpretation of the work that we’ve spent many months on, which in itself gets us really excited.

Thanks guys, I wish you well for the release of your Double A-Side Single Sever/Don’t Bury Me. It is always nice to interview bands from my home town.

Thanks for listening.

These two new tracks due for release April 1st are the product of studio sessions at The Basin studios with Drew Dedman and Matt Darcy co-producing. The results are heavy, confronting and uncomprimising.

Bassist Eric Stock is enthusiastic about the direction of the band and their sound. “The sessions we had with Drew and Matt produced some of the heaviest and fattest sounds we have ever punched out. We couldn’t be happier and can’t wait to show everyone these tracks!”

Formed in 2006, Crash And Burn are no strangers to the Melbourne music scene. With a style that encompasses elements from progressive, hard rock and metal the band finds an audience from a varied circle of listeners.

With the release of ‘Product’ (2010) and heavy gigging record the band secured themselves slots alongside some of Australia’s biggest and best rock outfits, including Dead Letter Circus, Grinspoon, Shihad, Cog, The Butterfly Effect, I Am Giant (NZ) and Mammal. 

Under the guidance of producer Drew Dedman (Superheist) the band recorded their debut album, a 12-track concept album called ‘Redesign’ at Rennisound studios and released it in 2014. Singles ‘Can’t Remember’ and ‘Shades’ saw radio play on Triple R and the filmclip appear on Rage.

The two tracks will be available in iTunes from April 1st, with launch show details and more videoclips to come from the band.