Make Your Mark

"Man, we've only heard really good things about Australia, and we're so excited to be finally coming down there – but we're really worried about one thing…” One can only wonder what has Living With Lions frontman Chase Brenneman so perturbed: snakes, sharks, long flights, a childhood encounter with a wayward boomerang? No, something far more serious: the price of beer. “We've been told that beer is really, really expensive down there, so we won't be able to drink much,” says Brenneman. “It could ruin the whole tour.”

Things quickly change when a relieved Brenneman is informed that he may have confused Australia with Finland. Having found out that beer is plentiful, strong and relatively cheap the black cloud hanging over his upcoming jaunt completely disappears and he gets down to telling us about the band's recent activities.

“Apart from getting ready for the Australian tour we've been working on some new songs,” he says. “Right now we've got about four tracks but we're taking things really slowly. In the past we've been pressured when we write and this time we're determined to do things at our own pace. We want to live with the songs for a while and make sure that they have a lasting appeal for us.”

As well as being proud of his own band's endeavours, Brenneman is also quick to give up some Canuck pride for his home country's flourishing punk rock scene. “We always get asked what's in the water in Canada for such a small country to produce so many punk rock bands,” he laughs. “DOA, SNFU, Propaghandi, Comeback Kid – Canadian punk and hardcore punches well above its weight. I'm really not sure what it is that makes our scene so strong. Cynics would probably say it's because we're so close to America but I don't think that's it. Canadians are a pretty diverse and independent bunch of people and I think that sort of attitude lends itself to people going out and starting punk rock bands. Also, we don't take things too seriously and that irreverent attitude also suits punk rock.”

Irreverence is a big part of Living With Lions' take on life. For those not aware, Brenneman explains where the band found their moniker. “It comes from an episode of South Park,” he explains. “Token goes off and lives with lions because he feels like an outcast. We're all huge South Park fans so when we came up with that it seemed perfect for us. Besides, it beat all the other crap we were coming up with at the time!”

As for the band's upcoming tour and appearance at Soundwave, Brenneman is anything but flippant. “This is an important tour for us and we're determined to make it a memorable one,“ he confirms. “Playing Soundwave means that we'll have the chance to reach so many people who have never heard the band before. Of course I love playing our own shows – and we'll be doing that on the tour – because you're performing in a small setting for your people, the fans that know every word of every song you've ever performed. But doing a festival is special because you never really know what can happen. I've been at festivals where I've wandered in to see some band just by chance and have walked out being completely blown away from them. There's an excitement about finding new bands like this that you don't get anywhere else; hopefully some people walk out of our Soundwave set as converts. If we can do that on our tour the band will be really happy.”

Living With Lions will be playing the following dates:

Saturday 23 February - Soundwave, Brisbane QLD
Sunday 24 February - Soundwave, Sydney NSW
Monday 25 February - The Annandale Hotel, Sydney NSW
Friday 1 March - Soundwave, Melbourne VIC
Saturday 2 March - Soundwave, Adelaide SA
Monday 4 March - Soundwave, Perth WA