Captives

Locals Captives released their well-received EP late last year and are now immersed in the demo stages for their upcoming debut album. Beforehand though, the band performs at Night Of The Living Shred Fest this Saturday in Melbourne. Killyourstereo.com sat down with vocalist Aaron Damon to discuss it all.

Hi Aaron, Kane from KYS. Thanks for the interview.

Hello Kane. Always welcome, my friend.

Last time with spoke with you guys was late last year following the release of your EP. How has 2015 been for the band so far?

Really good, man. We started demoing new tracks in January for our first album so it's been a bit of a juggle doing that and shows all over the place as well but I think we have set ourselves up now for a solid year in 2016.

You guys have Night of the Living Shred scheduled for this Saturday. It’s a good local line-up. What can we expect from Captives on the live front?

Yes. How mad is this going to be right. Really stoked to be able to be a part of the first one and pumped to see our mates in Born Lion shred their new record. The last time we did a show at the Bendigo a pint of beer went down the fold backs and shut down the P.A system, which resulted in a Johnny Cash sing along until they got it going again, so I’m guessing shit like that will happen again. Also very keen to catch Brittle Bones, Pagan, Grindhouse and heaps of other rad bands.

As you said, you’ve been in the studio. How is everything coming along?

We almost have all the band stuff tracked. It's sounding gnarly as fuck. I just got home from work and I’m heading to the studio now to have a listen to some more guitars that the boys have been doing today. Recording at The Studios in the City in Melbourne with Tom Larkin again, and through a really sick EMI Neve console, which is going to make us not sound shit. But really happy with the new songs. Will have a new Single out sometime in late October.

For yourself personally, now that the band has become much busier, what’s it like balancing band commitments with outside priorities like work?

It’s pretty good for us. We all have jobs that work around what we do with music and understand what we are trying to do with the band. Bands don’t make much money sometimes...actually most of the time, so you really need that day job to help pay the rent and eat. We also have great supportive people around us who leave food on our door step from time to time.

On the topic of local music, what would you like to see improved in the domestic scene to help up and coming bands?

When I was younger there seemed to be a lot more opportunities for young bands to do shows. We used to play underage band nights and outdoor events and it was cool to be a part of that community. We should give the young kids a platform to get out and play some shows and give them a chance to explore a passion for music. Tomorrow's stars.

You’ve played quite a few shows in 2015, what have been some of the biggest lessons you’ve learnt from being on the road?

Eat good food. If you do more that three shows in a row make sure you don’t party every night. Organise a designated driver before you get to the bar, don’t book planes at 6am, take thongs and towels because backpackers are bad, be nice, and have fun.

Favourite album of 2015 so far?

I really liked Marilyn Manson's new album when it came out. He killed it at Soundwave as well. And I have found some Blueline Medic stuff, which I’m really digging at the monment too from way back.

What bands do you think are pushing the local scene forward with their unique style of music?

My Echo, Dividers, Day Break, Bornlion, Verticoli, Brittle Bones, Sinking teeth, Party Vibez, Suiciety, Super Best Friends, Release The Hounds, Deadjoe, The Wrath, Kill The Apprentice, Gayparis, Gatherer…man there are so many.. but there's a few off the top of my head that you should check out.

Catch Captives performing at Night of the Living Shred this Saturday: