Nothing But Thieves: Learning How To Maintain Yourself On Tour

If you went to see Muse during their last Australian tour at the tail end of 2017 and got there in time to see the support, you probably rocked-out wholeheartedly (if you were in the standing GA area) or sat there in awe of the Essex rockers (if seated in the stands) and then immediately checked out their tunes on Spotify straight after the show. 

"We've played with Muse a lot now and, I mean, whenever they ask us back, it's humbling, you know," the band's frontman Conor Mason shares. "They're such amazing, amazing shows and to be a part of that — when you tour that level, and you support bands like that, it's, like, being on business flights [laughs]; it's just easy touring. You rock up and there's this huge arena set up and there's teams of 400, do you know what I mean? It's just ridiculous and they have, like, 20 trucks. But, in a way, it's nice, 'cause it kind of gets you to experience what eventually you hope you can tour like, you can live like. It's cool."

Although he loves playing "these huge shows... all 'round the world", Mason reckons there's "something magical" about playing London shows because he went to these venues, as a punter, when he was "a kid". "[It] kind of gives me butterflies and is an amazing feelin'," he extols. "So when we first played Brixton Academy at the end of last year — oh, no, sorry, the year before that, a long time ago now it was just, yeah! An amazing moment for me, 'cause I'd been to Brixton Academy 100 times as a kid. So, for me, that will never leave my memory in a way; if it all fell [apart] now, I'd be like, 'Well, you know what? I did my dream, in a way, I saw 'Nothing But Thieves' on the Brixton Academy sign.' It kind of blew me away so, yeah! That was a big highlight.

"We're playing Ally Pally [Alexandra Palace] at the end of the year in the UK and I've been there a few times, done that kinda long walk up the hill and, yeah! To be on that stage is insane. So we feel very privileged."

When asked about Nothing But Thieves' roughest touring stints, Mason offers, "The roughest touring was when we first started touring America, because the country is so big you have no choice - you just have to tour it all. So it's, like, when we first started touring America we didn't have any money so we'd be in a van and we'd be driving, god, like, 11 hours a day, you know, doing lots of shows to kind of keep it compact; so there's not too many rest days and too many hotels, sleeping in the van some nights - so that was tough. And you'd be on the road for, like, two months doing that and you'd come back and you'd just be fucked, basically."

Van life has gotta put relationships within the band to the test as well, surely. "Oh, yeah, for sure. There are definitely van arguments, but you can't help it; you're just living on top of each other. I think we had an argument in the van once about Mario Tennis and it was great," he laughs.

If you're yet to discover the Nothing But Thieves song Amsterdam, you really should do so pronto. The song starts innocently enough with gentle strumming at a mid-tempo, side-stepping pace, Mason's soothing vocal luring the listener into a false sense of security before it all detonates at the 45-second mark: "SO I HIT MY HEAD UP AGAINST THE WALL..." Cue: circle pit or wall of death mayhem! There's harrowing twists and turns in the arrangement, a menacing pulse ever-present in the background and you'll definitely hit repeat. Guaranteed. Actually, make sure you watch the music video, which features some super-impressive back-bending choreography.

Is Mason able to give us a bit of background on how this dead-set masterpiece of a single - which the band released back in May, 2017 - came together? "Jeez, it feels like a long time ago now," he ponders. "You know what? Personally, I always was in love with the song and no one else in the band was really feelin' it, but after listening to it again it kinda gave me this feeling of when I was a kid and I first listened to, like, Foos or something like that - that was upbeat. And I was like, 'Oh, we have to do something with this,' and I really pushed it until the very end. And then I remember we had this, like, A&R meeting with our label and they came into the studio and then we played Amsterdam and I, haha, said to my label, 'I think this is gonna be the first single,' and the others in the band were like, 'We'll see about that!' And I must've seemed, like, cocky, but I was just like, 'It's SO, SO GOOD!" And then everyone was like, 'Actually, yeah, this is wicked!' And actually it's done really well worldwide so I'm gonna pat myself on the back for the first time ever. I'm really glad.

"I only pushed it because I just believed in it so much; I just believed that a lot of people would relate to it, and people would enjoy the song, and I just kinda knew it gave me something, you know? It hit me somewhere, so I knew that that would happen; I always tend to think, 'If it strikes a chord with me, it will strike a chord with other people,' and if it strikes a chord with you and you're the one that's so close to it - you know, you've written it, you've been around it constantly - then it's gonna strike a chord with someone that's never heard it before. So I always kind of trust my gut instincts so, yeah! I pushed [for] it.

"We'd never had a full-blown, full-drum kit, upbeat song before; literally on the first album it just didn't really happen. So we really wanted that for the second album. And the song was just commentating on everybody's kind of obsession with themselves, haha, and with technology, and the song was just being able to say, 'I don't wanna be a part of that,' and, you know, one of my favourite lines in it is, 'Lookin' through a screen'; you know, when you're at a gig and the person behind is watching the gig through someone else's phone? And you just see that everywhere.

"I mean, I understand it's amazing to capture a moment and you have it forever," he continues, "but I just want people to capture it in their mind, because it never comes out good on your phone; it's always crackly and the sound is bad," he laughs.

We discuss how having a creative outlet can definitely help when dealing with challenging personal issues and situations, and Mason stresses, "Hell, yeah, for sure... Before writing and before the band, singing was always an emotional outlet with whatever I was dealing with; it could come out through my voice, you know, through my body. And luckily I still have that, you know. I'm 25 now and we also have the writing in the band, but the emotional output of every time I'm singing and every time I'm on stage - it's cathartic, you know? I would describe it as like having an argument or falling in love for an hour and, for me, at the end of it I always feel better; I feel relaxed and it's good."

We wonder how hard it is to replace these regular adrenaline rushes during breaks in touring. Can taking downtime be challenging sometimes? "I wouldn't say so much for me," Mason considers, "that's kinda my whole mantra on being in a band is, like, I can do it... What I do personally is, I kind of - the things I do at home, like, just little tiny things, like, I dunno, cooking breakfast and whatever, and whatever I do in my spare time, like, reading; if I can take little things like that onto the bus, into the tour life, it kind of eases me into touring. Rather than being at home, you know, 'I'm doin' nothin',' and then on tour you're going crazy and doing parties - that's how a lot of people live, whereas I just kind of maintain myself and, you know, when I go out at home it's probably about the same amount as when I do on tour so it's just like, yeah! I just try and keep things normal, for me."

This new sensibility comes after, as Mason himself admits, "It was all a bit crazy. I kind of lost myself for a couple of years and I kind of struggled with touring and, you know, got to that point where we were gonna quit and stuff, and break up; so I never wanna get to that point again. But, yeah! I definitely know what you're saying is right: that a lot of bands and a lot of individuals who come home, they go to sit on their couch with their cat and it's like, 'How do I be normal? How do I live?' [laughs]. I've got texts from certain people in the band who are like, 'I forget what to do when I'm at home and it's a struggle,' you know, and I've seen it with a lot of bands. So if you can just kind of keep a good mental stability, you can do it for a long time and that's really important for us." 

When asked whether he's reading anything good at the moment, Mason enthuses, "Yeah, I've got that new Philip Pullman book, 'cause I was obsessed with the Northern Lights series as a kid. There's a new one that's just come out, so I'm just gettin' my way through that."

Mason's vocal prowess is undeniable. His elastic vocal range is showcased wonderfully throughout the Nothing But Thieves output, but the band's cover of Jeff Buckley's Lover, You Should've Come Over is simply breathtaking. On when he first discovered he had an awesome voice, Mason points out his dad's a great singer. "I used to listen to him a lot, singing in the car or in the shower, and then I'd sing along with him, bits and bobs, but he was always the singer of the family. And then when I grew up, when I was about ten or 11, I think I did some school talent show - no, I was, like, nine and I was like, 'I quite enjoyed this.'" 

Can Mason remember what song he sang? "Yeah, what was it? I think it was MJ. No, it was The Jacksons, Blame It On The Boogie - I love that song!" Did he dance as well? Mason chuckles, "I think so but, yeah! So that was good. And then I just fell into it. I've never been like, [puts on a pompous voice], 'Yeah, I'm amazing' - I wanted to sing, it gave me a lot and all through my kinda teenage years from, you know, 18 I was just singing and playing constantly... I did, like, musicals, I did choir, I did band, I did solo stuff - I was just non-stop. I did jazz stuff. It was just anything I could get my voice into, really. I just sang, you know; it gave me a bit of life, really, and it still does! And that's the thing, it's like, in a way - without it sounding really, haha, simple - if I can just keep doing that and it makes me happy, then I'm set for life."

Mason has always been open about his own mental health challenges and wrote a wonderful piece for the #IAmWhole campaign in October last year, which was published in The Independent and concluded with the following astute observation: "I'd just like the public to recalibrate their expectations a little. Our ideas of rock stardom are narrow and outdated and we mustn't expect all entertainers to destroy themselves on our behalf. We should celebrate entertainers who remind us of our humanity, and humans can break under pressure."

So did posters of his idols/favourite bands grace Mason's bedroom walls when he was growing up? Of Michael Jackson, perhaps? He laughs, "No, I was obsessed with AC/DC and Led Zepp when I was a kid, so I had lots of their posters." When asked whether he's located AC/DC Lane and taken the obligatory selfie underneath the street sign during a previous visit to Melbourne, it doesn't seem like Mason knew this landmark existed. "No! I'm gonna have to go. I'll find it. That's my mission. Brilliant."

Nothing But Thieves tour from 26 Jul.