This Northern Ireland trio are currently supporting Fightstar on their UK tour, but thankfully Colin Robinson, the band's drummer, took time out of his busy schedule to spare a few minutes for eGigs! We chatted about the band, their forthcoming album and their current tour....
How long has In Case Of Fire been together?
We got together as three piece In Case Of Fire in 2005, but we were in a four piece band previous, so weve been playing together for years! It's quite often the case that bands from Northern Ireland are together for years before they get a break in the UK. People tend to think you have sprung up overnight!
How would you describe In Case Of Fire in three words?
Integrity, honest and grand! Grand because we like to make a grand, progressive rock sound so that we sound loud and important! Actually, we like to make as much of a racket as we can, just so that we sound big, and if not bigger than our previous band. We are far better songwriters and players than we ever were before, so we can flesh it out!
How do you feel about your debut album 'Align The Planets' which is out on 11th May?
We originally recorded the album in our house, but when we got our debut with our management company we rerecorded it with Gil Norton as producer. That was an amazing experience as he was an absolute legend! 'Align The Planets' is very important to us, being our debut. It covers lots of important topics like wrongful imprisonment - both personal and impersonal topics. Not throwaway topics though, as we want people to sit up and think about the things that we are thinking about.
I saw you live at Birmingham O2 Academy 2 this week. The first thing that popped into my head when I saw you play was a comparison with Muse and Matt Bellamys vocals. What do you think about being compared with the likes of Muse and Queens Of The Stone Age?
Being compared to people like Muse is a great compliment. As with all new bands though, journalists are trying to compare us with contemporaries. Whilst we love Muse and Queens Of The Stone Age, we are not trying to be like them. In the early years you draw on influences and then craft them into your own sound. When Muse first came out they were always being compared to Radiohead but now they are known for their own sound. We will just keep on crafting our sound until we can accomplish that.
What was it like winning the MTV2 Spanking New Award in 2008, beating people like Adele, Foals and Black Kids?
We won that award at the start of last year, but we still don't know why we won it! It doesn't really mean anything as it didn't make us sky rocket we just spent the year recording the album and doing grand work. Mentioning the award on our press releases does make people sit up and notice, but it certainly didn't fast track us to anywhere!
What was your first headline tour like last year?
Doing a headline tour was just one of those things, we'd been out supporting other bands before, so it was a natural progression. At one point our management did ask if we wanted to cancel the tour, but we just wanted to get out there and get one under our belt. Even if we only had 10 people there, some of them would come back to future concerts! I really enjoyed the Southampton gig and playing the Sugar Mill at Stoke. Sometimes we were virtually playing to the support bands, but once we hit the stage we were there to play 110% and sweat blood for half an hour. People were there to remember us, and remember us they would!
Last year you played Download, Oxygen, T In The Park, Rock AM Ring and Reading / Leeds festivals. Which one was your favourite and why?
We did a heck of a lot last year and crossed a lot off our list! T In The Park was our favourite, as they look after all the bands on the bill really well. They offer really top class treatment and it's a really good festival too. Im really looking forward to festivals this year as they give you such a great buzz.
What festivals are you playing this year?
Download is confirmed, but we have others in the pipeline so fingers crossed!
What sort of reaction are you getting as a support act in the current Fightstar tour and how do you think you are perceived?
Fightstar it's just one of those tours we got offered! When we were support to bands like Queens Of The Stone Age, we were worried about getting labelled as a metal band. But, we don't want to get pigeon holed as it's not the true demographic that we intended to hit. We don't even own a metal album between us!
We find that the Fightstar fans are more open to our music than when we've played Kerrang etc. So far it's been going really well. It's set us up for our album release and our recognition has gone up a fair bit. However there are still a lot of people out there that don't know us, yet! Hopefully people see us as 3 guys that go nuts on stage! We're a little bit different and a little bit left field. I hate bands that come on stage with a stand up comedy routine. In Case Of Fire is there to play music and youre going to listen! At Birmingham last night I think we turned a few people around.
What's the best / worst thing about being on tour?
The worst thing for me and Steve, my brother, is being away from our loved ones for that amount of time. The best thing well it's not about being famous and its certainly not about the money, it's the fact that we can make music and be creative. We can get up every day and know that we are playing a gig that night. It's the best feeling in the world and I feel very blessed! If it all ends tomorrow, so be it, but I'm really enjoying the moment!
Where do you see the band in five years?
I think we will just keep our work ethos up and keep our heads down. To still be in a band in 5 years would be grand, but it will only be because we have worked hard. If weve moved up a level by then, that's great!
You can see In Case Of Fire as support band on the current Fightstar tour. Alternatively, check them out at Download festival this year, or any others that they get confirmed for in the next few weeks! eGigs thinks that In Case Of Fire is one band to watch out for!
article by: Michelle Owen& Tricia Williams
published: 01/05/2009 11:07
FUTURE GIGS
sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.