As a part of our Hassle Records Week we sent a few questions over to We Are The Ocean and the band was kind enough to get back to us within a few hours with their responses. We’d just like to say a massive thanks to We Are The Ocean, and without further ado here the interview is for you:
Alt-UK: You recently played the Slam Dunk Festival in Hatfield/Leeds, complete with Dan climbing a tree and hitting the pit (at the Hatfield show at least); what did you make of Slam Dunk this year and how did you feel that the shows went playing the festival for a third year running?
WATO: Slam Dunk was and always is awesome for us! We have such a great time because so many of our friends play so we always have great weekend hanging out and partying, and the shows themselves are always incredible because the kids that go are so into it and enthusiastic, they’re a really nice crowd to play to!
This year was definitely no different, we had a blast. Hopefully we can make it 4 years running and play next year!
Alt-UK: In 2010 you’ve already toured with the likes of Underoath, Thrice, and Madina Lake; you’ve already played alongside some pretty big names but if you could tour with any band/s in the world, which would you most like to hit the road with?
WATO: I’d love to tour with Rise Against or Thursday. They’re big influences for us and i think we’d be recieved really well amongst their crowd. And obviously they both play very big rooms which is also a massive bonus!
Thrice and Underoath both would have been in the answer to this question if you’d asked us 6 months ago. We feel so lucky to have tourwed with those 2 bands.
Alt-UK: Continuing on the subject of touring, what has been your favourite gig to date?
WATO: I can’t really pin point one stand out gig but definitely ones of note are Download Festival last year, Bamboozle in the States last year, all 3 years at Slam Dunk, and probably every show on our headline tour last year.
Alt-UK: Which bands would you say have most influenced the We Are The Ocean sound?
WATO: Rise Against, Thrice, Underoath, Foo Fighters, Refused, Hot Water Music
Alt-UK: You released your debut album ‘Cutting Out Teeth’ back in February; how pleased were you with the way that the album turned out and is there anything that you feel you’ll be doing differently for album number two?
WATO: We feel extremely positive with the turn out of Cutting Our Teeth, its been recieved really well and the feedback has been amazing. We’re all super proud of it. The second album is going to be very different though! We’ve already demoed some tracks for it and it sounds a different band!
Alt-UK: Hassle Records is the label that released your ‘Look Alive’ EP last year and also your debut album this year; what was it that made you feel Hassle was the right label for you?
WATO: All the guys are so down to earth and you can tell that they really love the bands that they work with, its not just a business and quick ways to make money, they really believe in the bands that they sign and want a long term relationship with those bands and we really admired that.
Alt-UK: You’ve already released two singles from the album (‘Look Alive’ and ‘These Days, I Have Nothing’), and last week you posted a preview of the new ‘All Of This Has To End’ video on your YouTube page; when can we expect that one to be released and are you looking forward to getting the video out there?
WATO: Yeah ‘All Of This Has To End’ is the 3rd single, its out in July. The video will be out very very soon, it was done by Sitcom Soldiers, who we worked with on the videos for ‘These Days, I Have Nothing’ and ‘God Damn Good’
Alt-UK: If you could record a video for any of the remaining seven tracks from the album, which one would you most like to put to film?
WATO: I think ‘This Is Called My Home’ wold be pretty cool, we wrote that about being in a band and playing on stage so the film would just be a really good feel good story about how much we love what we’re doing.
Alt-UK: You’ve got a UK tour coming up in October, what’s next for you as a band though and can we expect another album in 2011?
WATO: Yes definitely, as i said, we’ve already begun writing and demoing for the next release, we’re looking at recording it at the end of 2010 so it will definitely be out some time in 2011.
Alt-UK: Heading into the future we at Alt-UK would like to wish you all the very best of success as a band; is there anything else that you’d like to mention to our readers that we haven’t already covered?
WATO: Thanks to everyone who bought our album and is supporting our band, and thanks to sites like yours who give bands a great platform and a way of reaching out to new fans, thanks!
UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
