Interview with Eric Young and Martin Sweet from Crashdiet

Before Crashdiet took to the stage with Jettblack at Southampton’s show I got to have a chat with Eric Young and Martin Sweet from Crashdiet. Here we talk about their new album, how the tour has gone and what their fantasy day would consist of. Here is a transcript for the interview and you can listen to the interview here.

Charlotte:      Hi there I’m Charlotte Whittingham representing Loud Stuff.com and Voice.FM. I am at one of my favourite venues in Southampton with Eric and Martin from Crashdiet. First I would like to say welcome back to the UK, reading the information on your website this is your first time in Southampton is that correct?

Martin:           Yes that is correct.

Charlotte:      What have been your first impressions of Southampton so far?

Martin:           Looks like a small town, I walked around and it is a nice town. I heard it’s sold out tonight so we’re looking forward to it.

Charlotte:      So this tour is promoting your new album Savage Playground, it’s a fantastic album by the way, would say it has been well received by public, fans and critics?

Eric:               Yeah I would say that it has, people seem to really enjoy the album so that’s cool. There is always that nervous feeling when you release an album and you wonder what people will think.

Charlotte:      So for those living under a rock and have never even heard of Crashdiet, describe Savage Playground in three words.

Eric:               Energetic, true and raw.

Charlotte:      So this is the last night of the tour, how has the tour gone so far?

Martin:           Over expectations actually, it’s been really packed at every venue. We played in the US for a few days and the attendance has been up and down. It has been great to play to huge crowds.

Charlotte:      How do crowds in the US compare to the UK?

Martin:           They are quite similar, they’re loud. Both in the US and UK can have great crowds.

Charlotte:      What can we expect from tonight’s show? Why should we get excited?

Eric:               Well tonight’s going to be one of those letting loose shows.

Martin:           There’s going to be a lot of nakedness

Eric:               That tends to happen on the last night of the tour.

Martin:           On the last show of the US tour, Eric played the whole show naked, so we’ll see who will be naked tonight.

Charlotte:      You’re touring with Jettblack, one of Britain’s great up and coming rock bands, how has it been touring with one of Britain’s upcoming rock bands?

Eric:               They are really nice guys and cool music.

Martin:           It’s a nice package, we seem to have the same kind of audience.

Charlotte:      Regarding glam rock how does the scene in Sweden compare to here?

Martin:           It’s flourishing here [in the UK], in Sweden it flourished few years ago. I wouldn’t say it’s going down hill, but cooled down slightly. We still have big crowds in Sweden and people are re-discovering it here.

Charlotte:      So you could say glam rock is making a come back from the eighties, would you agree?

Martin:           Yeah yeah. We’re not a retro band, we like to take our favourite influences from the eighties to make great new stuff. Hopefully we have our own identity and I think we have that.

Charlotte:      A few icebreakers, what possession could you not give up? It doesn’t have to be expensive.

Martin:           My girlfriend, I couldn’t sell her or give her away.

Charlotte:      Between touring and writing albums, is there anything you like to do?

Martin:           Not really ermm.

Eric:               Your girlfriend.

Martin:           Oh yes my girlfriend. 

Charlotte:      How would you spend you dream twenty four hours with no restrictions?

Eric:               On a boat.

Martin:           I’ll go to the moon, get one of those space ships.

Charlotte:      You’ll be another man to land on the moon.

Martin:           No just circle round it for hours and then come back.

Charlotte:      You could also leave a mark to say you were there like a Crashdiet flag that will always be there. And finally what are your plans for 2013?

Martin:           We’ll be touring the rest of Europe, then go back home for two weeks. Then embark the rest of the European tour and we’ll be touring in Japan for the first time. See what’s happening over there, doing two dates there and then a few summer gigs at festivals. Then I’m up for writing new stuff.

Charlotte:      Thank you very much Martin and Eric for doing the interview today.

Find Eric and Martin with Crashdiet on Facebook, Twitter and their official website.