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.

Jettblack and Crashdiet @ The Joiners, Southampton 28/04/2013

JETTBLACK
CRASHDIET, WESTERN SAND + HOLLYWOOD TRASH @ THE JOINERS, SOUTHAMPTON 28/04/2013
Words by Charlotte Whittingham
Photos by Naomi Rigley

Thunderous drums, slick guitar solos and big hair were the main factors of Jettblack and Crashdiet’s sold out co-headline show at The Joiners for the last night of their tour.

The night kicked off with local hard rockers Hollywood Trash, influences from Motley Crue and Guns ‘N’ Roses were very clear through the band’s music. With powerful vocal work, rolling drums and original guitar solos, this young band definitely have the whole rock package and have the potential to climb high on the musical ladder with their catchy songs such as Mr Rock ‘N’ Roll and Diamond In Your Eye. Overall a great performance from Hollywood Trash and a fantastic way to start a fantastic evening, if you haven’t seen this band already I highly recommend it. The positive reactions amongst the crowd from beginning to the end of their set said it all.

Next up were Bournemouth Southern rockers Western Sand, this gig showed that they have most definitely grown as a band and how far they have come since I first saw them nearly two years ago. An atmospheric backing track built up anticipation amongst the crowd as they made their way onto the stage, starting with song Better Days really got the crowds going and their set was well underway. Tonight was the premier of brand new song Dog Without A Bone that started off quite ballad like, so when it sharply transitioned to the upbeat tempo I was taken aback as I did not expect it. Overall a fantastic performance from the boys, they now also have a new EP available click their link at the bottom of the page for more details.

As Swedish glam rockers Crashdiet made their way to the stage the cheers and chants were heard all over the venue. I hadn’t seen them live before so I didn’t know quite what to expect. Starting off with their new album opener Change The World got the crowds going instantly, they had a great stage presence and it was great how they interacted with the fans. There was a mixture of material from their latest album and their previous albums, from Riot in Everyone to Garden Of Babylon everything about Crashdiet’s performance on stage was flawless. From their slick guitar riffs to vocalists Simon Cruz’s charismatic stage presence, Crashdiet definitely did themselves proud and blew the roof off The Joiners. Judging from the crowd’s reaction I think Southampton would like to see them come back soon.

Last but by certainly no means least High Wycombe rockers Jettblack take to the stage. Seeing them previously, they usually tend to bring a stadium like atmosphere to small venues and Sunday night saw just that. Opening with anthem Two Hot Girls went down so well with the crowds that the mosh pits started early on. I could tell from that moment that Jettblack were well underway. Last year they released a new album Raining Rock so it was great to hear some of the new songs played live including my personal favourites Sunshine and Prison Of Love. I should also mention they filmed the live premier of Black Gold which bought a calmer tone to the evening. It was also fantastic to hear the classics such as Get Your Hands Dirty and MotherF*****. Closing with Raining Rock and their explosive cover of Danger Zone marked the end of an explosive show.

To conclude, this sleeze, glam, hard rock fest that happened at The Joiners it was truly an experience I will remember for a very long time. All the bands were fantastic and the atmosphere was just amazing, all I can say is if Crashdiet and Jettblack ever co-headline again I highly recommend going along.

Find Hollywood Trash on Facebook

Find Western Sand on Facebook, Twitter and their official website

Find Crashdiet on Facebook, Twitter and their official website

Find Jettblack on Facebook, Twitter and their official website