Melbourne metal outfit Empire recently served up the video clip for the track ‘God Favors The Brave‘ which appears on their debut EP which they are beginning to tour. This week we catch up with bass player Luke from the band in The Hotseat. Expand this post to take a read of his answers and check out the video if you are yet to do so.
THE BASICS
Name : Luke Baird
Band : Empire
Job In Band : Bass
Website Address : www.facebook.com/theempireofficial
HOME
Hometown : Melbourne
Hometown is best known for : Sport and Music
Best venue in your hometown : The Palace
Favourite show you’ve seen in your hometown : Rage Against the Machine at Festival Hall
Favourite show you’ve played in your hometown : Yah Yahs January 13 this year, it ruled!
THE BAND
How did the band first come to exist? Josh and Oresti had been playing together for a while and had decided to go down a different track after discussing their love for metal. They brought in good friend Nick shortly after and formed Dead Lovers Lane. Kota and I joined the band late 2011 and this is when we decided to change the name to Empire.
How long has the band been going? Dead Lovers Lane started late 2010 but Empire has been a band since 2012.
Any particular story behind the name? We really wanted a name that would stand out from the pack, we wanted to get away from the whole 3 word band name that most bands are opting for today.
What’s your most recent release? Tell us a little about it… We are self releasing our first EP ‘Secrets’ it’s a five track melodic metal release which we are all very proud of. We cross over metal riffs with catchy rock choruses
Got a personal stand out achievement of your band to date? We recently signed on for 12 months with The Inner Light Agency in the USA, we hope to that this will allow us bigger and better opportunities next year. Should be a big 2013
OFF THE STAGE
What was your first introduction to music that made you think seriously about playing it? My brother is a huge music fan and I happened to share a room with him so it made it very easy to access a wide variety of new music. I remember hearing Faith No More and just being mind blown at the sound of Mike Patton singing ‘The Real Thing’.
Any particular band / album or song that you personally credit as a major influence? I think Nirvana really got me wanting to play music, I remember getting my first guitar and just sitting in the lounge room at home and watching ‘Tonight Live Sold Out’ and mimicking Kurt’s guitar parts. ‘Nevermind’ is still one of the greatest albums written in my opinion.
Your first band name, and what style did you play? Hold Your Fire, we were a straight up skate punk band, we basically just ripped off Pennywise.
Most prized music related item you own? My 8×10 ampeg fridge, I never really thought I would own such a great bass amp. Had always played on 4×10 amps which never really stacked up to this beast!
When you’re not doing band related stuff, what are you usually found doing? I love the Essendon Football Club, you would most likely see me at most of their Melbourne games or down at Windy Hill having a feed!
The thing you most look forward to just before a tour is… Its weird but simple, the simple fact you don’t have to pack up your gear after your set like you would in Melbourne. Most shows you will have to drive your gear to the show and pack it up and drive home. Playing on tour you borrow most gear and you get to relax after the show with a few brews because some other sap has to drive!
ON THE STAGE
The thing you least look forward to before a tour is… The drive home, after playing Sydney you know you have 9 hour drive to reality..its not gonna be fun at all.
When on offer, what’s your one must have item on the rider? BEER, staple for most bands! Its always good to have a few beers after a good set to wind down
Favourite place you’ve toured… and why? Adelaide, I love that city. It’s like playing in Albury/Wodonga it’s that small. Plus the people are pretty relaxed and the drinks are cheap!
Most memorable show you’ve played? and why? My first show with the band was at Yah Yah’s earlier this year. We played to a packed room and people were singing along to our songs. It made it all worth it.
Got a favourite song to play live? I love playing our track ‘Half Way Dead’. It’s pretty damn heavy in most parts but has a very catchy melodic chorus that I think people will love. It’s the first track on our upcoming EP.
Any embarrassing on stage moments come to mind? We have been pretty lucky at this stage, we haven’t had any slip ups.
Any pre-show rituals? Stretch, maybe have a drink just to take the edge off. The other guys are doing vocal warm ups so I just try and relax.
What do you find is the hardest aspect of touring in a band today? Travel, sitting in a van all day to play 30 mins to 45 mins of music. Saying that, its definitely worth it!
RIGHT NOW
Last song you listened to? Hey Mister, Miss May I…
Last album you acquired? I picked up the new Buried in Verona album Notorious. Album is so good.
Which band or album is currently on high rotation? Miss May I, At Heart is ruling my stereo system, bit of a change up from the shred of monument but still very good.
Tell us an up and coming band or artist you think we should go and listen to right now? Seconds Before Sunrise from Adelaide. We happened to invited them over for some shows and they blew us away. Good people.
What’s on the cards for the next few months for the band? We will be releasing our first EP, we have our first run of merch in and we have just released our first music video so building on that by playing everywhere we can.
IF ONLY…
You can pick any one album for your band to cover in full, what would it be and why? I would say An Ocean Between us by As I lay dying, the album is a heavy influence on this band
You can pick any one band / artist to cover one of your albums in full, what would it be, and why? As I lay dying, they would up our songs with more shred.
One band you wish you were able to see live but never had the chance? Nirvana, I was 12 or something when they came to Australia so never had the chance to go see them live.
One venue you have yet to play that you would love to? The Palace, I have seen so many good shows at this venue and frequented it a lot back in the day for Goo night club. It has a great stage and light set up.
The chance comes up to fill in for a member of a band for one tour, which band would it be, and why? I would love to fill in on bass for Parkway Drive, they are legit huge and play so many great shows everywhere around the world. They seem very laid back aswell.
A headline tour overseas comes up, tell us two bands you’d take along to support your band. To support us, well I would love to take our mate from Adelaide ‘Seconds before sunrise” due to their party skills and I would love to have As I lay dying on the shows aswell just so I could watch them play every night.
PLUG TIME
Got any final words? We will be in Sydney to play Venom nightclub August 18, we will be releasing hard copies of our EP at this show for the first time for people in NSW.
