PIT TALK

TALKS WITH...
FEED THE RHINO
As Feed The Rhino have a reputation for reckless live
shows, Oz talks staying fit on the road, ripping of jeans
and HUGE walls of death...
You have just finished supporting Enter Shikari across the
UK, with most venues being completely sold out, how was it
playing at bigger venues?
It was incredible! Over the years we have been fortunate to play
some big indoor and outdoor venues for festivals, but this was by
far the biggest tour we’ve done. I think our show and performance
is much better in bigger rooms, and its a huge buzz!
To you how important is it for Feed The Rhino to give fans the
best live experience possible?
Its the most important thing! We put a lot of pressure on ourselves
to deliver a show every night, but most importantly we love
stepping it up and trying to push it further.
You’re known as one of the most destructive live bands in the
UK, how does it feel to be known for such a great live show?
Yeah, cant complain! We just have a lot of fun, and all really enjoy
being up there. I think people can tell that. It also helps that Lee
does a great job as a front man!
Hardcore shows have come under fire for being too
dangerous with things like crowd killing becoming big talking
points. Do you think there is more to a hardcore show than
that?
I personally dont really get all that crowd killing stuff, and its
certainly not something we advocate. We want everyone to have
fun, get involved and be considerate of others in the crowd too.
We’re bringing back push-pits haha!
You’ve played up and down the UK for the best part of 5
years. Do you think the UK hardcore scene is in a good state?
I think the UK music scene in general is thriving at the moment, in
all genres. With heavy music being played on daytime radio, and
more and more people accepting it, its an eciting time to be in a
band for sure!
Do you see yourselves as one of the frontrunners in the UK
hardcore scene?
Absolutely not! I don’t think we are or have ever been a true
hardcore band, in the sense that the genre is quite defined and
I dont think we have that sound, but maybe use elements of it
in places. I consider FTR to be a heavy rock band with lots of
different elements and dynamics.
12 PIT TALK
After selling out most of your UK shows in October, how
important is it for fans to keep coming out to your shows as
well as buying merch?
We just want to put on a gig that people wound want to come
out to. Its amazing how many people came and supported us in
October, and we hope we keep delivering good shows and good
music so people want to! Merch is important. Its really what keeps
a band afloat on tour.
Your last album, The Sorrow and The Sound, kept to your
hardcore roots but it also showed us your melodic side, how
important is it for a hardcore band to keep evolving?
We always want to evolve and try to further develop what we
do. Its worth noting that on all our albums we have had mellow/
ambient sections and its something we’ve worked hard to
incorparate into the heavier stuff too. Ultimately, we just write
music we want to play! The minute we try and write to keep others
happy, I think it’ll stop sounding like Feed The Rhino.
You’re associated with many well known alternative clothing
brands. How important is the band’s image? What’s your
favourite brand of clothing?
I think its important that we look like a band/ unit, and really
appreciate all the great companies that let us wear their great
clothes!
As we know Lee likes to bare all when playing live. Do you
have any strict training plans to stay in shape whilst on tour?
Now that all of us (bar Sam) are 30 plus, we are definitely a bit
more health conscious and try to get in shape before we head out,
just so that we can perform how we want without passing out half
way through haha!
Lee stays healthy on tour, and I think a lot of that is so he can
conserve his voice for all the shows.
To readers who are in bands too, which equipment/brand
would you recommend?
I’d recommend getting the best and most reliable gear, nothing
worse than things breaking during a show! For bass players,
I really recommend the Darkglass stuff; Sounds huge and is
well built.
Words: Laura Herbert Photo: Matt Bromage
What brands do you use and how has it influenced your
sound?
My main bass is currently a Fender Jazz which is smashed
up but sounds great and feels comfortable and familiar. I
use a Line 6 wireless into my board which is mainly a tuner,
Digitech synth pedal and Darkglass B7K preamp. That goes
into my Peavey Tour head and an Ashdown 8x10 cab. I think
I’ve always liked a certain sound but the equipment above has
helped me get closer to the tone I want. I have been using a
more driven sound now that I used to.
What bands have you come across that you feel are the
future of hardcore?
We all listen to so many different genres/ styles/ bands etc, so
its really difficult to say as Hardcore is quite a specific genre.
There are a huge amount of talented UK bands pushing the
envelope at the moment though, so do yourself a favour and
go to some shows and check them out!
What’s the craziest thing you’ve witnessed at one of your
shows?
Thats hard to say as there have been so many! Ive seen
broken bones, HUGE walls of death and circle pits, people
doing flips and dives off stages and PA systems! Most nights
we’ll see something cool and smile at each other about it.
What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s happened at
one of your shows?
Haha, personally it has to be when we first played Camden
Purple Turtle supporting A Ghost Of A Thousand. As we got
on stage to line check, I ripped the crotch on my jeans so
bad, that I had to basically gaffa them back together and
it ended up looking like I had a pair of weird pants over my
jeans, kinda like superman or something. That was also
the first show we had major UK press at to review and take
pictures, which was pretty soul destroying.