How did you get together as a band? Did any of you play in
other bands before you joined The Exposed?
We all played in bands before The Exposed.
Mark, Sim and our original drummer were in a band together, I played with a band for a few years
before. We started The Exposed back in 2005, so we were still pretty young. In my previous band, I
was a guitarist, but Mark and Sim were looking for a new bassist, so I borrowed a bass of a friend
and made the switch. Although I was joining their current line up, we decided to make it a new band
and The Exposed was born.
Owen joined us a couple of years back after drumming for the band Jaimison, although our paths had
crossed before, with Owen filling in for a short time on drums for my previous band.
You're playing the Warped tour this year - how long will you be on
the road (i.e. what dates can people catch you)?
We're out for the whole tour this summer, I think that's a total of 43 dates. If ya head over to
www.vanswarpedtour.com there's the full listings for the tour. It's a long stretch, and travels from
coast to coast of the USA, so for everyone out in the States, we'll be somewhere relatively near to
you this summer! And on that note, if ya don't mind 4 English punks sleeping on your floor, then give
us a shout!
Which city are you looking most forward to playing?
There's so many cities and states we'll be rolling through, so from Los Angeles, to New York and
everywhere in between, we're really looking forward to seeing a range of scenes, people and places.
I think Vegas is up there on our list, that's a place I think will be a lot of fun.
What other bands on the line up are you hoping to see?
There's a lot of bands to be announced that we don't know yet, and a couple we can't talk about until
it's been put up on the Warped site! But out of the bands that have been announced so far, we are
really looking forward to getting out on the road with Sharks. It's gonna be great to have other
English bands out on the tour with us, and we're excited to get to see them live every day.
Also it's gonna be awesome being out with The Aggrolites. Nothing goes better with hot summer sun
than some Dirty Reggae!
You've got a few UK dates before then though? Who are you playing
shows with and when?
Before we head out to the States, we're going to be touring our new record around the UK, and we're
lucky enough to have some shows lined up with Devil's Brigade and The Grit in March. And in May we
will be touring the UK with Hellcat ska legends, The Slackers, which is really exciting for us, as they're
a band we're really into. It's great to hear traditional ska and soul within the Punk scene, so we're
really looking forward to tearing it up with them around the UK!
Have you played outside the UK before?
We've been over in Europe on a couple of occasions over the last few years. We've been part of the
Rebellion Festival in Vienna alongside some great bands such as Argy Bargy and CockSparrer, and
we've done a few runs of headline European tours. Once through Germany and Holland, taking a few
days off in Amsterdam of course!
We've also toured through Eastern Europe which has been one of the most fun things we've done in
this band. If you want to find the true Punk Rock spirit at a show, places like the Czech Republic and
Slovakia are great.. From what you'll remember.. Beer is cheap and the people are awesome, they
really know how to get involved and have fun at a show.
In The Face of Resistance - your new album (debut in fact) - tell
us about it!
The writing process for the album was kind of staggered. A few tracks featured on the album were re-
recorded versions of things that had been on a previous EP, but the majority of the album was
written over a 2 month period in early 2010.
We took some time out from shows and concentrated on working with a whole load of ideas. Some
stuff that had been kicking around since Owen first joined, but mostly we came up with a lot of brand
new stuff intended for the record. We really wanted to bring in elements of different genres but still
stick to making a predominantly Punk Rock album.
There's bits of Ska, Reggae and even some Country thrown in, but all with our own approach and
strong Punk roots coming through on each track. We spent around 2 months recording in our home
town of Portsmouth, taking our time between sessions to really make sure we were happy with
everything, before the album was sent off to Denver, Colorado, to be mastered by Jason Livermore at
the Blasting Room Studios. It's the studio that has worked on albums for bands including NOFX, Rise
Against, Anti-Flag, Less Than Jake and a shit load more legendary Punk albums, so it was somewhere
we really wanted to give our record the finishing touches.
In The Face of Resistance really gives reference to the struggles that we came across on our journey
towards making this record. We are so thankful for the opportunities we've had as a band, and the
things we've been lucky enough to be a part of, but we have made a lot of personal sacrifices along
the way that aren't seen from the outside.
Especially within the scene we started in, a lot of people are quick to turn their backs on bands based
on decisions that are made. We feel we have always done what is best for us as a band, and to stay
true to the route we wanted to take when we started 6 years ago. We've always been DIY, and we've
always done everything for ourselves, so we are proud of this album, and it reflects a lot on coming
up against challenges, and making it out on the other side with your head held high.
What's the best thing about being in The Exposed?
I think I can speak for all of us when I say the best thing about this band is the people in it. When
we're not rehearsing, touring or writing, we're still together doing something. Being in a band with
your best friends really keeps things together, especially when you're out on the road.
Which other bands on the UK punk/ska scene would you recommend we
check out and why?
Sharks are definitely a band that we would recommend, and also our friends in Middle Finger Salute.
This generation of UK punk really has a lot to offer, and sometimes people are too quick to look to
the US for new music, when we have a lot of great stuff right here in the UK.
It's really important, right now more than ever, to make an effort to support local music scenes. It's
fucking hard right now to be in a band, and with the industry struggling in so many areas to keep
going financially, it's so important to support live music. The illegal download situation isn't going to
get better any time soon, so going out to shows and supporting your scene, helps so much towards
keeping venues open and making sure bands get paid enough to cover expenses.
Do you prefer playing normal punk gigs or playing acoustic shows?
We have a lot of fun playing acoustic, especially out on the streets as it takes things right down to
the roots and there's no better way to keep music raw than with acoustic street performances, but
you really can't beat the energy and feeling of a full band Punk Rock show.
Which bands inspire you?
There's so many bands that have inspired us for various reasons, from bands when we were growing
up, to the bands that inspire us today in the way we make our music.
Old school pop-punk bands really got us into the instruments we play, as is the same for most people
into Punk Rock around our age, so we will always have a lot of respect for bands like The Offspring,
Green Day, Millencolin and all of the bands from that scene.
There are different bands that are inspirational for a whole number of reasons. The Clash have made
a real impact on us for the way they experimented with elements of different genres, whilst lyrically
still remaining a Punk band.
And a lot of the Punk Rock bands on the scene today have really inspired us to keep going and put
everything we can into our live performances. It's a close community within this scene, and you need
to look out for each other, in an industry where a lot of people are too quick to try and fuck you over.
If you could play a show with any act past or present who would you choose?
For me personally, it would be The Clash. But that's more for the fact I would do anything to see
them!
By the end of 2011 what do you hope to have achieved?
By the end of the year, we really want to have laid some solid ground work in the US, and also,
established further plans to do a full European tour for the current album. As well, of course, keeping
the ball rolling here in the UK.
We are planning to finish 2011 recording our next album in the US, which we have already started
writing for.
