Hopeless

Guitarist and general wise-guy Jase had the following to say...

Name, what you do in Hopeless and your favourite childhood movie? 

Jase, guitar and Young Guns 

Tell us a bit about the band, how you got together, any previous bands, current members etc... 

We’re a 5 piece hardcore band from Melbourne. All been in and out of various bands such as Tim and Brett in Beartrap, Chris in Cut Your Losses, myself in The Stallion and Dave plays in Carpathian. It started as I had no band, wanted to start something again and Tim and I became close friends through our girlfriends and started mucking around with riffs. I was originally going to play bass but Tim suggested a friend bassist so he asked Chris to join. Brett and Tim always talked about doing something different from Beartrap but when it ended it was a good opportunity to start writing together and Brett was on vocals. We didn’t have a drummer for a few months and Tim recorded the Drums on the Demo. Dave said he’d help out until we could find a drummer good enough for us and then we all realised it was him! 

How would you describe the band to someone who hadn't heard you before...

Melodic Hardcore – Punk with DIY ethics and POP sensibility?

There are a lot of bands taking a stab at the melodic hardcore sound at the moment, what separates Hopeless from the rest of the pack? 

We try to take a different approach to this sub genre by adding drone-ish riffs etc. Trying not to just fill the gaps between gang vocals and “mosh” parts. I guess we try to incorporate the different styles of music we like into each song. 

Your demo has been floating around for over 6 months now, is still a good representation of where the band is at musically?? 

It has grown a lot since the demo recording although they are definitely still relevant to our sound and thus the reason we re-recorded them for the full length 

The band recently recorded your debut full-length - "Dear World" - tell us a bit about the writing and recording process, who engineered it etc... 

The writing wasn’t unusual, we just bounced ideas off one another until we were happy with the end result. It was engineered in Melbourne by Drew Parsons whom is a friend of the band who has done some sweet work in the past (coincidentally did some stuff on the A Secret Death record). It was mixed by Jay Maas at the Getaway Group in Boston as his recent work (Verse, Shipwreck AD, The Carrier) stood out to us and he understood what we wanted to achieve in our sound. It was mastered at Crystal mastering in Melbourne because they knew how to master a hardcore record.

Trial & Error will be releasing "Dear World" in April. How did you get involved with Nigel and the label? 

Trial and Error has an amazing catalogue of current and recent releases by bands we all listen to and we asked if he wanted to jump on board and help with Dear World. Nigel is a great dude and has helped us out a lot. 

Who handled the artwork for the record? Does it tie in with the lyrical themes that are being explored? 

A friend of ours Adam Willet or ‘Blackout’ whom is currently living in Japan working. He has contributed a lot to previous Carpathian designs. He came up with the Demo design and knew which way we wanted to go with Dear World. And yes, it is definitely a solid representation of the lyrical themes.    

You guys are hitting the road with A Secret Death (QLD) throughout April. What are you most looking forward to from the tour? 

To hang out with friends in a van for 2 weeks!! To play with a different style of band and reach a new audience. Maybe to keep the ASD guys in line as I’ve heard they’re out of control! Haha.

What have been some of Hopeless' most memorable shows (for reasons either good or bad) to date? 

We played a house party in Richmond with The Broderick and Carpathian which was amazing! Small lounge room, close friends and stage dives off fire-places sums it up. Show at Snitch in Brisbane was good fun, we love you Queensland. 

If you could play with any Australian and international acts (past or present), who would they be and why?

Nick Cave because he is the man! Maybe Bjork because then Brett wouldn’t be the weirdest person at the show. 

What else have you guys got planned for 2009? 

We just want to do as much travel as possible, and get the Album songs out there. Write some new material ready for the next release either later this year or early 2010. 

Tell us the most ridiculous thing you've ever done for a buck? 

Me personally? … Swam across the Yarra! I did that for maximum points in a scavenger hunt though, not really any money involved.

Worst/most embarrassing onstage incident? 

1. Brett got his mic lead caught up and tied into his necklace in Adelaide.
2. I got off stage in Blacktown on the Her Nightmare tour with Brett to sike the crowd up and …… No one moved or did anything. From then on Jase = Fool!

Who are three bands that you think people should be checking out if they aren't already? 

1. The Hollow from Newcastle, they have some new recordings coming out on the DeadSouls label very soon.
2. Some friends of ours from Melbourne play in Vultures and they will have some songs up very soon so check their MySpace (There drummer is from Wales and is Amazzzzin’).
3. Thirdly, IRE from Melbourne featuring ex and current members of Mindsnare, Samsara, Hitlist and Within Blood, nothing else needs to be said. 

Any last words? 

I’m so busy at work and probably going to get in trouble for doing this! Haha. Check out our MySpace for Pre-order info with a limited run of shirts available. See you at upcoming shows! Thanks!

For everything Hopeless, head to the bands Myspace page or for more info on the upcoming record head to the Trial & Error website.