Caulfield

6 February 2014 | 9:02 am | Staff Writer
Originally Appeared In

Caulfield are only going up. Since their inception the rise has been clear and full of intent. The band now brings their metalcore dynamic to the road with a support spot on the upcoming iwrestledabearonce Australian tour. We spoke with clean vocalist and guitarist Andrew Gill about the upcoming shows and everything else happening in the world of Caulfield.

Caulfield are only going up. Since their inception the rise has been clear and full of intent. The band now brings their metalcore dynamic to the road with a support spot on the upcoming iwrestledabearonce Australian tour. We spoke with clean vocalist and guitarist Andrew Gill about the upcoming shows and everything else happening in the world of Caulfield.


As an easy introduction, sum up into one paragraph how 2013 was for Caulfield?

 

2013 was a funny year, you know. We recorded the album and had a member change over, that slowed us down a bit. We lost our original drummer and our guitarist so we found a new drummer, Matty D and a new guitarist and got back into it. [We] played some more shows and reinvented ourselves. It's kind of like with a new member it's still the same band at its core still. The high point was definitely releasing our debut album, 'Vanity'. But I'm more excited for 2014!

 

Well, it's already shaping up to be a great year, you've got the iwrestledabearonce tour coming up; just how pumped are you for this?

 

I'm pretty excited, I'm absolutely stoked! It's not just about playing with such an influential band like iwrestledabearonce, it's getting to tour with them around the country and just the shows themselves. I mean we're playing places like Bang, OLP, Fowlers Live, Basement; just some great AA shows and 18 shows and we get to do it all with them. I'm so stoked!

 

So tell us your favourite IWABO song?

 

I really like 'Boat Paddle', the new one they have. There is some discussion of whether or not the new singer is good but I love it.

 

What is your favourite song to perform live?

 

It changes like every set. I really like 'Living in Fear of Loss' that really goes off. 'Sweet Defeat' there's always a great response to that one. If it's a heavier show, 'GYST' just really hits that spot where everyone just goes fucking mental. We sometimes play a few songs from our first EP and if it is a room full of people who have been fans for awhile, everyone just jumps up the front and sings along and that's always fun.

 

How about the hardest sing to perform live?

 

I reckon 'GYST'. We always chuck that at the end of the set and I do clean vocals in the band and by the time we get to it, the chorus is kind of high and it pushes me to my limits. Guitar wise, it's a bit all over the shop.(laughs)

 

Who writes the lyrics in the band; do you or does Mahan [screams]? Is it a joint effort?

 

Well, I kind of write the main chunk of the music. Like, I'll write the bulk of the songs then the over guys chip in with their parts more.  I craft what you would call the skeletons of the songs. As far as lyrics go, I write most of that too. But Mahan and I both weigh in on it. I'll come up with an idea maybe and say to him 'this is what I'm going for' or 'it'll be cool to write on this topic' and he jumps in with his ideas. With our situation, and I reckon with a lot of dual vocalists, it is a collaborative experience.


We're always [creating] ideas together and doing rehearsals and shooting emails back and forth to get these ideas down pat and after that, we get together just the two of us and practice them. That's how we refine the song's sound and whatnot. 
I'm not sure if you've asked this to any other bands but I'd be interested to hear about bands like The Amity Affliction or House VS Hurricane.

 

I actually haven't but it is an interesting topic to explore. While on that, what lyrical topics do you like to explore?

 

That's a really good question. I guess it's changed really. I wrote the album awhile ago and the concepts I wrote about is a bit different. I wouldn't call it ['Vanity'] a negative album but it did dwell on negative aspects and we did include the hope aspect into it. Next album, we want to be more positive and talk about stuff that really inspires us.


In terms of me and what inspires me, really anything man. I mean there are some pretty crazy lyrics on the album. Like in 'A Letter to Myself One Year Ago' it's written about the perspective of someone lying in a hospital bed and being poked and prodded. And it's so easy to see the meaning and the relativity in the lines like "I don't regret a fucking thing". I wanna write more lyrics like that you know?

 

That's actually really interesting. It borders on that personal stuff of Dream, on Dreamer with that introspective vibe Northlane give off.

 

Yeah and they're another band [Northlane] that changed heaps too. Like, on 'Singularity' they had a much more positive vibe then their other releases and it's pretty cool to see that growth and change. That's kind of what we're gonna go for.

 

Oh, I definitely agree with you there. So what are your thoughts on the local scene at the moment? Both band and listener wise. Is it expanding or disbanding?

 

Hard to say really. I mean, we've been around for awhile, we've played a lot of shows, both to great receptions and bad receptions. But I think it's something that is ever changing and growing within itself. Sometimes we'll play to a roomful of people we've seen before or to a room where we know absolutely nobody. And that's both a good thing and a bad thing. It's great to see people you know and when you play to a mix mashed group where there are some newer fans as well as some older fans. But I think that it [the local scene] is an ever evolving process.

 

We'll start winding things down now with some more basic questions.  

 

Fire away!

 

Where do you see Caulfield in five years?

 

We'll all be billionaires. (Laughs). We'll hopefully write our new album and get into the studio with the new line-up and everything more solidified. Get on a helicopter and go for a ski-trip, go to Japan. But we aim to have one or more albums out in that time.

 

Got it all planned! What was your favourite release of last year?

 

The new Killswitch Engage album. Definitely my favourite release of that year. It proves you can be a band, go huge for five years then fade away then come back even bigger and even better. I love that album!

 

Most anticipated album of this year?

 

Amity are recording again, I'm pumped for that! I'm going to say Amity.

 

What is the band you want to tour with the most?

 

I think either Nirvana or Metallica if it was back in the day but for today's standard I'd say either A Day to Remember or The Devil Wears Prada. But definitely ADTR. They have so much fun! There's streamers and balloons and it's just crazy! I bet they party like hounds backstage too.

 

All right Andrew, that's all we have time for. Thank you so much for your time. Myself and everyone at KYS wish you and the band all the best for 2014.

 

Thanks mate. Have a good one.

 

 

Caulfield play on all dates of the iwrestledabearonce tour this coming March/April. Their debut album ''Vanity' is also available now.