American Sharks

13 February 2015 | 11:35 am | Staff Writer
Originally Appeared In

Hailing from "way deep down", Texas punks American Sharks have a strong crossover appeal. DIY in approach with a party attitude, the band has performed with the likes of GWAR, Corrosion of Conformity and The Sword. Now, the three-piece prepares to come down under for this first time this month to support Aussie punks Clowns on their national tour. Killyourstereo.com chatted with American Sharks' Mike Hardin.

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Hailing from "way deep down", Texas punks American Sharks have a strong crossover appeal. DIY in approach with a party attitude, the band has performed with the likes of GWAR, Corrosion of Conformity and The Sword. Now, the three-piece prepares to come down under for this first time this month to support Aussie punks Clowns on their national tour. Killyourstereo.com chatted with American Sharks' Mike Hardin.

Not too long until you’ll be on our shores, I see according to a fun recent Facebook post, you’re acquainting yourselves with boomerangs and didgeridoos, how is everything coming along for the visit?

Things are coming along nicely. We are definitely ready for everything Australian! Although, our authentic Australian accents still need a lot of work. Our buddy Jay told us to say the word "razor blades" and [to] sound like a true Australian I should pronounce it, "rise up lights". Sooooo we're learning...

What was it like touring with GWAR and Corrosion of Conformity? That seems like a tour in which, afterwards, you could probably write a book with the amount of stories that would’ve come for the performance run.

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You are not wrong. We really have a shitload stories from that tour. Most of which probably can't, or shouldn't be printed for public consumption. We fear their puny human minds couldn't comprehend what all goes into partying with true scumdogs.

Is there a different dynamic to performing depending on the bands you’re touring with? You’ve played with The Sword and Clutch with their southern, doomy, 70s feel and then the aforementioned GWAR and now you’re coming down under to play with a younger punk outfit in Clowns.

We feel like the only changes are the day to day routine. Clutch are super chill, so when we tour with them it's a lot more laid back of a vibe. The Sword are our brothers so when we go there it is a lot more hanging out but while it can sometimes get pretty wild we chill a lot then too. GWAR, on the other hand, was a tour where we partied a lot! Red Fang too. We are preparing for some pretty wild times with Clowns.

What’s the best thing about being on tour?

The day to day routine. Just being on the road and working. Will and Nick love to explore outdoors so we get to do a lot of that. Playing in front of new people every night and visiting with friends is great [too].

Conversely, what’s the worst thing?

We guess it would be getting wiped out. Will and Nick miss their girlfriends. All of the long drives can get old after a while.

That left shark (dancer) that performed alongside Katy Perry at the Super Bowl half-time show is creating quite a bit of buzz online, can we expect a new American Sharks t-shirt design with those sharks emblazoned on the front any time soon?

(laughs)

We have a pretty strict no sharks or American flags policy but in this case we might want to make an exception.

What has been the most challenging aspect of being in a band so far?

The touring. Learning to live with the same three people for the majority of your life and under conditions that are far from perfect. When you're wiped out from performing every day and you're just dog tired it's hard to not become annoyed with each other and sometimes that can mean fighting.

What’s one thing you’ll be disappointed about if you don’t get to experience it while you’re in Australia?

KOALAS!

American Sharks support Clowns on their Australian tour this February/March.

ClownsTour