Mitch recently had a chat with Travis from Witchgrinder to talk about their upcoming Queensland show "OUR PARTY"
(MC) Long time no chat! The last time we caught up was Aftershock Festival in 2021. How has everyone been since then?
(TE) Since we came out of lockdown and things opened we have been really great. Just getting together to rehearse and go check out other bands and clubs. It’s just been awesome to hang out together again.
Has there been much live playing?
Yes, as soon as restrictions lifted we booked a couple of local Melbourne shows and one in Sydney. With it being a year since we had a played live show we booked these pretty quickly just to get out there and on a stage again. We missed it so much.
I did hear there was a mishap at the Evelyn show a while back?
Yes unfortunately our first show back in Melbourne we had to cut it short. We were about halfway into our set when we noticed something was not right in the mosh pit. One of our fans somehow managed to dislocate his knee while rocking out to the band.
The venue was so packed and short-staffed. There was no way to safely move him until the paramedics arrived so we had no choice but to finish up.
Care to share some background on the setting up of the next big thing, “Our Party” up in QLD?
Vamp Barbie (aka Vee) has been hard-working interviewing hundreds of bands for years. We first met her at a festival in Brisbane back in 2010. When she interviewed us and has continued to support us ever since. Vee and her team have now put all focus on their site/channel Vampedup.tv . and now are ready to move on to running festivals. This is the first festival they are putting together, so when we got the offer we were very excited to be a part of it. They have an awesome mixed bunch of bands on the bill it’s going to be so much fun. Vamped up festivals look like they are going to be an ongoing thing as they have also just announced a boat cruise festival next year.
Have you gigged with or do you know most of the bands on the line-up?
Yes, there are a few bands from Brisbane and a few from Sydney we have either toured with or played with while in their state. It’s going to be great to catch up. Also very excited to meet and play with the bands we haven’t.
Keen for anyone in particular?
Yes, heaps of bands. Very excited to see Dept. of Gloom as they have just dropped a new single. Our Last Enemy will be amazing as they have said they will be playing new music from their latest ep. There are heaps of bands we have never seen live so we will be making a huge effort to check out as much as we can on the day.
It’s been a little while between releases, are you guys working on any new material?
There are heaps of new material. Over the last few years, there has been so many setbacks that has made it impossible for us to finish writing and hit the studio. We have managed to get a few singles out but the big ones we have saved for the full album. We are just finishing up pre-production and are booking recording dates soon. We were never going to rush this. It has to be right for us and also our fans.
Is there somewhere or someone you would like to record with in the future?
We record a lot of our music with Chris Themelco at Monolith studios and also at our home studio setups. Adrian Windsor has always been a key part when recording keys and extra samples. They both have a great understanding of our sound. I think what we have at the moment is very special and captures what and where we are at at the moment.
I did have a chat with Peter Tägtgren when we toured with his band Pain a few years ago about possibly one-day recording together if we were ever to make it over to Sweden. That would be amazing.
The last thing released was the Through The Never cover, how was that received? Did you guys have fun recording that?
Yes, we released that as it was the 30th anniversary of Metallica's black album. A band that has continued to be a huge inspiration to us. We had so much fun recording it. The tracking was done mostly at home so we had the freedom to take our time with it. We added a bunch of ideas to give it that Witchgrinder feel without straying to much from the original. Which I think is why it worked so well. We received great feedback from both our fans and Metallica fans.
What are next year's plans for Witchgrinder?
Album release, Tours, and more! Don’t want to give too much away
If Witchgrinder was going on tour, what are the essentials?
A phone and charger! A few examples…
- Using it as a distraction. On tour, you can be stuck in a van for hours and hours, and sometimes it’s good to have a break from talking to each other before you end up killing each other haha.
- We all like to listen to different music. So good to plug into your phone and listen to what you want at times
- We can keep Witchgrinder's social media platforms up to date. Keep people in the loop. Posting photos and stories etc.
- All the information about the tour is easy to access on your phone. Where to be and what times. Things like that.
- It’s very important that we can always get in contact with each other. It can be easy to stray off at times. After parties can get pretty wild!
Our Party Festival is fast approaching! 😁🎉
July 30 at The Back Room Brisbane !
Huge Double Headliner! 🤘
Artists from VIC, NSW, & QLD! ⚡️Jelly Wrestling & Jelly Pit After party! ~ VIP tickets Limited & General tickets selling fast!
Doors open 11:45 am til 12am ~ Get your VIP & General tickets now!