Page 20 - Black Velvet Rock Magazine Issue 102

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happening. And I met him and I was so scared. to strive to feel free. It's about funding internal ‘Beyond Repair’ talks about conflicts within our
I was so ‘I hope he'll be cool, because if he's not peace and sacrificing old thought patterns that minds and throughout society. Addictions, old
it's going to crush me’. And he was amazing. He prevent us from getting what we desire’. habits and systems. Is it too late to make things
was such a cool dude. It was everything I Of the old though patterns, Jack says, right? Are we beyond repair?’
wanted and more. He inspired me to play guitar "When the band went on hiatus, there were Jack says, "I'm a huge believer in the law of
and to this day he inspires me to play the White places where people thought the band was attraction and that we are all magnets and if you
Falcon, so if you had to ask me what would be going to fall apart and we had to push through have a bad mindset and you believe something
my ideal last day, if that day had been my last that and rekindle the relationship we had with can't happen then you are just going to attract
day I really could have died a very happy man each other. We really are best friends, but we negativity. If instead, you are a good magnet and
and if there was to be a cherry on the cake it had all got kinda pushed out from each other you give out positivity and love and you are
would have been to have had the boys there and had started to not really like one another. It's grateful and appreciate your surroundings and
with me to play one last gig with all my friends like a family, isn't it? You love your brother one your team, then good things will start happening
and family there to see it. I just want to be able day and you want to kill him the next, and there and that's how I stand with things like that.
to go out knowing that I gave it my all every time was a lot of that; it had become a camp that "Anything is doable in life, everything is
I was up on a stage and that the people who left wasn't nice to be in. So when we went in and achievable and so anything can be repaired, you
were happy and knew I'd given them everything redid everything we spent a lot of time with each just have to show each other a lot of love and
I could. Whenever we play, at the end, I'm al- other, just finding out what made each other tick. you can go from there."
ways slumped over in a corner somewhere be- Ultimately it was just finding the love for the That said, we ask Jack for his thoughts on
cause I've given it all I've got; it's always all or band again and us all getting on again and when what the most important things are when it
nothing with me." we got back to where we all needed to be and comes to repairing something that has become
we were all happy, having a laugh and best broken and the most difficult steps as well.
iston's debut full-length album has been friends, all the music started to happen then be- "You've got to establish the problem first and
Pa long time coming… a very long time cause it was coming from a great place, and I where the problem happened and take it from
coming, in fact. Following their 'Leave If You think that is what Rob was getting at when he there and move forward. You have to learn from
Dare' release, it has taken five years for the self- said that. Sometimes you need to just start clean it. For us, we're all still quite young, but there are
titled album to become a reality. and get back in and have a great time with your quite a lot of strong heads in the band, espe-
Jack explains, "The story of Piston is that we best friends, get rid of all the other shit, all the cially between me, Brad (Newlands - drums)
took a bit of a hiatus looking back on it. We re- shitty things and good things will happen. And and Rob, the others are quite mellow and thank
leased 'Leave If You Dare' and it did well, but it's paid off. But we've been here before. When God that they are. For years we were very
then we went through a line-up change and we we released 'Leave If You Dare' we were going strong-headed and wouldn't listen to the other
needed to get to know each other again.” good and now things are even better, but we've person talking and as you start to grow older,
The band now consists of Rob Angelico on been at the bottom too where you're getting you get a bit more mature and you kind of re-
vocals plus Jack and Luke Allatt on guitars, Brad nothing and going nowhere, so we know what alise ‘Actually, he was right,’ or ‘No-one was right
Newlands on drums and Stuart Egan on bass. it's like at each end and that helps because it and no-one was wrong,’ and it's actually just
“We needed to find our sound and work on gives you a good grounding of what to do. But about listening and not taking things too seri-
our craft and we had setbacks and stuff like that, there are a lot of bands on the circuit now that ously."
so we took our time to write the album and we just get lost in it all. They lose all their focus and
did, we wrote a whole album two years ago… don't keep their eye on the ball. But because aving mentioned not taking things too
10/11 tracks and then we scrapped the whole we've had those bad times, it keeps us Hseriously, this leads us on to 'Blow It
thing! It cost us so much money. It cost us every- grounded so we don't do that. We're very aware Away', a song which Rob has spoken about,
thing we had, but we got to the end product of our environment, our audience and what's saying, ‘We just live in hope that tomorrow will
when the album was done and it just wasn't us. happening in the rock scene. We're always on bring better things, it's about not taking life too
We listened back to it and it was really over-pro- our tip toes and very aware and that really seriously as we'll always have another day to
duced, which is great for some bands, but it's helps." make things better,’ and so we ask Jack if this is
not great for our band. We are a two-guitar an issue with society as a whole today and if
player band and these tracks had like 11 guitar iston certainly won the lottery when Rob some people take things too seriously. "Yeah
parts on them and we'd really overdone it. We Pjoined the band as vocalist. While on the massively,” he replies. “I'm a sucker for it all the
went into the rehearsal room to play the songs subject of lyrics, Jack says of Rob, "His song time. If something is not done perfectly, then it's
and it just didn't work, I don't even know 11 gui- lyrics are very thought provoking, he spends a not good enough. I had this conversation when
tar players! lot of time really writing his lyrics and making I met Billy Duffy and we were talking about rock
"So that was the first issue, and we sent it sure he is completely happy with them. I've and roll and what makes it so great and what
out to a few people and everyone wasn't sure, never known a singer to spend as much time as makes great guitar solos and he was saying it
so we made the bold move to scrap it and go he does trying to get a particular message doesn't always have to be technically good to be
again. We scrapped the whole thing and went across in a song and I think that is one of the great, and I think with rock and roll, and rock
right back to the very beginning. Because it had things which makes Piston a little bit different. music in general, insecurity can sometimes
been done over such a long period of time, the We're not the typical rock band complaining make the best music and the best art. It doesn't
momentum had disappeared and we'd lost a lot about stuff all the time and having a bee in their always have to be serious, it can just be some-
of the energy that went into it, so we went back bonnet. We're not that sort of band. The music thing that just happens and I think that is what
in to redo everything. It was all new songs and is still heavy but it's also uplifting and I think a we did with the album. We just had a great time
we had a great producer called Dan Swift and big part of that is because of Rob's lyrics. It's al- writing it and we weren't there trying to outdo
he’s completely left-field. He's actually a pop ways got a positive message to it. We're not what we'd done before, it was never about that.
producer and a great songwriter and it was all there just to be moaning, there is always a light We were just having such a great time with each
done in a rehearsal room together and we really at the end of the tunnel for every single situation other and we weren't taking it too seriously.
worked on our craft and songwriting and we in every one of the songs we write and he When we were writing certain parts, there were
made sure it was the absolute best it could be. makes that very clear. no frames or no ‘I can't do that because this guy
And everything was simplified. We didn't realise "'One More Day' is my highlight of the has done it’. It was just ‘I like this' and ‘Let's
until then that the best songs are so simple and album, I'm so proud of that song and how it throw it all together and see what happens,’ and
the whole album is really quite simple and it's came out and for me, it's got everything you we didn't take too much notice. As long as it
definitely the best thing we ever did. It killed us could want. It has elements of so many bands sounded good, we didn't worry too much!"
financially and mentally and it was really tough, in there and when you play it you can hear all
but we thought, you either dip your toe in or you these influences, it's got Brad's simple AC/DC nding with the song 'Let Us Rise', we
just jump in, and that's what we did." drumming and you can hear him just going for it Eask Jack if he believes this album will be
These comments are especially interesting and it's also like a love child of The Foo Fighters the key to Piston's rise on the UK rock scene
as they echo some of the thoughts provided by and The Cult. You really can hear all of the and beyond. "Yeah, very," he says, without any
the band in their promotional material surround- band's influences in that one song and everyone consideration and absolute confidence. "We did-
ing the album's launch where lead singer Rob has the time to shine in it. Everyone has their n't write the album thinking it would be such a
Angelico offered insight into the motivations and own platform. I love it." huge commercial success, we wrote the album
meanings behind each track on the record. Of for us and it really was written from a place of
'Rainmaker' he said, ‘It's about never staying in eyond Repair' is another song on the love. We had a great time doing it and the fact
one place, to always keep moving forward and 'Balbum and one which Rob has said, we have a great team around us, a great agent,
PISTON