Page 5 - Black Velvet Issue 89

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f you haven’t been living under a rock for the past year, you will have heard of As It Is, the pop-
Ipunk quintet from Brighton who are taking over the world. The band consists of vocalist Patty
Walters, guitarists Ben Biss and Andy Westhead, bassist Alistair Testo and drummer Patrick Foley.
We went down to the band’s sold-out show at the London Underworld to chat with Patty and Andy
about independent music venues, touring in inhumane conditions and learning to love yourself.

his is going to sound so cringe, but I easy tour, but it’s also an incredibly fun tour.” I’m off stage, in a weird sense. I mean, I’m not
“Tkind of see ‘Winter’s Weather’ as the Andy tells us, “I think sometimes it’s the people comfortable that the crowd’s going to love it or
final chapter to ‘Never Happy, Ever After’,” Patty you least expect, maybe bands that aren’t your have a great response but I know what I’m
tells us. It’s been a year since the album came cup of tea, but then you’re having a beer with doing. If I’m just pacing around in the backstage
out, but ‘Winter’s Weather’ is a new edition from them afterwards and you get talking for what- area it’s like I don’t know what I’m doing with my-
the recently released deluxe addition. “It’s basi- ever reason and it’ll be like “Actually, we like the self. You’ve got clear targets when you’re out
cally closure, it’s all encompassing the themes same sort of music and you’re all really nice there, you’ve got to play a song and put on a bit
and the all-round lyrical ambitions of that record, guys. You don’t like my music and I don’t like of a performance.”
so it is just 100% self-deprecating and miserable yours, but we can have a beer together”!”
and all of that kind of stuff. We wrote it on the atty recently tweeted Toby Morse from
AP tour when we were out in the States with s It Is have a reputation for having a PH20, saying, ‘You've made such a pro-
Mayday Parade, and it was the first song that Agreat relationship with their fans, and if found impact on my outlook and choices in life.
we’ve ever had to write on tour and that in itself you’ve ever been to one of their shows you’ll Thanks for doing what you do, man.’ Patty says
was a learning curve.” know that every audience member sings every that he discovered H20 when he was 15 years
Andy jumps in, “It’s the first song we ever lyric at the top of their lungs. One fan favourite old, and having a mild identity crisis. “That’s
wrote where we nearly hit a deer in the middle is ‘Can’t Save Myself’, where Patty sings about probably because you were 15 years old!” jokes
of writing the song.” hating himself, and Patty has some advice for Andy. “Well, yeah,” says Patty. “That, and I was
Patty jokes, “And it won’t be the last!” fans who are still learning to love and accept the only person in my friendship group that didn't
As It Is have become extremely successful themselves. “Maybe what I’d say is that it is an want to drink, and in doing so I lost a lot of
off the back of ‘Never Happy, Ever After', but ever ongoing struggle, and that there are good friends because they wanted to carry on doing
they’ve been a band much longer than that. The days and there are equally terrible days. Nothing that. Discovering bands like H20 led me to kind
band started in the Spring of 2012, with numer- of, identify with being straight edge and it intro-
ous EPs being released before the band signed duced me to the concept of being vegetarian
to Fearless Records and released their debut and vegan and that's a huge reason that I am
album. They recently backed Independent today. But H20 are one of the most important
Venue Week on their social media, and Andy bands for me that I've ever discovered for that
tells us, “Local scenes are where all the new reason. They made me feel like I wasn't this out-
bands start, if it’s just the big venues that put on cast that is impossible to understand and that
the same bands over and over again it gets there are people out there that do what I do for
harder and harder for new bands to get that the same reason that I do it, and also like ag-
chance to, well, be a band, essentially. There gressive music and use it as their outlet.”
are a lot of bands coming from these middle of Patty has definitely come a long way since
nowhere places where all you’ve got is music he was 15, and we’re excited to see what the fu-
playing in your mates’ garages.” ture holds for As It Is. “I love the fact that we get
Patty agrees, “And without the small inde- to travel the world,” says Andy. “We’ve been to
pendent venues you can’t go on your first tours places that are on my bucket list that I never
anymore, because when we went on our first thought that I’d get to go to, and it’s become a
tour there were shows when we played to 40 part of my job going away to Japan and to see
people and before that we played shows to even someone who doesn’t even speak English
fewer people. It was incredibly important and singing along to our songs, that was a pretty
worthwhile that we did that, because it made us special thing.”
better musicians and it gave us that perspective Patty tells us, “I think, for me, the people that
on how to appreciate what we have gained at support this band are genuinely just so incredi-
this point, because we’re fully aware of what it’s is ever permanent, all things good and all things ble and supportive, because from earlier shows
like to travel from Brighton to London, to not bad kind of continue to change and get better we’ve had people travel from Denmark and
make any money, to play to the people that work and get worse, so what’s important is to hang on Spain to be there and to see us play, and there
at the pub and nobody else and drive home and and learn from all your bad and good experi- are still those same people in that room down
narrowly avoid a speeding ticket. So yeah, it’s ences to better yourself as a person and kind of, there and they haven’t forgotten about us. I just
so important, so very important.” I don’t know, install self-confidence in yourself, think we’re so very lucky and very appreciative
because three years on from writing that song I to have the fans that we do because this doesn’t
he band have been doing a lot of touring still deal with similar things but there are equally exist without them and doing this is really fun.”
Tover the past year, including the Vans things that I’ve overcome within myself, so it’s Andy adds, “And it really doesn’t happen to
Warped Tour in America. “We learnt quite a lot. incredibly possible to get better but it is equally every band.”
I learnt how to set up a stage so that was pretty difficult and equally important that you continue As the band’s first chapter comes to a close,
interesting because I’ve never done that before,” to try, even though it sucks.” they’ve started to work on the next chapter, oth-
Andy explains. “I think it’s great. You get the Patty has previously spoken about how he’s erwise known as album number two. “What sort
most out of it when there are no boundaries be- too self-conscious to even stage dive, and get- of plans do we have? To finish writing it!” laughs
tween crew and bands, it feels like everyone’s ting on stage can be a nerve-racking thing. Andy.
equal on that tour and everyone is working in in- “We’re still nervous during this very interview to Patty adds, more seriously, “We wrote up
humane weather,” he laughs. “When we were in go on stage,” Patty laughs. “It just kind of comes until this tour, we’re going to continue writing on
Arizona it was hotter than Africa. Literally, it was and goes in waves I suppose.” Andy adds, “I this tour and we’re going to continue writing after
ridiculous, but everyone’s in the same boat so it think before you go on stage it’s always the this tour. We love how it’s sounding, we’re ex-
was just great and there are just so many good same, you’re a little bit nervous and a little bit perimenting with some slightly different sounds,
people that are all there for the same reasons worried and you’re wondering what if it doesn’t at times drastically different sounds, but at the
as you are.” go well? There are a lot of ‘what ifs’ you keep end it will be an As It Is record and we hope peo-
Warped Tour is known for being one of the thinking about, but the difference between the ple will enjoy it as much as we’ve enjoyed writing
toughest, but most rewarding, tours out there first shows we played and now is that once it.”
and Patty says that it really brings people to- we’re on stage I feel comfortable in the sense Visit www.asitisofficial.com for more info.
gether. “The people you end up bonding with that I know what I’m doing. When I’m on stage I
and respecting are the people with the right work have my parts that I know, I know what everyone Words By Carissa Thorne
ethic, and the people that work incredibly hard else is doing and I’ve done it so much now that
Live Photo By Shari Black Velvet
with a smile on their face. Warped Tour is not an I’m even more comfortable on stage than when
AS IT IS