Questions For The Answer

Despite only just having released their second album, Everyday Demons, Northern's Ireland's The Answer have opened for some of the biggest names in rock music including The Rolling Stones, Whitesnake, and Aerosmith.

Currently supporting no less than AC/DC on their world tour, we caught up with front man Cormack for a chat before their gig at the O2.

 

How do you keep managing to get gigs with such legendary bands?

"I'm not entirely sure, mate. I think our A&R people and our label manage to get our material into the right hands. There's always at least one member of the band that comes around to the dressing room and tells us that the reason we got the gig is that they genuinely like what we're doing"

 

Tell us about the new album.

"There's a few more levels to this album.  There's a much darker element threaded through Everyday Demons than existed on Rise. I suppose it comes from the fact that we're a couple of years down the line. We've spent a lot of time travelling around the world and we've got a greater sense of reality about us, you know?"

 

Do you think there's a certain snobbery in the media about the sort of music you play?

"I think so. Possibly less so than maybe a couple of years back. Playing the music we play, we've always had to deal with that side of the music industry on a radio DJ, media level but we're well used to it at this stage. But the important thing is that there's enough people out there who can understand what we're trying to do. It's as rife in Northern Ireland as it is on the mainland UK but it's something we've learned to deal with."

 

Is it less of a problem in America?

"It's hard for me to be critical because this album seems to be doing pretty well over here and in America right now. Whether it's that people are starting to get a bit more open-minded to hard rock or whether this album strikes more of a chord than maybe (first album) Rise did, I don't know."

 

Do you think there's any truth in the theory that people turn to rock and roll in difficult times?

"It's an interesting one and there could well be something in that. It's a music based around release, around forgetting what's going on outside the four walls of the venue. If you completely lose yourself in a rock and roll album, you forget about whatever problems you've got going on in your life.  If that's the case, then so be it. I like to imagine that our music gives people the chance to let themselves go and have a good time."

 

And of course three of the biggest hard rock bands of all time (AC/DC, Guns 'N' Roses, and Metallica) released albums at the end of last year. Are you fans of all of them?

"We are indeed. They're all bands we listened to quite a bit when we were growing up, especially Metallica. When we were 14 or 15, Metallica were at their height, so it's good to see that all those bands are still going strong. All three albums, perhaps Guns ‘N' Roses to a slightly lesser extent, have sold very, very well, so it's proof there's still a massive audience out there for rock and roll music, which is great for us."

 

You've got a song on Guitar Hero. How do you feel about that?

"It's one of these mediums you have to embrace now that less and less albums are being sold over the counter. You have to turn to areas like computer games as a means of marketing your music. Guitar Hero gets our song out to a lot of rock fans but there's also a lot of computer game fans who probably wouldn't look in our general direction when they're looking for a band to get into until they'd heard us on Guitar Hero. It's a song we've kept in our set from our older material and you can tell there's a lot of people who've already heard the song when we play in front of an audience who don't otherwise have a notion who we are."

 

AC/DC don't even release their music on iTunes, let alone Guitar Hero though…

I'm completely aware of how AC/DC make their albums for people who like to go to a record shop and look at the pictures... but we don't have that luxury, you know? They began in a world that was based on music fans buying hard vinyl records across a counter but unfortunately that's just not the way it's going at the moment"

 

Where do you see your band in the grand scheme of things?

"We are aware of where we are on the rock and roll spectrum. If you look at the Irish rock tradition, I like to think of us as a band that's continuing that and keeping it fresh.  And we do think it's important that if we're going to play rock and roll music that we keep it fresh and relevant for a young audience. The bottom line is that we're writing our songs for our own sake and then hoping that people can connect with them. Luckily enough, it seems to be the case."