This interview with Conrad Keely couldn’t have been less organised.

After having very little to eat all day and tanning two pints of piss-weak Carling, Amy from Kirkby-Lonsdale informs me that she’s found an all access pass in the girls’ toilets. After standing around staring at it getting giddy, I realise I have a Dictaphone in my bag and this would be too good an opportunity not to take advantage of. So off I toddle trying to figure how you’re meant to get backstage.

There’s a guy sat on the merch desk who looks far too much like Conrad Keely not to be Conrad Keely who before I can even ask if he is Conrad Keely, Conrad Keely says ‘Hey nice pass, how’d you get that?’ Fearing an admission that my friend found it in the toilets would be the dumbest thing ever, I bullshit him that ‘I got it through your P.R agency this morning, is it possible I could get a few minutes for an interview?’ Mr Keely says ‘sure’ and gladly leads me down to the Trail Of Dead dressing room. I don’t know if it was to do was the two pints of shit lager that had bled into my brain but the walk backstage felt quite surreal.

Before any form of interrogation can begin, there’s a problem. ‘The pot’ has gone missing. ‘This is big news. Weed is a medical necessity, not just a party lubricant’ Keely stresses. ‘I prefer it right when I get up. I’m a morning stoner. Thus the song.’

I went down to London to check out Low at the Spitz cause they're probably the best band ever and it's probably the best venue I'll get the chance to see them in. After many atempts to contact them to arrange an interview I managed to get a reply when emailing sub pop press 2 nights before the gig. Eventually the interview was sorted and I was a happy chappy. Alan & Mimi were there from the start with the bass player Matt joining a few minutes later (I guess I started too soon by mistake).


The new album 'drums & guns' was originally planned to be called 'the violent path'. Was there any reason for the sudden change of heart after already announcing that it would be titled 'the violent path'?

Alan: Drums and Guns was actually the first title we came up with for the new record, we thought about it as we were doing the record and started to come with other ideas...
Mimi: I don't think you're right, the violent path was the first name we came up with
Alan: Oh yeah yeah, that was the potential name for the album then we heard this old Irish folk song “johnny a' hardly new yeee” (In full irish meets pirate accent) and the chorus was like “drums and guns and drums and guns”

When Frank Turner isn’t touring, he’s touring. That’s what Frank Turner does and when he recently stopped off for a show in Manchester with Dive Dive supporting and acting as his backing band, we saw it as a prime opportunity to cram into the Night + Day’s dingy cellar and have a good catch-up with Frank + Jamie.

Cow And Field: So how did the collaboration between Frank Turner and Dive Dive come about?
Jamie: I think it was when Frank was crewing for Reuben on tour.
Frank Turner: This is when Million Dead were still together and these guys were the main support. This was in March ’05 when we met and I thought they were super. Then Million Dead broke up and I started doing my own thing. It’s kinda to do with Terrant [Dive Dive bassist] who has his own studio set up in his house and I needed to record some stuff properly and I really wanted to work with Nigel [Dive Dive drummer] because…
J: he’s one of the best superb drummers in the land.
FT: I was always up for playing as much as I could but I’m not gonna play drums if Nigel’s available cause he’s that good.
J: He can just program songs, he’s like an elephant.

Where's all the interviews?
They're not here, that's where.
There's a few bands that I've arranged interviews with so the result of these chats shall appear shortly.
Sozza.