London-based progressive rock quartet Temples On Mars (James Donaldson on guitar/vocals, Gerald Gill on guitar, Daz Carikas on Bass and Dean Gibb on drums) will be hitting our shores very soon! The Metalist’s Kevin Rule caught up with them once again to chat about life since they last spoke and their upcoming tour.
SO, SINCE THE LAST TIME I SENT SOME WORDS FOR YOU TO REPLY TO IN MAY YOU GUYS SEEM TO BE GOING FROM HIGH TO HIGH. IN A NUTSHELL…BREAK IT DOWN.
Hello! Thanks for having us again 🙂 Things went reasonably well over the summer. We played a cool UK tour, bagged some great UK international support slots and festivals, and then headed to Europe for a few festival shows. And then…we had the pleasure of announcing some amazing SA dates for 2019!!!
IT’S ONLY BEEN 9 MONTHS SINCE YOU RELEASED YOUR DEBUT ALBUM, BUT THE TRACTION YOU GUYS ARE CREATING FOR YOURSELF MUST BE INCREDIBLY SATISFYING. WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF AT THIS MOMENT?
Thank you! A huge amount of work goes into a band behind the scenes so it’s nice to know you are moving even just a few inches forward. We are really happy with the record itself. To be honest though we are very focused on the future of the band with the next lot of shows and new tracks we are not really ones to sit back and admire any achievements so far. Maybe we will if we win a Grammy!
OF COURSE, HARD WORK DOESN’T COME WITHOUT SACRIFICES THOUGH. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE SIMPLER THINGS YOU MISS? IF ANY…?
We all have wives and girlfriends. Jimmy has a 2 year old son so being on road can mean being away from our loved ones which isn’t always the easiest. But we all get on well and it’s like being on the road with your bros. You also miss out on events outside the band like friends birthdays, engagement parties etc because you have shows or rehearsal but it’s just a question of having to prioritize.
EUROBLAST….PROGPOWER EUROPE….PLAYING THESE SHOWS IS A PRETTY BIG DEAL AND THE DREAM OF MANY BANDS OUT THERE. I’M INTERESTED TO KNOW IF THESE ARE SPECIFIC GOALS YOU HAVE SET, OR HAPPY ACCIDENTS?
We have always wanted to play these specific shows and we were absolutely stoked to get both in the same weekend in our first year – total buzz! We applied for both and through word of mouth, some PR etc we made it onto the line-up. Both amazing festivals and they treat their bands very well. We would love to play both again in 2019.
IN AN IDEAL WORLD WHERE ALL GOALS ARE REALISED…WHAT WOULD BE NEXT FOR YOU?
End up on the books of a large booking agent which leads to a 4pm Saturday afternoon slot on the Zippo Encore stage at Download Festival UK 2019. This would of course lead to the world wide success of our second album and we would end up on a 3 year world tour with a circus of other big bands including Tool, Muse, Tears for Fears, and Lionel Ritchie. Then Elon Musk offers us seats on his first space ship to Mars which explodes 15 seconds after take off killing all on board immortalising Temples on Mars in rock history forever.
SO, THESE SA SHOWS ARE A HOMECOMING FOR TWO OF YOUR MEMBERS. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU GUYS PLAYED A SHOW HERE? AND ARE YOU EXCITED TO SEE WHAT HAS CHANGED IN THE COMMUNITY?
DC: I think the last show I played was at Mercury in Cape Town with The Spindle Sect in 2008, and Gauteng a few years before. Dying to see how the community has come along.
GG: Wow, can’t remember! It was with Starseed, we flew over to play Woodstock 2007 or 2008. Played a few shows in Gauteng at the same time, Roxys in Melville might have been the last!
ARE THERE PLANS FOR AN AUSTRALASIAN HOMECOMING TOUR?
It has been talked about. A bit more talking needs to happen which needs to turn into a firm plan but it’s not out if the question at all and is on the list.
I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT YOU GUYS ARE HEADING INT HE RIGHT DIRECTION, AND YOU MUST STICK TO YOUR GUNS AND MORE SUCCESS WILL COME YOUR WAY. THANKS FOR SHARING SOME TIME WITH US. CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOUR ENERGY EXPLODE FOR US. AND LAST WORDS BEFORE A LION GRABS YOU BY THE MAN-MEAT?
I think I will taste better with ketchup.
Follow Temples On Mars on:
http://www.facebook.com/templesonmars
https://www.instagram.com/temples_on_mars/
https://www.youtube.com/c/TemplesonMarsTV
Interviewed by: Kevin Rule