The interview with Barside, live @ the Lair on Wednesday, March 25th for Emergenza Festival Australia: 

PLEASE TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR BAND: HOW AND WHEN WAS IT BORN?

I was drumming in another band with Cam the bass player, we found ourselves without a guitarist so as I play guitar I decided to get some songs together and start writing more. Gilesy was then brought in for drumming and we have been playing together ever since.

WHEN DID YOUR INTEREST IN MUSIC BEGIN? WHICH BANDS INSPIRED AND INSPIRE YOU?

I have played music drumming for many years and have always wanted to play guitar and sing, never could find the right people until now. My influences have always been in the heavier genre, tool etc, and finally finding other muso's with similar tastes in music plus other more diverse tastes in music I found it all began to gel. We play a mixed bag, incorporating harmonica into heavier metal, I want to really incorporate a mix of instruments into our music and experiment as much as possible.

HOW DO YOU CREATE A SONG? (WHO WRITES LYRICS, WHO MUSIC, ETC...?)

I do a lot of the writing but bring it to the table and the guys make it work. They have a natural understanding of what works and what doesn't and tell it straight up. If a song is crap its not treated with kid gloves. We either work it or ditch it, or rip it apart and take the good parts and add to something else.
All of our songs are stories, I think a song needs to tell a story or explain a moment in time. The song "HOOK" was originally written acoustically, sadly my brother died in a car accident recently and I decided to to modify it for him. His nickname was "HOOK" It talks about our life growing up and until the day he died. "Hard Times" is about about our journey through life and the moment when your faced with a hurdle and how you decide to approach it.

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM EMERGENZA AND HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR FIRST EMERGENZA CONCERT?
Looking forward to the first gig at the Lair, love playing live and keen as to get out and gig this year. Just playing at the Metro is a calling card in itself, its a great venue. If nothing more than this we are stoked.

We are recording our first album in March unless we win this comp and then you can foot the bill :)

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC TO PEOPLE WHO DOESN'T KNOW YOU?
TALK US ABOUT THE PECULIARITIES OF YOUR MUSIC!

Our music is heavier than some but melodic and passionate at the same time.

I would rather watch a musician who can not sing but sings with passion than a professionally trained singer who has no soul. This is the BARSIDE mantra, play it like you mean it, life's too short for anything else. Cam and Gilesy are too fantastic men, too whom I owe a great deal, the creation of BARSIDE and the music we play has been crucial in the healing of me loosing my brother, in a way I lost one brother but gained 2.

HOW DID YOU KNOW ABOUT EMERGENZA FESTIVAL AND WHY YOU DECIDED TO TAKE PART IN IT?
We decided to enter to get out of our practice regime and get gigging more. We heard about it via another muso and thought why not, because after all this is the BARSIDE mantra, play it like you mean it, life's too short for anything else.

Wanna enrol your band in  Emergenza Festival Australia? Click here!