DEVIL'S ISLAND featuring Schemata Theory
Welcome to this weeks edition of Devil's Island! Every week we maroon a band or artist on the island and see what they get up to, how they cope with being all alone on a small island in the middle of the ocean. It's not your average desert island and we'll see just how each person copes with the extreme conditions.
This week when we arrived at Devil's Island we find Josh Barrertto, drummer of Schemata Theory sat on the beach. The island is far from jis home, so how did he end up here and how did he cope with life on Devil's Island?
Find out now...
Welcome to The Razors'e Edge and our somewhat lovely, warm desert island. Don't worry about it's name I'm sure it's not as bad as that would suggest.
So you're marooned here on this island, but before you ended up shipwrecked you chose one album that you couldn't live without. Which album did you each chose and why?
I’d take “Lost Forever // Lost Together” by Architects as they’re my favourite band and that’s probably my favourite album of theirs. I was tempted to say “Daybreak” from them as it has a song called “Devil’s Island” on it as that would be quite fitting, but I reckon the irony would get lost pretty quickly if I was actually stranded…
Just behind that palm tree is a shack for each of you to stay in, with enough space for you to put up a poster on the wall of one album cover. What album cover do you each chose?
Mine would actually be our new album “Unity In Time” as it represents the musical work that I’m most proud of, the artwork created by Daniel from MakeNorth is great, and it would be a nice little reminder of the achievement of us bringing this album together. Hopefully It would also help inspire, or at least encourage me to keep searching for a way off the island.
There's also a bar on this here island. But alas each of you only get to choose one drink for the entirety of your stay. What's your tipple of choice?
I do love a dark rum and I’m by no means a connoisseur, but my favourite is Kraken, so it would be that. I’d probably end up doing my best Captain Jack impression as a result.
Your suitcases were lost when your ship sank, but you managed to salvage one item of band merch. What’s the merch and for what band?
If I could only salvage one item of merch, I’d grab my Homesick t-shirt from A Day To Remember. It represents one of my favourite bands and albums, I love the design and I’ve had it for quite a while so I know it’s durable!
You’re sat on the island thinking “I’m stuck here on this island with my bandmates for eternity”… who would you rather have been shipwrecked with?
Maybe Dave Grohl? He seems to have tonnes of interesting stories which would help pass the time! Also, surely a legend like that would have lots of people looking for him!? You have to think my chances of being found would be greatly increased!
There's a walkman in your pocket, on the tape inside is the recording of the one live show that stands out for you. It could be any show, from any band, anywhere in the world. What show is on that walkman?
Probably a recording from back when Lower Than Atlantis played at Facebar in Reading around 2011. It stands out to me as simply being one of the most enjoyable times I’ve had attending a live show and I have great memories from that night. The atmosphere was amazing, everyone even jumped on stage at the end and celebrated with the band. I think it’d be cool to have a reminder of such a fun time, particularly if I can walk around with it on a walkman.
You're getting desperate, you decide the only course of action is to put a message in a bottle and hope someone finds it. Your message could be to any member of any band, but should be the most suitable for a rescue attempt. Who is it?
I reckon Bruce Dickinson wouldn’t be a bad shout. I know he can fly and presumably has his own plane, so he might be able to come pick me up. Not sure why he’d care to rescue me though… Hopefully he would be feeling charitable on the day he found the bottle.
You've been stuck here for a while and food supplies are running low. There's only one thing for it... which fellow band member gets sacrificed to help the others survive?
Haha, I don’t know why but it’s usually Mario that gets the brunt of the teasing. Odds are it would end up going his way. Either him or me I’d say. Whoever it ended up being, we’d probably have come to the conclusion after a long winded polling process!
Finally, when the ship sank you each managed to save one person from the wreckage. That person is the one musician that has influenced your career the most, shaped your way of thinking and your outlook on life. Who did you save?
If for some reason I happened to be on a sinking ship with him, I’d save Dan Searle. Out of anyone, he’s the musician that I’ve most aspired to be like. I feel Architects as a band (and Dan’s drumming in particular) has definitely influenced my own playing and writing style. Maybe we could fashion some kind of beach drum kit together whilst we are waiting to be rescued!
Providing Josh gets rescued... the band will hit the road in March for a UK tour.
18.03 - Bracknell, The Acoustic Couch
20.03 - Bristol, The Gryphon
25.03 - Workington, Lounge 41
26.03 - Whitechurch, Percy’s Cafe Bar
27.03 - Nottingham, The Angel Microbrewery
