DEVIL'S ISLAND featuring Big Band of Boom
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 Big Band of Boom sat on the beach. The island is far from their home, so how did they end up here and how did they 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.
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?
Being marooned on an island, it feels less about your favourite album and more about what connects you to home. It’s a shame I can’t take a couple, but I’d probably choose Sunburn, the first album by Muse. I was 16, living in the next village along from the band when they blew up in the late ’90s and early 2000s, and that record has never lost its impact for me.
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?
Big Band of Boom’s debut album. Partly because I love the artwork — the skeleton — and partly because both the artist and graphic designer are good friends of mine. The skeleton was created by Grant Woodward as a linocut, and it will always remind me of my tribe.
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?
Rum and ginger. It’s the drink of champions — what the rum takes away, the ginger gives back. In all seriousness, we used to run our own bar at a festival where we almost exclusively sold Dark ’n’ Stormys, and those were some of the best times ever.
Your suitcases were lost when your ship sank, but you each managed to salvage one item of band merch. What’s the merch and for what band?
I’ve got a Mad Apple Circus T-shirt I love. They’re a great ska-punk band and that shirt has seen plenty of miles.
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?
My buddy Tom — the other guitarist and manager in this band. We’ve been best mates for years and do everything together in and out of the band, so it makes sense. He’s also far more practical than I am, so I might actually stand a chance of building shelter and finding food.
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?
Seeed live in Berlin. They’re a huge German reggae/dancehall band, almost unknown in the UK, but it’s one of the best live performances I’ve ever experienced and I love that record.
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?
Antony, one of our three trumpet players. He’s the most likely to receive the message — and the most likely to do something about it. He plays ice hockey and rides mountain bikes, so he’d be solid in a rescue situation.
You've been stuck here 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?
Sorry Gary. He’s our bassist. He’s great — but if there really is only one option left, he’s probably going in the pot.
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?
Tommo — guitarist of Mr Tea and the Minions. He’s been a genuine inspiration throughout my career, and I can’t think of a better human to have alongside me.
