One of the most exciting bands of the moment, Pendulum, are touring in North America right now. The Australian/British drum and bass and electronic band are playing a series of shows as support for Linkin Park, as well as headlining some of their largest shows of their own on our continent to date. I had an opportunity to ask Gareth McGrillen, bassist and co-founder of the group, some questions during a rare moment of free time while they’re on the road. He tells me how the band’s move from Australia to Britain was pivotal to their success, about their crazy fans that “destroy each other,” and how Immersion, their latest album just released this week in the U.S., differs from their two previous albums. Read on.
MC: Tell me about the beginnings of Pendulum. What was it like growing up in Perth, what is the music scene like there? How do you think it contributed to the way your band sounds and your songs?
GM: Because we started out in such an underground scene as drum and bass, but came into the scene at such a late stage, and because we had come from Perth, I think we didn’t have such strong ties to the culture of the genre. This enabled us to break the rules so to speak, and I think that’s how the sound developed so quickly. We didn’t feel out of place putting guitars and other influences we grew up with into the music, where as if we had grown up in the UK, it would have been something we’d have steered clear of.
MC:Who came up with the name, and how does it relate to what your band does musically?
GM: [Band co-founder] Rob [Swire] and I put a list together and just shortened the list until we agreed.
MC: In 2003 you moved your band from Australia to the UK. Why the UK and not America or elsewhere? Did you have any reservations/worries on making such a long distance move?
GM: At the time we were in an underground dance music scene, we had just written our first song and it blew up in a huge way in the UK (the home of electronic music), so it was an inevitable move for us, Australia was too far away from everywhere else. It’s always hard to pick up and move to such a harsh place as London when you’re young, and it was a massive struggle for a few years, but the harshness tends to push you to succeed.
MC: Did any of these worries actually come to light? Conversely, what things happened that you think would not have if you had stayed in Australia?
GM: We’d have not gotten anywhere if we had stayed in Australia, the move for us was essential. Australia is far to relaxed it makes me lazy, we needed to be pushed by a place like the UK where the music scene waits for nobody.
MC: How did you find the other members of Pendulum in the UK? Was it by newspaper advert, word of mouth, recommendation by a friend, etc.? Your music is so dynamic, I have it in my mind that you really have to have a group of people who are really in sync in order to make music that works.
GM: I had been working with Ben Verse [Benjamin Mount] as my MC in DJ shows for quite some time, so introducing him into the live show was a natural step. Perry [Peredur ap Gwynedd] had played on some of our early tracks and played guitar on other drum and bass tracks in the past. Kevin [Sawka], we found on YouTube, haha!
MC: To someone who has never heard your music before, how would you describe your sound?
GM: If you like rock and metal you’ll hear that in the music, if you like electronic music and heavy bass you’ll hear that. I think that’s why we attract so many listens from across genres – the music hits many styles all at once.
MC: I like both hard rock and dance, and I find my favourite songs of yours combines the best of those two worlds. Some of your oldest fans have stated that you have abandoned the drum and bass genre for a more commercial, alternative rock / electronic sound? How would you respond to that?
GM: The very second track we wrote had guitars and full vocals from Rob in it, back in 2003. Our first album had the guitarist and basses from the metal band Karnivool playing on it, as well as Perry playing on “Girl In The Fire,” we didn’t abandon anything, we just got more and more bored of doing the exact same thing and felt we had earnt enough of a creative license to start introducing our greater influences into the music. The fact it got big and the fact it all blew up was a secondary event. We had already done it and it turned out a lot more people wanted to hear it than we had anticipated. Selling out for us would have been continuing to write the tracks that people around us wanted us to write over and over again.
MC: I had the chance to see you play at Arena at Roskilde Festival last summer (2010). Before you got onstage and the front pits opened, fans were actually pushing and shoving each other to get the best, closest spots to the front of the stage. I got injured the night before at Biffy Clyro in the pit at the same stage, so I opted to watch you guys from a distance (probably a wise decision, as I’m small!). Is this usual for Pendulum concerts?
GM: Yes, our audiences destroy each other, it’s incredible to watch!
MC: Who does your lighting? I thought the visuals plus music were really amazing, a consummate experience.
GM: Lighting is a very important aspect to the show for us, we put in so much time and effort into the sound, so it’s also important to do the same with the visual aspect of the show.
MC: You guys have such an energetic live set. I had no idea the Scandinavians were as mental over you as the Brits. Were you surprised?
GM: All across Europe and the UK, as well as Australia, we’re getting that same reaction. I think it’s just some kind of gene we excite in people that makes them want to destroy each other.
MC: That said, it seems like the UK music scene has been more welcoming of your music than other countries – agree or disagree, and why?
GM: The UK was initially the home of what we were doing (drum and bass) so we’ve spent the longest time there, I think that’s mostly why we’re biggest in the UK. The UK in a lot of ways is the center of the universe for *new* music because of radio stations like Radio1, so a lot of new bands are broken in the UK first.
MC: Do you have a favourite show / festival moment from last year? What do you remember about it / what makes it so memorable to you in your mind?
GM: Reading Festival and Sonisphere were amazing, They all were.
MC: Your last album Immersion was released in the UK last year but is just getting released in America this month. You have some real big heavy hitters in the business on this one – Liam Howlett of the Prodigy for the track “Immunize,” for one. How did this collaboration happen?
GM: We put together a list of artists we’d like to work with and our management set about contacting them. With Liam however, we cross paths with the Prodigy guys a lot, so we were hanging out in Australia and decided to do a track to show the world we don’t hate each other.
MC: How do you feel Immersion fits in the Pendulum story so far? What are your plans for future material, are you working on new stuff now?
GM: Immersion was the best parts of Hold Your Colour and In Silico taken to the next level, we drew on our previous albums for inspiration on the third.
MC: What’s a surprising fact about you or your band that most people don’t know?
GM: We’re Australian? Many still don’t realize this.
MC: You are about to go on an extensive tour of North America, opening for Linkin Park for some dates and headlining your own shows on others. Where are you most looking forward to visiting / playing and why?
GM: America is a tough place to crack, so we’re looking forward to the challenge.
Tour Dates
Jan 28 – Xcel Energy Center / St. Paul*
Jan 29 – Sprint Center / Kansas City*
Jan 31 – Wells Fargo Center / Philadelphia*
Feb 01 – TD Garden / Boston*
Feb 02 – Guvernment / Toronto#
Feb 04 – Madison Square Garden / New York City*
Feb 05 – Irving Plaza / New York City#
Feb 07 – Bell Centre / Montreal*
Feb 08 – Air Canada Centre / Toronto*
Feb 10 – Verizon Center / Washington, DC*
Feb 11 – Mohegan Sun Arena / Uncasville, CT*
Feb 16 – Ogden Theatre / Denver#
Feb 17 – In the Venue / Salt Lake City#
Feb 19 – Showbox SoDo / Seattle#
Feb 20 – Commodore Ballroom / Vancouver#
Feb 23 – Fillmore / San Francisco#
Feb 25 – Wiltern / Los Angeles#
Feb 26 – House of Blues / Las Vegas#
Mar 25-27 – Ultra Music Festival / Miami
#with Innerpartysystem
*supporting Linkin Park
Pendulum: website | myspace | Immersion review
