“Music belongs to everyone,” says Stick To Your Guns lead singer Jesse Barnett.
“It’s important to us that anyone who wants to come to our shows can.”
Since 2003, the US metalcore boys have amassed a loyal following around the world thanks to their explosive guitar riffs, thought-provoking lyrics and high-octane performances. On the back of their latest EP, Better Ash Than Dust, Stick To Your Guns are coming back our way to play licensed and all-ages venues across the country.
“I don’t believe in excluding people. It seems a bit contradictory for the underground and alternative music scene to be any other way,” says Barnett, calling in from a hotel in Copenhagen.
“I’m currently in one of my favourite cities in the world, so I’m fantastic! We just finished a tour of the UK with the Architects, and I’m here with a few of the guys in the band that love to travel. We always like to look around and see the sights before and after every tour leg.”
A trip to Ireland is on the cards next, before Stick To Your Guns head to Australia for two weeks of non-stop touring. “Before this I hadn’t had a moment off since June, so I want to make the most of my time away,” Barnett says, dismissing the idea of rehearsals in their downtime. “During a show we feed off each other’s energy. We’re very good at riling each other up, and I think that’s exactly what happens. Whenever we go onstage we have this crazy kind of anxious energy that makes it more intense. We all tend to be leaning on the side of hyperactive, so it’s not a challenge for us to be energetic – it’s kind of easy actually.”
And despite the fact that Barnett’s vocal chords take a beating every night to achieve his signature sound, don’t expect to find him backstage sipping on hot lemon and honey. “I don’t do much, I don’t really warm up – I kind of just go up there and do it. As long as I can hear myself in my earpiece, I shouldn’t have a problem.”
Stick To Your Guns will play The Bald Faced Stag in Sydney towards the end of January, and they’ve hand-picked a killer lineup to open the show. “We’re bringing with us a hardcore band from Adelaide called Reactions,” Barnett says. “I haven’t met them yet, but I took the advice of our friends in [Sydney-based hardcore band] Relentless and they said, ‘You should check out Reactions, there are a lot of people hyped on that band,’ so I’m looking forward to hearing them and seeing them play for the first time.
“I’ve been friends with the guys from Relentless for a very long time, so for us it was an opportunity to bring them along, and Knocked Loose are buddies of ours and we tour with them everywhere, so that was just an easy pick.”
Barnett says Stick To Your Guns love to collaborate with their mates wherever possible, and that was the reason they invited independent music producer Derek Hoffman to work on Better Ash Than Dust.“I’ve been living in Canada, in Montreal, for a while now,” says the singer. “It’s a beautiful city and I’ve made some great friends, and one of those friends is Derek Hoffman. He’s someone I’ve worked with on many musical projects, so we kind of took a chance on him.
“It was a gamble because usually your label wants you to go with someone who has a name, because that helps sell your record, but Pure Noise just lets us do whatever we want, because they’re the perfect label! And he absolutely killed it. Derek has a way of giving input without seeming like he’s taking over, and he knows how to give critique that is very constructive without getting emotional. He just wants to make the best possible song. He doesn’t have an agenda – he’s just a fantastic musician and incredibly talented person.”
Upon its release in September, Better Ash Than Dust exceeded all expectations, debuting in the Billboard 200 – a rare feat for an EP. “I try not to bother too much with that side of things,” says Barnett. “It can leave you feeling empty if you’re very focused on the numbers, but it’s a good gauge of the fact that people are connecting with the record, and it’s heartening every time we see that. We’re so proud of this release, because we battled internally and externally with each other about whether to do an EP or just wait to put these songs on a full-length. We eventually came to the conclusion that an EP is something fun to do, and we really had faith in these songs.
“Oh, and I have to add that the artwork for the EP was done by an Aussie! A guy named Sam Octigan from Melbourne. He’s awesome. He did all that artwork by hand – he’s incredibly talented too.”
Stick To Your Guns’Better Ash Than Dustis out now through Pure Noise; and they play The Bald Faced Stag, Tuesday January 24, with Knocked Loose, Relentless and Reactions.
