Born Lion

Tell us about your music - how did you develop your sound?

If you like John Mayer, you will probably hate us. As far as developing our sound… Well, it's a rich tapestry.... We just jam and play off each other. We're always swapping CDs that we stoke on and that probably influences our sound alot. Right at the beginning: Fugazi, Refused, Hot Snakes and The Bronx were getting passed around. But other than that it just the usual stuff. Bashing out ideas and then deciding which ones are kept and which ones are canned. Basically, if it doesn't make is want to break stuff, it's canned. Yeah, there’s not too much manuscript paper and pencils in this band. (DAVE)

What’s a Born Lion live show like?

High energy! We sweat and bleed and want people to feel a sense of danger. We basically put every fibre of our beings into shows, regardless of where it is. (JOHN)

What’s the best advice you’ve been given and by who?

Can’t remember who said it. Maybe it just occurred to me... like some type of epiphany... "do it because you love it". I know it's a cliché, but it's the only way you'll ever be able to get through the not so fun parts. Also my dad once told me to play Slim Dusty covers exclusively if I wanted him to come to any shows. And Billy Joe Armstrong once told me (i.e. I read in a magazine) "play football, no one gives a shit about people in bands" (NATHAN)

What’s your favourite memory of seeing live Australian music?

There are so many! I think one that stands out is seeing Shihad in small coastal Sussex Inlet, at the local RSL. A few buds and I thought it’d be cool to see Shihad in a different kind of location like that. They played to about 100 people and just tore the place down. Climbing speaker boxes and just sounding massive. It was the best! (JOHN)

What’s coming up for you in 2013?

We are releasing our debut EP on March 1st! Then we are touring the east-coast through March. After that we're going to take things as they come and focus on writing again for a few months. There will defiantly be a-lot more shows this year but we seriously want to make a full-length album, so making time for writing is going to be a priority. (JOHN)

Australian music is…?

...world class! Particularly in-terms of the breadth of talent at the grass roots level. I have done a fair bit of traveling over the last few years and been to a lot of pubs and bars. What's going on here is really exciting. There's so much talent, and it's everywhere. Maybe because it's so hard for new bands to get a start here, the standard in Australia is so high. Whatever it is, the quality of live music in Australia is right up there and I reckon it's only going to get better. (RED)