WHEN DID YOU GET THE IDEA OF DOING AN ACOUSTIC ALBUM/ EP?

When we first started we were told we had to play acoustic-versions of our songs. We didn't want to. We hated the idea of having to make acoustic pussy-versions of our rock-songs… But we sat down and tried and once we figured out we cold make alternate versions in various styles, we all thought it was a lot of fun. So I think the idea was around for a long time. It was just a matter of finding the right time and way of doing it.

 

 

WHAT WAS THE PRODUCTION OF THE EP LIKE? HOW WAS THE ATMOSPHERE?

The whole project was fun, but as usual, we made it A LOT bigger than it was intended to be… So time and budget was tight which meant there was a lot of stress. Making an album can be very tedious work, where everything takes SOOO much time and you feel like you're never gonna get done… It's fantastic when everything starts to come together tho. And even more fantastic when it's all done.

 

 

DID YOU EXPECT THAT SO MANY FANS WILL PLEDGE FOR THIS RECORD AND THE WHOLE PROJECT? HOW DOES IT FEEL TO KNOW THAT SO MANY PEOPLE ARE SUPPORTING YOUR PROJECT?

I don't know what we expected. We had a lot of fans say they wanted something like this over the last years. So we felt pretty sure there was going to be at least some positive feedback. If pledge hadn't popped up, I don't think we would've done it. It felt good being able to ask the fans, "Hey, do you want this?" and have their blessing… If that makes sense?

 

 

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO 'PRESENT' THE SPECIAL ACOUSTIC SONGS TO THE PEOPLE AT THE CONCERTS? HOW DID THE PEOPLE REACT?

I think for me personally, the tour was the biggest pay-off on this whole project. Just so much fun playing the songs, with the extra musicians in front of such fantastic crowds. The extra musicians was also fun, because they made us all realize how much we have gained thru this. How far we've gotten. The crowds singing along, the crew, the bus, the life… It's easy to get blind when you tour as much as we have, but having a few new people who were completely new to this and seeing how the experience was for them, made you see everything with fresh eyes. Pretty good for all of us!

 

 

SOME PEOPLE THOUGHT OF „BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN“ WHEN THEY SAW YOUR OUTFITS ON STAGE. WERE YOU ALSO INSPIRED BY THIS?

HaHa! I think it's impossible for men to put on cowboy-outfits these days and not have the association. We we're going for old-school real cowboys… I think it shows in the pictures we took.

But of course, we chose to spend most of the fans money on the recording, not on the outfits, so live and in full color it was a little bit more Brokeback. But if people want to associate us with brokeback-love… That's all good! We have no problem with it.

 

 

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE SONG OF „ROYAL REPUBLIC AND THE NOSEBREAKERS“ AND WHY?

I think for me it's " Let your hair down" and I still really like " I must Be Out Of My Mind"… That's what The Nosebreakers is to me. Western hill-billy blues with a lot of soul. I like where we went with " Let Your Hair Down". Kentucky blue-grass a'la " Man of constant sorrow". A lot of fun to play live… Especially with Daniel's magnificent dobro-playing. I also love the rap-part in full steam… I think that works a lot better live than on the EP, just because of the crowd-reaction.

 

 

CAN YOU IMAGINE TO DO SOMETHING AS FUNNY AND CRAZY AS THE NOSEBREAKERS-EP IN THE FUTURE AGAIN?

Definitely! Might be awhile tho. We need to have enough new songs to transform first!

 

 

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR 2014? ANY SHOWS / FESTIVALS?

We're writing the new album and taking our time with that. We feel like the next one needs to be our best one. At least from our perspective. There's a festival in Sweden but I think that's it for now… There might be more, but not a lot! We're still alive tho! Working our asses off!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(c) April 2014, Sarah Whoever