"People seem to just buzz more when it is all ages." An interview with Biffy Clyro

Biffy Clyro are currently going from strength to strength, doing everything from headlining some of the world's biggest festivals to achieving UK #1 albums. Ben Johnson took some time out from conquering the world to talk to Matthew Turner about their upcoming Australia tour, what makes all ages gigs different, and how they really are all just normal people

So you guys toured Australia earlier in the year for Soundwave Festival, what motivated you guys to want to come back so soon after?

We didn’t really need any motivation to get us to come back here. Australia is a great place to visit. You have great weather, you have great people, and you have a great vibe, you have great musi, the whole country just feels great. We didn’t need anything to make us want to come back. Normally we wait 2 or 3 years between tours and didn’t want that to happen again. Australia is a great place with great people.

So I guess that you will being doing the more touristy stuff this time??

We have been to Australia 5 or 6 times before, so ee have already done all the touristy stuff many times over. Though we will do more this time around as we have days off. We normally have a day or two to revive ourselves of jet lag once we get off the plane where we do nothing, and after that we have several more days where we can do what we want.

Your upcoming Australian tour is all ages, do you feel like those shows have a different feel compared to the 18+ shows, and How so?

There is definitely a different feel to shows. Everyone is more excited as they are younger at all ages shows. They have attended less concerts so it is a bigger experience. They don’t as well know what they are doing, or what they are meant to be doing, or what to expect. People seem to just buzz more when it is all ages.

Have you ever noticed whether you had many underage fans in Australia?

I have never really noticed whether there was a large underage fanbase. I don’t really differentiate. They are just fans for us. Though hopefully we will get to meet as many of them as we can through this tour.

Any advice you’d give to upcoming musicians that are fans of yours? Especially younger musicians that see you as a source of inspiration?

Oh wow. Very importantly, you have to pick people in your band very carefully. They have to be your friends that you will be happy to spend days, weeks, or even months with on the road. If you can’t be around the people you are with then you will run into trouble sooner or later down the line. I have been lucky in that way. You also have to keep on trying and taking every opportunity you can get. It will always pay off in the long run.Those are the two things that I tell to up and coming bands; like who you work with, and always keep on trying.

Do you play around with your songs live so that they are different from the studio recordings?

You have to switch it up so that there is something new to the music. When live we try to bring a heavier edge to the recording. Heavier sounds better then live. It is different. We want to give them more than they can get from just listening to the album by itself.

Your most recent music video for Sounds Like Balloons spliced fan footage with live footage. Was this a way to give back to the fans?

It really was. We have amazing fans and it was a great way to get the fans directly involved in everything.

Musicians have insane riders so often, so what’s the usual Biffy Clyro rider consist of?

Nah, we are very boring. Standard things like food, drinks, alcohol, and nothing much more than that. We used to ask for a single purple magic marker, or for them to supply bad DVDs from each venue that we could then collect, though it is all very boring. Maybe one day we should ask for a dwarf just because we can, though maybe that would not be a great idea. But no, we have never really had anything that fun or interesting in our rider.

What helps you keep grounded while you’re on tour?

I don’t really need much of that stuff as as we have been doing this for such a long time so we are used to it by now. I obviously try to ring home as often as possible when I am away from home for a long amount of time. Actually, I more ring them online rather than actually phoning them. I don’t really have anything in particular that keeps me grounded. I normally try to do normal things like going down to the shops and such, so I guess that that helps. Even when people come up to us and take photos with us I just try to talk to us we just want to have a regular conversation with them. We are normal approachable guys like everyone else.

TOUR DATES check out the Sydney date in our guide:

Thursday 4th September The Tivoli, Brisbane Friday 5th September Enmore Theatre, Sydney Sunday 7th September Palais Theatre, Melbourne Tuesday 9th September HQ, Adelaide Friday 12th September Metro City, Perth

Interview by Matthew Turner