I Am Giant Tour Interview


I Am Giant Tour Interview

I Am Giant Tour Interview

I Am Giant are returning to Australia in February 2013- their first dates since their support slot with Slash this September. Leading up to the Australian dates, the band will be touring around the beaches of New Zealand with rock heavyweights Shihad and King Cannons.

I Am Giant recently released their debut album 'The Horrifying Truth' (produced by Forrester Saville) in the UK and Europe in October, and their single 'Purple Heart' won support on BBC Radio One as Zane Lowe's 'Next Hype' , XFM, Kerrang! Radio and Q Radio as well as hitting the No 1 spot on Polish Radio Eska Rock. Second single 'Neon Sunrise' featuring surf legend Kelly Slater will be released in Feb 2013.

With over 56,000 fans on Facebook and over 1,000 international members of their 'IAG Army', I Am Giant have amassed a worldwide following with four #1 rock singles and a platinum album in New Zealand, music videos featuring skate and surfing icons Tony Hawk and Kelly Slater, opened for Slash in Australia, a UK tour with Taking Back Sunday, performances at Big Day Out in Auckland and Sydney, opened for Stone Temple Pilots in Singapore, toured throughout Asia several times, played the prestigious Viper Room and Mercury Lounge in the US and completed their first European tour.

Thursday 14th February 2013: Melbourne - Ding Dong Lounge www.oztix.com.au
Friday 15th February 2013: Sydney - Goodgood - NSW www.moshtix.com.au
Saturday 16th February 2013: Brisbane - X&Y Bar - QLD www.oztix.com.au

Interview with Shelton Woolright

Question: What are you looking forward to most about the upcoming tour?

Shelton Woolright: We love playing Australia; we've toured there with both Dead Letter Circus and Slash over the past few years so we're just looking forward to be catching up with the friends and fans we've acquired along the way and meeting the new ones who have come along as our album has spread.


Question: What should audiences expect from the tour?

Shelton Woolright: High energy live rock and an explosive performance from a band who have toured a lot over the last few years and really have their stuff down. No click tracks, sequencers or bass wobbles. Guitar, Bass, Drums played hard fronted by an amazing singer... (I'm not the singer btw).


Question: Do you write your own songs? What's your inspiration?

Shelton Woolright: We do write all our own songs. Musically we have been inspired by the great bands, artists and songwriters of the last 40 or so years which we've grown up listening to. Lyrically we're inspired by whatever thoughts, philosophies, ideas and events are prevalent at the time of the writing. Your life at that point in time works its way into your lyrics.



Question: Tell us about the inspiration behind Neon Sunrise?

Shelton Woolright: It's a song about infidelity. It's a snapshot of all involved in the scenario. It's not an accusation and it's not an admission (not on my behalf). It's more a description of the deceit, guilt, suspicion, denial.


Question: What music/artists do you listen to when you are not playing your own?

Shelton Woolright: We all have different tastes but in the Van over the last few months we've had the new Deftones album, the new Soundgarden album, Louder Now by Taking Back Sunday, 'Threes' by Sparta; as the drives get longer its Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles!


Question: What was it like to tour with Taking Back Sunday?

Shelton Woolright: It was great, huge band, really nice guys. They dug our stuff and their crowd was into us too so it was great.


Question: Was there a moment you contemplated throwing in the towel?

Shelton Woolright: There was a moment I briefly considered using the towel to restrict the outpouring of volume from someone's mouth.


Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Shelton Woolright: No preference, they are both equally fulfilling depending on the circumstances.


Question: What/who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Shelton Woolright: Purely the desire to write and perform music. Music came first, the industry followed.


Question: What is the biggest challenge you have faced along the way to your musical success?

Shelton Woolright: The biggest challenge still is and always has been the balancing act of surviving whilst spending the huge amount of time it takes to create something that can actually stand up with the other great music out there.


Question: What's a typical day like?

Shelton Woolright: It would consist of emails, discussions, Facebook and Twitter, some playing instruments, opinions, some recording, flights, van rides, soundchecks, accomodation check ins. Eating of course, a few beers… sometimes more than a few. A bit of joking and clowning around, fair amount of laughing, bit of moaning and the occasional theatrical outburst. As well as random singing.


Question: What has been your favourite part of becoming a music artist?

Shelton Woolright: Finishing tracks and albums that I'm truly proud of and sticking to my guns on doing something I enjoy regardless of the outcome.


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Shelton Woolright: Hard to pick one, I'll say Jaz Coleman from Killing Joke we have already collaborated with Kim Benzie from Dead Letter Circus on the track Electric Throne which features on the Horrifying Truth. That all came about over a game of table tennis that he actually won; love Kim's voice and he came from a totally different angle with his parts.


Question: Do you have a website fans can visit?

Shelton Woolright: www.iamgiant.com
www.Facebook.com/iamgiantband
www.twitter.com/iamgiant


Question: What message would you like The Horrifying Truth to say to your fans?

Shelton Woolright: To be honest it is more of a reflective album, there are ideas and thoughts in there that hopefully people will relate too and connect with; just to know someone else out there is feeling the same way as you. There is not so much any direct predominant message and they topics vary from track to track.


Question: What is the story behind the band's name?

Shelton Woolright: We were throwing loads of ideas around and when we got the 'Giant' we liked the fantasy imagery and also the relevance we hoped it would bear on the size of the music we were starting to write.


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