Kerbdog [Interview]

TMMP’s 2000 Trees Interview Onslaught continues with Cormac Battle, vocalist/guitarist for rock legends Kerbdog…

You’re playing 2000 Trees this year. How’re you feeling about it right now?

Very excited. We play quite rarely (our drummer lives in Dubai for God sake!), so to leave our lives for a brief period to become rock stars at 2000 Trees is properly fucking brilliant.

What can the curious expect from your set?

A heart-pounding set of songs that the Foo Fighters wish they had written.

What happened at the first show you ever played?

Not a lot really. There were more people onstage than in the venue – and that included our friend with a deep fat fryer making chips and handing them out to the punters at the front of the stage. We were truly awful.

You’ve been around for a while! What lessons have you learnt about playing live over the course of so many shows?

8 cans before going onstage just doesn’t work.

If there is no barrier [in front of] the stage, stay as far away from Read more…

Posted on 06 July 2015

Glass City Vice [Interview]

Glass City Vice are a band on the rise, having supported the likes of You Me At Six and heading down to 2000 Trees 2015 to rock it hard. TMMP talked to GCV about the festival, their origin story, and Spinal Tap..

You’re playing a set at 2000 Trees this year. How’re you feeling about it?

Super excited! We are playing the stage that is nestled in the woods, which looks really cool. If the weather holds out it should be a pretty cool setting. It’s wicked to be on a bill with so many great bands as well.

How did Glass City Vice first get together?

We all met at university in Brighton. We hadn’t really heard each other play, but [it] was more of a mutual love for the same music. We have all grown up a lot since then, and it’s almost Read more…

Posted on 05 July 2015

Tellison [Interview]

In the latest instalment of TMMP’s 2000 Trees Interview Overload, Tellison talk gigs on skateramps, DIY challenges, and the side effects of brown liquor consumption…

You’re playing a set at 2000 Trees this year. What thoughts and feelings are going through your heads right now?

Right now we’re juggling a thousand things in our heads. There’s a lot to sort out before releasing an album (our new one comes out this summer) and we’re a pretty DIY band, so we’re the ones doing the sorting. There are videos and singles and artwork and rehearsals and posters and sets and equipment repairs and vans and merchandise and websites and photos and a hundred other small bits to try to line up neatly so everything comes out on time and looking right.

It is exciting though, once you’ve waded through a thousand emails. 2000 Trees has been very good to us over the years, so we’re looking forward to Read more…

Posted on 05 July 2015

Jurassic Pop [Interview]

This is the greatest interview you will ever read.

Your first hit is called Whoever You Are, Whoever You’re With, You Must ALWAYS Make Time To Get With Jeff. What makes Jeff Goldblum so damn sexy?

Just look at him! On a purely physical level it’s those smouldering good looks, his barely concealed chiselled chest and his devil-may-get-a-hard-on dress sense!

Dust below that exterior though, past the sizzling dry wit and humour and you get to what makes Jeff just irresistible. He’s SO. FUCKING. WISE. While everybody else dances around getting excited about playing God, he’s the man who dollops out the sense of cynicism – and ALL of the best lines. Life will find a way.

2000 Trees Festival are letting you loose on their stage this year. What can the curious expect from your set?

I know right? Idiots!

So basically Jurassic Pop pride ourselves on bringing a lo-fi set full of brazen dinosaur enthusiasm, pop hooks, and every lyric carefully crafted about Jurassic Park. There will be Read more…

Posted on 04 July 2015

Goan Dogs [Interview]

With 2000 Trees Festival on the horizon, TMMP talked to desert rockers Goan Dogs – starting with a very serious question…

First off, I need you to help me settle a debate: What the hell is “desert rock”, anyway?

Music for people to rock out to in any desert. So, no idea really. Once upon a time, The Desert Sessions and Tinariwen used to seep into our music though, and we just kept using the phrase. It’s tiring thinking of new descriptions when the music keeps evolving.

You’re due to play 2000 Trees 2015. Do you have anything special planned for your set?

In a word, yes. Over the last year we have been writing and scrutinising our new material with legendary producer Read more…

Posted on 03 July 2015

Cleft [Interview]

Cleft are fucking nuts. Some bands just grab your attention through sheer force of intent – and this instrumental turbo-prog duo is definitely one of them. TMMP got talking to guitarist Dan about their upcoming set at 2000 Trees – and this is what came out…

You’re due to hit 2000 Trees 2015. How’re you feeling?

We’ve had a hectic and challenging few months due to illness so it feels like it’s come out of the blue to me actually. We’ve been burrowed away writing loads of new material for our next album, so we’ve not had much time to think about gigs and festivals. It’s only now that it’s so close that I’m realising we’re actually doing this festival, playing with so many amazing bands. It’s going to be an excellent weekend!

Musically, you’re pretty out there. If an inebriated stranger were to ask what you sound like, what would you say in response?

I’d describe ourselves (to an enormously drunk and unmusical stranger) like a cross between Yes, Slayer, and Mr Blobby. But to a normal human person, we’ve been categorising ourselves as “turbo-prog,” which seems to have stuck now.

We play riff-based progressive music that we’ve condensed down to the length of an average to short pop tune due to our very short attention spans. We’re exactly the same as the Beatles – if the Beatles were an instrumental, gear-obsessed drum/guitar duo with a penchant for filthy riffs and odd groovy rhythms…

What made you decide to stick with the guitar-drums duo format? Would you consider expanding the lineup?

I think we just both thrive on the challenge of Read more…

Posted on 02 July 2015

Solemn Sun [Interview]

Solemn Sun deal in expansive, hard-hitting rock – and with a set of festivals on their summer To Do list (including 2000 Trees, which will come as no surprise to those keeping up to date with TMMP’s ongoing Trees-related series of interviews!), they’re busy to say the least. Here, the band discuss festival crowds, motivation, and what happens during creative dry spells…

You’re hitting 2000 Trees this year. What’s the general feeling in the SS camp right now?

We’re very excited to get out and play some festivals this summer; we haven’t toured since our UK/EU run with Mineral back in February, so it’s been a long while off. We’re very proud of the set we have ready for them and Trees in particular has an amazing crowd – so looking forward to playing that one.

What happened at the first gig you ever played?

Ha! Our first ever gig wasn’t exactly the best start: a pretty tense load in and check led to us having a minor scuffle with the support band. It all ended well on the night though and was a solid turn out for our first show.

What’s your favourite part of the festival experience?

Definitely the set itself. A festival crowd is a great thing because Read more…

Posted on 02 July 2015

Allusondrugs [Interview]

Surreally-orientated grunge-rock upstarts Allusondrugs are more than a controversial name. They’re also an immense live act, and they’re set to hit 2000 Trees 2015 with all they’ve got. With that in mind, TMMP talked to AUOD guitarist/vocalist Damian Hughes about live shows, food-lack-induced death, vomit, and purple fire…

You’re set to play 2000 Trees – what’s the best part of the festival experience for you?

If catering at the festival is good then it’s usually that. Food is king. All five of us are addicted to food. If we don’t eat food then we get irritable and cranky, we get unwell, and start to die.

What’s the most mental thing that’s ever happened during an Allusondrugs set?

Jason vomited all over himself during our set at Download this year. He was really shaky because he met Iron Maiden’s bass player about ten minutes before we went on. I’ve never seen him shit himself as much as Read more…

Posted on 01 July 2015

Samoans [Interview]

As a lifelong Deftones fanatic, any band willing to incorporate even the tiniest hint of said legends’ sound into their own noise is more than welcome in my earholes. Samoans do what all the best bands do with their influences: chuck them all into a metaphorical blender along with some extra-special spice, shred the lot to hell, and see what comes out when it’s tipped upside-down. TMMP talked to Samoans guitarist Oli about his band’s upcoming set at 2000 Trees Festival, and much more…

You’re due to play 2000 Trees this year. How’re you feeling about it?

Pretty excited really. We did ArcTanGent festival last year which was great, so hoping for a similar vibe. Loads of bands we absolutely love are playing. I missed the Mclusky shows last year, so I’m looking forward to that.

What can the curious expect from your set?



Loud bits, quiet bits, and occasionally bits that are somewhere between loud and quiet. We’ll be playing songs from our debut album Rescue, which we released a year ago. We might drop in a couple of new ones for good measure.

What’s your band’s origin story?



Dan and Calvin met at a birthday party. I don’t know the details but it probably involved a dispute over pass the parcel. They played overly complicated tap-happy music for a few years with a number of different drummers until Read more…

Posted on 30 June 2015