You, the Alt-Fest faithful were very vocal in wanting us to book stoner rock kings Godsized, so of course they were one of the first bands named on our line up for 2014. The band made up of Dan, Glen, Chris and Gav had a chat to us about how important it is for them to be playing the SOPHIE stage, why touring Poland sticks in the memory and also why sorting your beer out should be high on your festival agenda.

Your album 'Time' has been out for a little while now. We liked it a lot here at Alt-Fest, what sort of a reception did it get from fans?

Dan - "Thanks! It was great actually, they really seemed to dig it. People had to wait a long time for that and our fans are important to us, it means a lot they accepted it. Making it was such a full on process, you don't really have time to stop and wonder what people will make of it."

Are you writing new material at the moment? Are you one of those band's that write all the time or do you set a particular time to start work on new songs?

Glen - "We are currently writing yes. Writing for us comes more spontaneously than thought about. One of us will bring in a riff, chorus idea or something like that and someone will get a vibe off of it and that's how it starts. Sometimes it leads to a little bit of magic and other times it will get worked on for so long that the spark that set the idea off in the first place is lost. When you get to that point it's time to call it a day on that idea because I've always found that if it's forced, it'll never be as good as when it comes naturally. So yeah, we're writing all the time. "

How would you describe your music? It has elements of both stoner rock and outright metal, very heavy but with a groove to it.

Chris - "I think you've hit the nail on the head! There's a few influences in there, 70's Rock, Metal, Blues, Hard Rock, Stoner, Beards. We're fans of the usual suspects and we've got a lot going on in terms of influences, but I think really we're just writing heavy rock that means something to us and gets people excited. In the immortal words of Biff from Saxon we're heavy but not too angry!"

You're playing the S.O.P.H.I.E. (Sophie Lancaster Foundation) stage. What are your thoughts on that?

Dan - "It's a big deal, and not something we are taking lightly. What happened to Sophie is shocking. The fact that something as positive as the foundation can come out of it is remarkable, and shows a strength of character from those close to her that we can all aspire to. We've contacted the foundation and made sure they know it's an honour for us to be playing, it's not just another show. Everyone attending Alt-Fest is part of alternative culture, and the foundation is setup to challenge prejudice towards that, so anything we can do to help or raise awareness is something to be proud of."

What do you think of the Alt-Fest line up? Are you going to check out any other bands and if so who?

Gav - "What a fantastic line up. Yeah definitely, we'll probably get there early and make sure we check out some of the other acts. Be good to catch up with some friends and familiar faces in some of the other bands playing, which is always cool at these types of festivals. I'm personally looking forward to seeing The Cult as I'm massive fan. That's the cool thing about Alt-Fest, the line-up is so diverse. Never seen Marilyn Manson before, so really looking forward to that and other acts like My Ruin, Sanctorum, Killing Joke, Senser and Die So Fluid. Gonna be an awesome weekend!"

There's plenty of other attractions at the festival will you be checking any of them out too?

Chris - "Well firstly I'll be heading to one of the bars and grabbing a beer! (or 5) Then I wouldn't mind seeing the Circus of Horrors at the Circus Big Top, that looks pretty cool. The Steampunk Experience might be worth checking out too. But mostly I'll be at the bar."

Have you got any advice for people camping at Alt-Fest or advice for bands that maybe haven't played a festival before?

Chris - "Well for the campers I think it's important to make sure you have all your beer sorted out before you go. No-one wants to do a mid-festival shop run when you could be drunk watching an awesome band like Godsized! For the bands I think it's a great chance to meet a whole load of new people and maybe one day they might become fans, so put on a great show."

Will we see Godsized out on the road this year?

Dan - "Yes, but to what extent is still being decided. We have a tour of Germany and some festival slots over summer, but whether we go out on a larger scale or go away and make the second album is still undecided. But there will definitely be a few shows at least, otherwise we all get restless!"

What music do you play on the tour bus, is it something you agree on or do you all like something different?

Gav - "Well where do I start… the tour bus is never short of killer music. We generally are all in to the same kinda things ya know; from Sabbath, Zeppelin, Lizzy, Skynyrd and ZZ top, all the classics really. Then you might get some Grunge like AIC, Pearl Jam or then Mastodon or QTSA, Alter Bridge and Walking Papers which is a band that Dan and I are really into. Or maybe some Blues, Reggae, Jazz Soul. We pretty have it all covered, Haha… it's never the same on our bus, just really depends on our state of mind and how long we've been on the road at that point!"

What's the weirdest or funniest thing to happen to Godsized?

Glen - "Well this wasn't funny at the time, but looking back, it's pretty fucking funny! When we were on the BLS tour we had a show in Poland. The show was amazing and we were all on a high heading off to the next one. About an hour outside Warsaw we had a tire blow out on the motorway that also ruptured the brake line! So there we are at 2am, in Poland, in February, sitting at the side of the road freezing our fucking arses off trying to get hold of someone to pick us up. Eventually, some Polish dude in a tow truck (the second one by the way because the first one was too small) picked us up, took us to where they'd arranged for us to stay and took the van away with all the gear in it! The 'hotel' we stayed at had dead animal heads all over the walls and it felt like something out of the movie Hostel. Quite frankly a group of quite large, fully grown men all feared for their lives haha! Of course, we got the van back and completed the tour, but to this day, I have no idea whether they fixed the van properly or not. Like I said, not funny at the time, but funny looking back on it!"

Godsized got a lot of requests when we were asking what bands we should put on this year. Would you like to say anything to those people and the fans that'll be watching you in August?

Gav - "Really?! That fucking awesome. Well Godsized always pride ourselves on our live performances, just getting out there and playing our arses off. Also connecting with our fans and making new ones on the way and everyone having a fucking great time!! We are so looking forward to playing Alt-Fest it's been a long time comin… so we'll see all you Godsquad fans down the front for some good hard rock action!!!"

Godsized headline the S.O.P.H.I.E. stage in association with TBFM internet radio on Sunday 17th August.

 
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