Recent Music For Nations signings X Is Loaded are currently supporting InMe on their UK tour, along with Scottish band Hiding Place (see interviews sections for interviews with both bands). After the gig at the Stoke Sugarmill, I got the chance to talk to Jake, Martino and Jamie. Read on to find out about touring, making videos and Jack Nicholson.

Hi, could you introduce yourselves, please?

Jake: Hi, I'm Jake from X Is Loaded.
Martino: Hi, I'm Martino from X Is Loaded, with the dozy voice!
Jamie: I'm Jamie...from InMe.
(Laughing)

How did you come to be supporting InMe?

Jake: Well, we've done a couple of tours with them before, and they're all really nice guys and they asked us to support them again and we said yes.

So you get on well with them?

Jake: Yeah, definitely.
Martino & Jamie: Yeah.

When and how did you sign to Music For Nations?

Jake: It was actually because of InMe. We were playing a show with them and someone from Music for Nations was there and they seemed to like it, and we were like, "Yeah!!!" (Laughs)

How were the tours with Million Dead and thisGIRL?

Jake: Amazing!
Jamie: Yeah, really good.
Martino: Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

Were there any particular highlights?

Martino: All of it.
Jamie: The beach. And canoeing in Wales!
Jake: Yeah, playing the gigs was actually pretty good too!
(Laughing) Jake: It was just awesome, and they're really nice people as well, it was amazing. We were just so lucky to be playing every night with these great bands. If you don't know them you should get into both of them.
Jamie: Yeah, definitely. They're both brilliant.
Martino: And Mycodenameis:Milo as well. All three of those are just amazing.
(General agreement.)

How do you deal with touring so long at a time?

Jake: You get used to it. I love it, I just can't go back to normal life now.
Martino: When we're not on tour it's a disaster.
Jamie: Yeah, everytime we go home we don't know what to do with ourselves.
Jake: With touring, you just get into a routine, it's a way of life. I wish it would just go on forever!

Is there anything you can't do without when you're on tour?

Martino: Erm...instruments!
(Laughing) Jake: Guinness. We can't go without Guinness, I just love it.
Jamie: Yeah, Guinness and cider.
Martino: I can go without Guinness but I've got to agree on the cider! (Laughs)

You released 'Laugh, Point & Wave' and 'The Start of Everything' in March. How did you decide to release those particular songs?

Jake: Well, it's a mix between us and the Record Company. They sort of say "how do you feel about this?" and we're just like, "Yeah, cool!" (Laughs)

Did you enjoy making the video?

Everyone: Yeah!
Jake: It was cold.
Martino: Really cold.
Jake: Yeah, it was one of the coldest days this year, and it was raining, and we were freezing. I literally don't think I've ever been as cold as that.
Martino: I'm amazed you couldn't see our breath on the video.

So who comes up with the concepts for your videos?

Jake: Well, it was a bit rushed, that one. It was all done in an afternoon, and there wasn't really a concept...
Martino: It was just us! (Laughs)
Jake: But the next one, there is a concept, and the one after that, it's going to be prog rock, man! (Laughs)
Jamie: It's going to have dwarves, Stone Henge, and everything in it!

If you could star in the remake of any film, what would it be and who would you play?

Jake: Ooh! I'd be Jack Nicholson, maybe in One Flew Over...no wait, the Stephen King one. The Shining. I love that one.

Would you ever want to star in a Spinal Tap style documentary?

Jake: Yeah!
(Agreement from everyone)
Jake: We're in it right now! This is just chapter one!

What kind of music are you listening to at the moment?

Jake: Everything! Just everything.

What are some of your current favourite bands?

Jake: Erm...Biffy, stuff like that.
Martino: Million Dead and thisGIRL, like we said. Anything like that, really.
(At this point we have to leave the tiny dressing room we're in as the Sugarmill turns into a night club)
Jake: This is how rock 'n' roll we are! We get kicked out!

How about all time favourite bands?

Jake: Mine changes every week, you know how it is. And then a new band comes along and you're like, 'Woah!' and then another one, 'woah!'.
Jamie: One of my favourites is Guns 'n' Roses.
Jake: (Laughing) That's the drummer saying that! No, we all love them.
Jamie: Everyone's embarrassed about that!
Jake: No, we're not...!

If you could tour with any band or bands, who would it be?

Jake: I don't know...Foo Fighters would be mental.
Jamie: Muse.
Jake: Yeah, Muse, all that sort of stuff. Deftones would be wicked.

What have you got planned after this tour?

Jake: It's the release of the next single, called 'Thirteen Days' on the 21st of June, and then we've got an album coming out in July, and then just touring, touring, touring.
Martino: So you're going to see us a lot!
Jamie: A headlining tour, too.
Jake: Yeah, a headlining tour, that would be great. And hopefully a festival, one or two, if everything goes to plan.

Thanks a lot to the band for doing the interview, and make sure you go and see them if they're playing a town near you! To find out more about them, check out their official site at www.xisloaded.com.