Hi and welcome back to this side of the pond, how is the European tour going so far, good fun?

The tour is great so far :) some surprisingly good turnouts considering that I have only been over sporadically.

When did you decided to undertake a solo career and with what ambitions?

After spending a decade of living and struggling in the New York City area, I left it a couple of years ago for a quieter and sustainable life in my hometown in Virginia. It helped to concentrate on my solo career and I've been on my own for almost a year now.

How do you approach your shows solo and with band, are preparations different and do you prefer one over the other?

I'm very aware that my solo shows are very compelling and lot of people enjoy seeing me just by myself. I use the band to augment my vocals and also to get more energy during the rowdiest songs. I love playing with my band, as well as performing solo.

Tell us about the label Joyful Noise, who released your solo LP, how did you get together?

Just as I had almost competed my successful kickstarter campaign to raise funds to self-release, Karl was the only one to contact me and offer me a record deal. He was very intelligent and seemed very nice, so we negotiated a very fair deal..

What is the meaning behind your album title 151a 

151a could also be read in Japanese as "ichi-go-ichi-e" It means "one moment one meeting" and it is an approach to performance and composition that allows me to enjoy t he spirit of the moment and take more risks.

You are releasing the decade spanning, The Woodentops ‘Before During After’ – Remasters, Remixes & Rarties 1982-1992 via One Little Indian, on May 27th How does it feel now that the release is ready to go?

Its exciting. Its so long since we put out a serious release I really had forgotten how it feels. It’s a little spotlight moment for us. Time to make a scene. hehe. Puts a bit more oomph into it all, We'll play harder live.

Is the release designed to be a history lesson on the band or, a long look over the shoulder, before looking forward again?

Well that’s how it looks. However in fact it was nearly compiled a couple of times before, just this time it went all the way to finish.  I like the long look over the shoulder idea. Some truth in that. good one! You writers quite often help me figure out what it is I'm doing. 3cds long, a look!. Not too long I hope, neck ache..

When did the band originally get together and with what ambitions? 

1982 it began as an idea and conversations and listening to tapes I’d done. It didn't take long to find people to come in the cocoon of hard work. We all loved to play as much as possible and we took a long while before we dared play in public. From then on the ambition was to play more and more get it better. That’s the drive. Still is.

How have the personnel of the band changed over the years to how do you look as a group today … are there any plans for new music?

For a 5 piece band essentially, I counted once 35 people have played in with us!  Some for a while, some a short burst. The 3 of us Simon Frank and I are the longest serving from the beginning of it. We look like the Woodentops. We are pretty wirey and play fast for a long time. Seriously, the set is fierce at the moment. New songs are weaved with the originals and there is new album just about to step out the house. Because of ‘Before, During, After’, we have given ourselves a touch more time to tweak.

Hi Caitlin,

How long have you been playing and performing and what was the spark that sent you down this musical career path?

I have been a musician for years, but the music I am making now, I have been creating and working on for about 5 years. I have always been interested in writing and creating music and sonic soundscapes, however I think watching the phenomenal musicians that come out of Australia as a young adult, as well as theatre and watching films have been the main inspirations for my musical progression.

How would you describe your music for people who have not yet heard your songs yet?

Electro-acoustics. Folk music with sound effects and dialogue samples. Big drums and lots of vocals.

How did your collaborations with Peter Broderick and Holly Throsby come about?

Holly has been a friend of mine for years, and was a big inspiration to me, both musically and personally – I always wanted to sing a song with her on my first album, and I got to sing on her album too. It was an honour.

Before my album came out, almost 3 years ago now, I sent Peter a bunch of demos after writing to him and letting him know how much I enjoyed his work and respected his opinions of mine. He enjoyed them so much he sent me a handful of poems he had written, including a beautiful visual piece called ‘A Boat?’. To challenge myself, as well as show my respect for his work I turned it into a song – and wrote music and a melody for his poem. He enjoyed it so much he let me put it on the record. To this day, Peter and I have only met once in person.

Your music is described as Post-Hardcore, how would you describe your sound? 

It's a mixture of all the kinds of music we like; we mix really heavy stuff with really

"poppy" stuff. it's a little bit like good vs evil

You released an EP in 2011 when is your next release due and what can we expect to hear?

Hopefully as soon as possible. We're working on a new album as we speak. That will be

our full length debut. It's a little bit more technical and mature but it's still the same type of

music.. just better.

How did the band come together and with what ambitions?

Most of us lived in the same town in Iceland called Ólafsvík, it's a really small town

(about 1000 people live there) and we were pretty much  the only guys in the whole

town that liked rock/metal. So we started playing together as a HIM covers band and

then just evolved. There was nothing else to do other than practice so, we pretty much

practiced every day.