BIT BY BATS THE CURE'S GREATEST HITS Having just returned from Canadian Music Week and the U.K., Bit by Bats are set to headline their first national tour. Drummer, Ben Macklin, responds to those 'New Wave' accusations. Originally hailing from Adelaide, Bit By Bats moved to Melbourne in order to be more centralised and to get away from the metal scene that was so predominant over in South Australia. "With bands like I Killed the Prom Queen coming from Adelaide there's always going to be a spotlight on that particular scene," explains Macklin. Of course the band had a very different name at that point in time. "We were about to head over to Melbourne to play one of our first interstate gigs, another band [with the same name] started jumping up and down. So we had to come up with a new name very quickly and our bass player just dreamt it up when he was dozing off to sleep ... You should feel privileged, that's the first time I have answered that question without lying." Having toured extensively at home as well as over in Canada and the U.K., the group don't find much chance for downtime between shows. Indeed, they usually find themselves heading off to bed early as they can count on their manager booking the red eye flight to "save twenty bucks". As for the 'New Wave' tag, it doesn't really phase them. "If it's not new wave, it's going to be some other name," muses Macklin. "I guess it's just to try and make it more understandable to [press and public]. I don't know how accurate it's going to be for people who have heard the new album. When I think of New Wave I think of that New Order, Cure kind of sound," That comparison to The Cure is something that Bit by Bats are continually seeing pop up in the press. Frankly, Macklin and band mates don't see it. "Its kind of ironic that people have said that Owen sings like Robert Smith, where it's really just Owen yelling. I think that's just the way it comes out sometimes when you try and put passion into vocals, it just seems to come out that kind of yelp. The Sydney Morning Herald said it's the best Cure album to come out in two decades..." Nathan Dover 'Go, Go, Go!' is out now on Shiny Records. Bit by Bats play The Troubadour on Friday April 13. back to top ^

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