What inspired the name of the band? What are your influences and are they the same as when you started out?

SUE comes from A Boy Named Sue, my favourite song by the man in black. I think the themes of alienation, loneliness and rage that pepper it’s lyrics really suit what I’m trying to do with the band, and naming the band after the song was simply too perfect.
Noise Rock bands like the birthday party, metz, mclusky, unwound, and shellac are some of the biggest influences for the band. The stangeness of their sounds and the noise they are able to pump out is infectious, at least in my eyes, I can’t get enough of them, or all the other bands in that genre. Any band or act that screams down their microphone is bound to interest me to be honest.

How do you approach songwriting?

I don’t think about writing really, I just do it and see where an idea can go. The music is thought out than the lyrics; often I’m piecing together scraps of poetry after spending hours working on chord changes and the verse-chorus dynamic. If it feels good and it sounds good, that’s when I know I’ve got a song worth something. Theme wise it’s just what’s bothering me at the time, some kind of distress I have to get out of me, I never write when I’m happy.

Why do you write what you do?

I guess every creative person is trying to find their particular way of expending themselves, and it seems screaming down a mic while banging away at my guitar is mine. It feels good, above all else, I feel like an animal when I’m performing our stuff, getting right down to the very root of my being and letting it all explode out of me. It’s ritualistic in a way, every song is a purge, every performance restores a balance to my life.

How do you decide what to perform live?

I think it’s just a case of which songs are most fun to play, but me and lads don’t think about it too much. We rehearse, try some out, try some more, see which songs flow well into one another and which don’t. Our songs only have guitar, bass, drums and vocals in, so it’s very easy to translate our songs from recording to a live setting.

What plans do you have for the future?

I’d love to tour, promote the ep we’ve just put out (it’s called I Will Dance With Hell So You Can See Heaven, please go check it out), record our next release, get some merch together, and hopefully be able to put out a vinyl one day. Above all else I want to push SUE as far as it can go, I really believe in this band, I think it could be something special, and if we could make half a living out of if at some point that would be ace.