When the news broke back in 2017 that American emo rockers The Dangerous Summer were reforming Australian fans remained patiently hopeful for a return visit. Now in December of 2019 Aussie fans prayers have finally been answered as they band are celebrating Reach For The Sun 10th anniversary with a tour of the land down under. We caught up with the bands drummer Ben Cato as he shares his excitement before the tour.

 

 

How’s 2019 been going for you?

 

Man this has been a really big one for me and the boys. When we came back I would not have thought that by this time we would already be two records deep, after hitting the reset button on the band and going full steam again. This year in particular has been huge with a lot of touring. Now we are getting ready to do the finale down in oz then we want to start writing again to keep the momentum going.   

 

Congrats on your newest album Mother Nature. After all that the bands been through you must be proud of how it turned out?

 

Oh yeah we are stoked dude. There’s been an overwhelmingly positive response for the record, it feels good. A lot of people have been telling me it’s a front to back kind of record, it’s so damn humbling. We worked so hard.  

 

Did you get to try many different drumming styles to take you out of your comfort zone with Mother Nature?

 

Absolutely man, it was really interesting because we had about twenty seven demos once we were done writing. Some were older, some were newer, we wrote a large majority of songs for the record at our producer Sams for the first two weeks. Some songs we would just rip out everything I did and say how can we revisit this and make it more epic. So yeah it really felt good to step outside of my comfort zone but then I had that moment of realisation that I hard to learn how to play these new songs live.

 

I guess the song “Bring me back to life” is a great way to symbolise the rebirth of the band.

 

Oh yeah I remember with that song AJ was in a different room working on a vocal for a different song. I started playing that groove and Matt started riffing on top of it and we wrote the song in maybe an hour, then AJ started putting vocals to it. That was one we built from the ground up and definitely one of my favourites on the record.         

It’s not long until The Dangerous Summer are back in Australia. You must be pretty excited to escape your winter and head down here?

 

Oh dude you took the words right out of my mouth. I’m ready for it to be summer again. Lets do vegemite on toast I’m so ready. It’s been five or six years since we’ve been there and I’ve never done a club tour down there, so that’ll be a first for me as well.

 

Do you have any memories of being down here for Warped Tour Australia back in 2013?

 

I remember drinking a lot with the guys from Millencolin, love that band so much. Our buddies from Mallory Knox were also on the tour. That was my first time in Australia I was blown away I loved it so much. I’m very excited to get back down there.

 

Is there anything you want to try and do this time around in Australia?

 

I definitely want to go back to Bondi Beach they had the best fish and chips I’ve ever had in my life.

 

While you are touring Australia you’ll be celebrating the tenth anniversary of Reach For The Sun playing the album in full. What do you think it is about that album that connects to so many people?

 

I’m really glad you asked me that because it was that record that drew me to the band in the first place, before me and Matt were involved. I heard the bands first EP and I liked it and I thought when these guys do a full length it’s going to be sick. I remember wearing the Reach For The Sun record out I was so transfixed by everything that was going on rhythmically and all of the layered guitars. Obviously what AJ does is super unique and melodic as fuck. I was so obsessed with it and it’s crazy how things come full circle and I wound up joining the band. So in a lot of ways those emotions I share with fans because I feel the same way about that record. It’s a special one for sure.

 

A huge fan favourite from that album is “Where I want to be”. What’s it like for you playing that song live looking out to the crowd singing along?

 

Oh man it’s better than Christmas, it never gets old. It makes being at home a lot harder because I just want to do that every night.

Lastly do you have a message for The Dangerous Summer Aussie fans who are stoked for the tour?

 

We are excited to get down there and get wild with everybody celebrating Reach For The Sun. Let’s make it a party.

 

(interview by Christian Ross)