Is it hard to get the music out there, on radio for example?
It depends on what country it is. Most of my experience is from Ireland and America, with a little bit of Australia. In Ireland you have to get to the stage where you're big enough that they can't ignore you any more – when there's enough people interested in you it becomes worth their while.That was the scenario for us anyway.
In America it's very difficult. Because all the stations are pretty much owned by huge companies who decide the kind of music they'll play and it's all about payola where if you want to get a song on radio you give out a couple of brown envelopes or backhanders and you'll get played. They're trying to do away with that now, but it still exists in the form of marketing junkets – like, we'll bring the important people off on holidays and get them drunk for a week in the sun, and get them to play our songs etc. So as a result in America you have to rely on the smaller radio, type of college radio stations – then if enough people pick up on you at that level, the next tier up in terms of radio stations will pick up on you and so on – but it's a difficult process.
In Australia there are some great radio stations like TripleJ, stations that are funded by the Government, a type of independent radio station where nobody tells them what they can and can't play. It's up to the people at the radio station to decide. For us that's perfect, because it takes out the politics and leaves it down to somebody liking your music. You feel then that you're in with a shot. But when there's more business involved than music, of course it can be difficult.
So Finally, what's the general morale like in the Frames Camp??Really Good I'd have to say. The goal now is to get the record done and get it out there. Things seem to be really good at the moment, in so far as we've just done this deal and SetList has just come out now in the States and Europe – though we're not planning on doing much with it, it's just as a kind of introduction to us for certain countries that may not know us. Then we've got this tour in America with Damien Rice, playing some great venues, the last time we played there we played the Fillmore and places, and this time it's a step up, to 5-6000 seaters so that's really exciting, and then there's the summer with a few festivals to look forward to so it's all looking good!