Chik Magazine, March 2006, with Andy Strachan

Author Unknown


Chik: Congratulations on the new album State of Emergency. It sounds great and it's going to make for a great live show.
Andy:Yeah thanks. It's kind of what we set out to do. One of our main goals anyway was to make an album that we were happy and comfortable playing live.

C: You guys played BDO this year. What's one thing you always take with you to the BDO?
A: Well, I sweat alot when I play so I always have to have a spare change of clothes. And I always take a packet of chewy. That's just one of those ritual things that I always do. Some sunscreen is a good idea too.

C: So, The Living End has joined the Myspace revolution.
A: Yeah, it's a new and exciting thing for me. I'm a novice on computers. I'm not very good at all, but I'm slowly getting my head around it. I'm trying to reply to all the people who leave comments on our page. I spend a couple of hours a day just trying to get back to them all. It's a good way to make contact and know what's going on.

C: The band has been rocking out for 10 years now so you've got lots of older fans, but you can still pull a younger crowd. That must be nice to know.
A: It was quite a big thing on the FHOI tour and we really noticed a huge amount of younger fans coming along to our all ages shows. Then we did the coke tour, which was amazing. It's really nice to have a whole fresh bunch of faces in the audience. It's a bloody good thing! Underage gigs are hard to put together, but they're well worth it. We do as many as we possibly can.

C: All right, now on to the random questions. if you were reincarnated who or what would you like to come back as?
A: Dave Grohl - he seems to have a pretty good life and he's a fantastic drummer. Either that or someone like Mark Occhilupo, who's an amazing surfer. He's an inspirational kind of guy.

C: When and where was the last place you threw up?
A: I don't know if it was the last time, but the most memorable time was my 29th birthday in LA. I got way too drunk and Scott (bass player) had to assist me while I emptied the contents of my stomach in the hotel bathroom. It was a bonding moment.

C: Have you got any phobias?
A: Not really. I like the feeling of being scared in the water - not by sharks, but by big waves. I'm a surfer and it's a big adrenalin rush.

C: What were your best and worst subjects at school?
A: My best subject was Phys Ed. I always enjoyed that. And my worst would have to be maths. I can count to four because I'm a drummer and that's all I need to know. Once I got to that level, that was enough for me.

C: If you were a product tester what product would you want to test?
A: Coffee. I drink alot of it and I'm a bit of a coffee snob, so I know a good coffee when I see one.

C: What was the last movie you saw and what rating would you give it out of five?
A: I watched a movie last night - White Noise. I thought it was really good. A little bit scary, but good scary. I kind of like to be scared. I'd give it four red frogs.

C: Who's your favourite ranga?
A: Josh Homme from Queens Of The Stone Age. He is but a god!

C: What did you do last Saturday night?
A: I cooked gyozas. They're Japanese dumplings with minced pork, Chinese cabbage, ginger, garlic and a rice wine sauce. I love cooking. It's kind of my second passion in life... after music.

C: Yum! How gourmet! Okay, last question. What was the meanest thing you ever did to your siblings?
A: I burnt my brothers hair with an oxy torch and all his eyebrows too. I was scared for my life. He's quite a handyman and he was welding something. He asked me to hold the torch and I accidently pressed the wrong button and it went off in his face. He wasn't very happy with me, but looking back it was bloody funny!