Brisbane quartet The Strums have had an 11 month whirwind journey. Not only has is involved a national tour with King Cannons and the release of their debut ep, but it actual involved the coming together of the band itself! Frontman and guitarist Jai Sparks answered a few questions about The Strums, before their ep launch in Brinsbane this Friday (25th of November)

Was writing music a way of coping with what had happened in Queensland and to your homes? A way to purge?

It's a strange thing to go through and you definitely spend a lot of time feeling a bit lost as to what to do next. Getting it off my chest by writing about it without a doubt helped but I think the major benefit was having something else to focus on.

Do you consider The Strums to be a sort of Phoenix, born from the ashes (or dirty water-soaked carpet) of disaster?

(laughs) That makes us sound way cooler than we are, can we use that? I think we were destined to all play together but everything that happened just got us together a bit quicker.

How did you all meet? Was being in a band always on the cards for you, or an impulse?

I met Dan (drums) when I was a real young kid about 15 and I used to love watching his band 'The Vagrants. I ended playing with them in the end. We both went onto different things but were always keen to get back together. I had played with Eric in the band Dead Riot and it just meshed and we stuck together. Eric introduced us to Enrico and we have all just become best mates. Playing in a band has always been on the cards for all of us but coming together was definitely a result of impulse.

The amount of time between you guys getting together, recording the ep and getting it out there, is not a big one; how did you manage to get it all together in such a short amount of time- writing the songs, being able to play together successfully as a band and the ep?

The one thing we want to do with The Strums is not muck around. Eric and I had been writing some things that didn't fit into Dead Riot a little while ago and had them in the bank. We all really meshed well and got in there and hit the practicing hard. I was writing like crazy and lot was going on in my own world that was inspiring me. I love how quickly it's all come together, it's been a lot of work but it's a labour of love so it's not too difficult. Going on tour with King Cannons really helped with making sure we were on top of our live show which is what we enjoy doing more than anything else.

The name of the EP, Are you picking up what I’m putting down?, it’s a bit cheeky; how did it come about?

I would love to say I came up with it but full credit has to go to a good friend of mine Bianca. Whenever I have a very vague moment she would say it to me and it just stuck in my head. When I brought it to the band it was a hit and definitely summed up the feeling of the EP.

When you played your first full-band show with Peter Combe, did you think you’d have to tone your songs down at all?

That's a great question, short answer yes. I played the first couple of gigs with an acoustic and just slammed it out with the band. It wasn't long before I jumped back on the electric and got back into the rock n roll groove.

‘Oh River’ is about your experiences with the Queensland floods; is it a difficult song to perform?

Definitely, I first played it in Sydney when I was there about month after the floods. I had a rough time getting through it and there was a huge reaction from the audience that I hadn't really expected.

When you do perform live, is it hard to go from playing the calmer, down-tempo tunes like ‘Oh River’ to the fast-paced tunes like ‘Two and Two is Three’?

It has taken a bit of work to get it to sit into the set well but I think we have it nailed now. I think it gives people a chance to rest their dancing hips and enjoy a breather and really get into listening to the song.

Is there camaraderie between Queensland musicians because of the disaster?

I think there is, I was thinking at first that people may have used it to get profile on their bands and was really worried that people would think that of us but I am glad with how it's worked out.

How was your tour with King Cannons? These were some of your first shows outside of Queensland; how did the crowds take to you? Any particular favourite interstate venue?

The tour with King Cannons was one of the most positive and amazing music experiences we all have to date. They are an incredible band and really took us under their wing. It was great to get out of Brisbane so early in our career and play shows with people at them. We truly enjoyed every show we did and had a super positive reaction from the audience. It's hard to pin point a particular venue but we had a wild night in Canberra, Vodka and Karaoke bars!

Next Friday is the launch of the EP, what can fan (un)expect?

We are so lucky that some of favourite Brisbane bands have helped us out with this one. All I can say is it's going to be a lot of fun and we will definitely be bringing the party!

After the EP is released, what is next for the Strums?

We are looking to release another single on 7 inch vinyl with a couple of B-sides and hit the road again, then it will be heads down working really hard on our first album.

Thanks for the interview, solid questions I enjoyed it!