We caught up with Aleks and the Ramps to talk about Facts, 'Middle Aged Unicorn On Beach With Sunset', colourful smoke machines and much more!

How has 2012 been treating you guys so far?

So far 2012 has been treating us like a decrepit old donkey, trying to squeeze out a few more miles from our tired bones. We aren’t complaining though, we just keep our heads down and try not to think about how much the old farmer molests us.

Your new album Facts was released yesterday. How are you feeling about your third album?

We’re pretty psyched really, it took us ages to make but is our best effort yet. We haven’t played many shows with these songs, so we don’t even hate them yet!

Can you tell me a little bit about the recording process?

We decided to attempt to write and record at the same time, kind of super high quality demo’s that didn’t need much extra work to turn into proper album tracks. To this end we set ourselves up in a warehouse in Fairfield VIC and started hitting drums and making strums on various stringed instruments. It turns out this is a very sloooow way of making a record, it’s very hard to tell when you are actually ‘finished.’

Was there any particular reason you released the album on Valentines day?

Nope, being independent means we can be completely arbitrary about things like release dates.

You also released the album on vinyl. Any reason why?

We don’t like the idea of having a bunch of CD’s under our beds anymore. People seem to like buying vinyl still and it’s real nice to see your cover art in a 12”x!2’ format. Please go and buy a copy now, they are very expensive to manufacture.

On your website you have written "old news: world war II.O, Lana Del Ray can't sing, Waynes World is pretty funny". Have you received any interesting comments about that?

Nope. That changes month to month, our old drummer/webmaster Black Wasp started that I believe.

Your video for 'Middle Aged Unicorn On Beach With Sunset' has received a few hits on youtube. Where did you record the video?

We ran around Darebin parklands letting off illegal smoke bombs and annoying dog-walkers one afternoon. Then we jumped on a trampoline and destroyed our lower backs and knees at Diamonds’ house. Then Aleks spent a month patiently editing and after-affects-ing until it was done. He didn’t even pay himself. What a trooper.

What was the concept behind the video?

Concepts? Nope, don’t have any of them. We might sound and act like some kind of prog band, but we don’t do concepts.

Where did you get the colourful smoke machines from?

Vietnam, by post. I don’t recommend tyring that yourselves as you will most likely be arrested for sending explosives in the mail. Aleks has a lot of experience with that sort of thing though, he was once arrested for sending fake anthrax in party invitations back around late 2001.

You're about to embark on your biggest national tour yet, and you're playing in some unusual places for a band to tour. Any reason behind this?

I know it might seem unusual to play in Canberra, but the inhabitants of our nations capital have by far the highest per-capita income of any state or territory in AUS. We are subsequently raising merchandise prices by 1000% for that show.

What can we expect from your shows?

Sound, light, a nominal amount of pained screaming, tiny shorts and guitar solos behind the head.

What do you have in store for 2012?

Pretty much just more shows, heading overseas to tour, finally making our ‘Citizen Kane,’ but with small dogs playing all the parts.

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The new ablum Facts is available now through http://aleksandtheramps.bandcamp.com or iTunes

Catch Aleks and the Ramps this March all across Australia touring their third album Facts. Dates below!

March 1st - The ANU Bar - Canberra, ACT
March 2nd - The Patch - Wollongong, NSW
March 3rd - GoodGod Small Club - Sydney, NSW
March 4th - Chinos - Newcastle, NSW
March 8th - The Rails - Bryon Bay, NSW
March 9th - The Spotted Cow - Toowoomba, QLD
March 10th - Tym Guitars (in store) - Brisbane, QLD
March 10th - The Waiting Room - Brisbane, QLD
March 22nd - The National Hotel - Geelong, VIC
March 23rd - Northcote Social Club - Melbourne, VIC
March 24th - The Hotel Metro - Adelaide, SA
March 31st - The Brisbane Hotel - Hobart, TAS