DATE OF INTERVIEW:

PERIPHERY

6th October 2012

ADAM "NOLLY" GETGOOD

METAL DISCOVERY: So your drummer Matt [Halpern] is not on this tour as he dislocated his shoulder about a week ago I gather…

NOLLY: Yeah.

(Adam "Nolly" Getgood on Periphery's clash with Black Sabbath at the Download Festival 2012)

"We had about half an hour before Black Sabbath kicked off and I think a lot of people thought they’d do both so towards the end there were people walking out but the tent itself was still full of people which we were very thankful for."

Adam "Nolly" Getgood on his tour bus, Leeds, UK, 6th October 2012

Photograph copyright © 2012 Mark Holmes - www.metal-discovery.com

Interview & Photography by Mark Holmes

RELATED LINKS

Official Periphery MySpace:

PERIPHERY DISCOGRAPHY

Albums

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to Sarah Lees for arranging the interview

Official Periphery Facebook:

Periphery II: This Time It's Personal (2012)

Periphery (2010)

MD: But you have Mike [Malyan] from Monuments and Boris [Le Gal] from Chimp Spanner filling in?

NOLLY: Correct, yeah.

MD: Were they already familiar with the set and have you had much rehearsal time together before the shows started?

NOLLY: No, it was very, very touch and go on that. Mike had approximately 24 hours to learn the set. Thankfully, there’s a couple of songs he’s been playing for quite some time actually. I think he learnt ‘Icarus Lives!’ back when he was fourteen or fifteen. He’s only twenty believe it or not and he’s a phenomenal musician. But, certainly, some of the new tracks are very complicated and difficult enough for us and he’s had to step in a learn these parts that Matt’s written. Also, Matt’s got a very unique style and Mike is trying to perform, note for note, like Matt so it’s a big ask. Boris has had, of course, the best part of a week now and will be joining us at Southampton. Mike will play the show but, hopefully, Boris will get a chance to soundcheck with us and run through things.

MD: There are a whole load of videos on YouTube I noticed where people have already uploaded guitar, drum and bass covers of tracks from the new album – do you ever check out that kind of thing?

NOLLY: From time to time, yeah. It’s always interesting to see.

MD: Do you find it quite flattering people want to learn your music and take the time and effort to do that?

NOLLY: Hugely so. It’s also scary to see the rate that… you know, there’s a couple of guys that are very young out there… I certainly couldn’t play that sort of stuff when I was their age and they seem to be learning it by ear. One guy in particular learnt ‘Make Total Destroy’ almost instantly when it was first put out. So, yeah, very impressive indeed and it’s interesting to check out. I don’t go browsing around for it too often but, often, it’s linked through the Periphery social media and you see these things.

MD: How was your Download Festival experience this year because I gather you headlined the Pepsi Max stage but had an unfortunate clash with Black Sabbath?

NOLLY: [laughs] Yeah, we did!

MD: Did you have a crowd?!

NOLLY: Oh, it was pretty amazing actually. The tent was rammed. We had about half an hour before Black Sabbath kicked off and I think a lot of people thought they’d do both so towards the end there were people walking out but the tent itself was still full of people which we were very thankful for. We were very worried about that but there was still a big crowd.

MD: This is a very random question - Sir Christopher Lee has a second metal album due to be released soon but what actor would you most like to see transformed into an unlikely metal star?

NOLLY: I’ve got to say something like Arnie. Arnie would be sweet; Arnie as a metal frontman…

MD: But there’s Austrian Death Machine already so that idea’s already out there.

NOLLY: Yeah, you’ve got a point there. I think Sylvester Stallone would probably be a pretty brutal frontman.

MD: With his mumbling delivery!

NOLLY: Yeah! [laughs]

MD: Slightly growled maybe.

NOLLY: Like a low-pitched Mustaine or something!

[laughs]

ALEX MARKIDES [Tour Manager]: Wesley Snipes!

NOLLY: Oh, actually, yeah, he’d be good.

MD: Samuel L Jackson would be my own choice!

NOLLY: That could be sweet!

MD: Okay, so my final question – if you could ask yourself a question that you never get asked in interviews, what question would you ask yourself?

NOLLY: It’d be pretty sweet if someone asked me if I wanted a million bucks or something, that’d be pretty awesome!

MD: And your answer would be?

NOLLY: It would probably be yes!

[laughs]

NOLLY: If there were no strings attached, that’d be a pretty good question to be asked! [laughs] It’s always cool to be asked, and we are quite rarely, what bands are out there…it’s always nice to support the scene. It’s always cool to get to talk about personal favourites of mine like Exotic Animal Petting Zoo who are very underground at the moment. They’ve just put out an album that’s awesome. And, of course, bands which we’re touring with – Between the Buried and Me have just put out a new album and that’s blowing our minds. We’ve just got to check that out; they just got the physical copies the other day. And, of course, Monuments… there are so many good bands out there making amazing music and some of it’s so criminally underrated, you know.

MD: The Agonist’s new one is one of the last really good albums I’ve heard – an incredibly talented band.

NOLLY: Yes! I need to check that out; I’ve heard a lot about that.

MD: Well, thank you so much for your time, appreciated.

NOLLY: Thanks a lot, cheers.