Royal Blood on Writing on the Road, Touring America

Royal Blood’s second studio album How Did We Get So Dark? is out now and considering how much touring the duo did in support of their debut, it should come as no surprise that some of the new album with written on the road.

Bassist/singer Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher spoke with WMMR’s Jaxon and Sara recently, and Kerr confirmed  writing and recording on the road, but admittedly, there were some serious issues:

“A little bit actually, yeah. Songs like ‘Hook, Line and Sinker’…that was written on the Foo Fighters tour, actually.  In the back of the bus, we made this little studio.  It was cool, but it got so annoying.  I was trying to record things, and the bus would take a massive corner, and everything would fly over.  I would just be like, 'Jesus!' Yeah…it wasn’t that productive.”

The duo while touring on their first record also learned the hard way just how large the United States was compared to their native U.K.:

Kerr:  “I don’t think I quite realized how big this place is.  When we first came here, we were in a van.  After a show, we’d be straight in the van and driving until four in the morning.  Then we’d be leaving the motel first thing in the morning and driving all day.”

Ben Thatcher:  “I have an analogy about this, which is your band is like a tornado.  If we had a tornado in England, it would destroy most of the country, but in America, it’s just a little village or a farm yard.”

The next time Royal Blood return stateside for a lengthy tour will be in the fall when they provide support for Queens of the Stone Age. Check out the dates below!

To listen to this interview in its entirety, head over to WMMR.com.

Queens of the Stone Age/Royal Blood - 2017 North American Tour Dates

June 22 — Rapids Theater — Niagara Falls, NY
June 24 — Amnesia Rockfest 2017 — Montebello, QC
August 10 – Majestic Ventura Theater – Ventura, CA
August 12 – Outside Lands – San Francisco, CA
September 6 – Capitol Theatre – Port Chester, NY
September 7 – Festival Pier – Philadelphia, PA
September 9 – Budweiser Stage – Toronto, ON
September 10 – 20 Monroe Live – Grand Rapids, MI
September 12 – Express Live! Outdoor Pavilion – Columbus, OH
September 13 – Stage AE (Outdoors) – Pittsburgh, PA
September 15 – Agora Theater – Cleveland, OH
September 16 – Riot Fest – Chicago, IL
October 9 – The Complex – Salt Lake City, UT
October 10 – Red Rocks – Morrison, CO
October 12 – Peabody – St. Louis, MO
October 13 – Crossroads KC – Kansas City, MO
October 14 – Roy Wilkins Auditorium – Saint Paul, MN
October 15 – Eagles Ballroom – Milwaukee, WI
October 17 – Fox Theatre – Detroit, MI
October 18 – Old National Centre – Murat Theatre – Indianapolis, IN
October 20 – TBC – Washington, DC
October 21 – Agganis Arena - Boston, MA
October 22 – State Theatre – Portland, ME
October 24 – Madison Square Garden – New York, NY

Erica Banas is a rock/classic rock blogger. The first man she ever loved was Jack Daniel.  (True story.)