When, why and how did you first come together?
The band first came together several years ago in another form based on Myles and Rob's (who
have been best friends since kindegarten)love for good melodic music. Ben
was soon pilfered from another band and a bit later Katie, who has also
known Myles for years, jumped on board too. I came along a little over a
year ago after being invited along to a practice because the band needed a
new guitarist. I think everyone involved became involved because they heard
something special in Myles' songwriting and the chemistry between the band
is awesome.

The album's just been released. Can you tell me a little about where and
when it was recorded, what kind of environment it was recorded in and the
challenges you faced etc?
The album was recorded in Adelaide at Broadcast and Mixmasters studios.
The whole thing became a little chaotic because everyone was trying to
juggle jobs and long hours in the studio. People were coming and going all
over the place. Our producer, Brett Taylor, did a brilliant job of making
it a very enjoyable process despite having to work very hard. We started
recording last December and mixing and mastering has really only just been
finished. We didn't record every day during that time. We kind of did it in
blocks depending on who else was using the studios.

Any albums/artists that have had particular influence on the album's
sound?
We are all fans of bands like You Am I, Coldplay, Radiohead, Grandaddy (who
have been getting a thrashing in the tour van) so I guess the sounds of
those bands have probably crept into our music. I think mainly though Myles
just comes up with a tune on an acoustic guitar and we just play what we
think sounds good around that.

Many people say first albums should make a statement about a band. What do
you think/hope this one says about Special Patrol?
That we aim to write interesting, emotive, music that can move from being quiet and
beautiful to being grunty and powerful enough to nail you to the wall
or sit somewhere in between.

If you weren't in Special Patrol, what would you like about the band's
music?
I think that's easy since I heard a lot of the music before I was in the
band. I would like that there's lyrics that sum up what I feel in a few
great lines. And I'd like the variety of music and the melodies.

What are the plans for 2004? If I were to talk to you again in a year's
time, what do you hope you could tell me then?
The plan for 2004 is to tour on the back of our album and build up a fan
base all around Australia while continuing to write more music for album
number two. If I was to talk to you in a years time I guess I'd like to
tell you that that we're a little further up the ladder and we've kicked a
few more goals. Also that we can afford to fly to Brisbane instead of
driving from Adelaide.

How do you approach live shows? Do you try and reproduce the recordings,
or do you play the songs differently?
We try to make the live sound close to what people would be used to hearing
on the album but because there is a lot of layers on the album it makes
it hard to sound exactly the same. There are stings on the album that you
won't hear live and some songs have up to seven guitar parts which
obviously you won't hear either. But we still aim for a very big sound with
a lot of dynmamics. People have said that we have a slightly harder,
rockier edge live which is because it's raw without any studio tricks.

Have you found touring the best way to spread the word about the band?
Indeed, is there any other way?
We've got fans in places purely because we've played there. I guess the
best way to spread the word is to tour while getting regular airplay. If
we're not getting much airplay then we would be relying solely on tours to
spread the word. Once the albums out there I hope it will slowly find it's
way into peoples hands even if it's not being rammed down their throats on
radio.

Nick Coppack, music writer for Time Off Magazine