Godsized Interview

Glen Korner – Vocals & Guitar
Neil Fish - Guitar
Gavin Kerrigan – Bass
Effon – Drums

A little while back, in amongst a pile of CD's for me to review, sat "The Phoney Tough & Crazy Brave" by the band, Godsized. Since that first play on my car stereo at full blast, Godsized have made it into my must have playlist alongside Black Label Society, Alter Bridge, Stonesour, Pantera, Dream Theater and Queensryche. Scotland of late have been producing a stream of brilliantly talented rock bands such as Logan, Twin Atlantic, Flood Of Red, the list goes on, and it seemed for a while that England didn't have much by way of response, that some how the scene south of the border had been subdued by Electronica and Autotune hell. Until now, step forward Godsized! A band of immense individual talents that combine effortlessly into a metal siege battering ram.

I read a review where the journalist complained that he wanted some "screaming" from Glen Korner. Thankfully, Godsized's frontman has ignored such criticism, I guess that's why he's the frontman for a rock band destined to do well and pretty much enjoying himself, as opposed to bashing away at a computer keyboard. The only criticism I can so far level at the band is, quite simply, we all want an album!

First off a huge thank you for taking time out of your schedule to talk to us.

Neil said that Godsized for him started in 2008 when Glen, Gavin and Effon joined. How/where did Neil find them?

Me and Frontman, Glen knew each other from drinking in the same rock bar where we live. I’d seen his previous bands play many times and It was a no-brainer to begin to work together. I met Effon whilst Godsized were gigging with his previous band and we often played a rock bar that Gav ran at the time and struck up a great friendship. It’s the perfect line-up for this band. Some of us live 90 miles apart but that doesn’t matter – the important bit is having the right band chemistry, not being local to each other.

Who came up with the name Godsized and why (and were there any notable contenders for the bands name that were discounted)?

Wow that was actually a previous band member ha ha and it’s a reference to the Pantera lyric in ‘Becoming’ – we did have a few possibles but this one fit well. I like one word band names. They are easier to remember if you’ve seen a band live on a drunken night out.

Prior to Godsized, what were the band members doing?

We’ve all been in bands for years gigging and recording and just generally trying to make stuff happen. This one feels right to all of us and we’ve done some great things with plenty more on the horizon.

When I heard “Phoney Tough & Crazy Brave” I loved the sound, hard hitting but with a hell of a groove to it. I was totally shocked when I discovered that Godsized weren’t American! When you formed was it a conscious decision to go for a particular sound like that or did it just evolve that way?

Glad you liked it mate! Nah there have never been any pre-meditated decisions like that. Just like with any band who truly mean it, our influences and the way we react to each others’ playing shape the types of songs we write. I personally hate when bands try and tailor their sounds and look to what is going on right now in music.

Are there any tracks on “Phoney Tough & Crazy Brave” or “Brothers in Arms” that are personal favorites or that have good stories behind them?

From the newest release ‘Phoney Tough’ my personal favourite is Bleed on the Inside as we’ve being playing that one live for literally years and the fan base kept asking us to record it. I think it typifies what Godsized does. My favourite tune to play live is without a doubt, Head-Heavy – it’s just got a really cool groove to it and crowds always seem to really get into it!

Phoney Tough & Crazy Brave, fantastic, but I read somewhere that an album was in the pipeline, if so, how’s it coming along?

Yeah we’ve firmly got an album in our sights and more than enough material for it. It just has to be the launched at the right time and at the moment the EPs seem to really work well as capturing a snap-shot of where the band is at that particular moment. Being a self-funded band we have to take loads of things into consideration as recording an album may mean not doing certain tours or other things ya know? The album is defo on it’s way though along with new videos and all kindsa cool plans!

What have been your personal highlights in Godsized?

Download festival was a massive one – we played at 11am, first band on the 3^rd stage, the morning after AC/DC Headlined. We figured they’d be 100 people there max, but ended up playing to a rabid, full capacity crowd of nearly 5000. It was insane.

Who are your influences, and which person/band had a significant impact on you wanting to become musicians?

As a band we have some quite diverse influences along with a lot of areas where we meet in the middle. A few of us are really into blues for example, but if you could hear whats playing on the stereo in the band van it’s usually going to feature Black Sabbath & Led Zeppelin pretty heavily. On a personal level Slash was and still is my favourite guitar player and the reason I started playing.

What do you think of the music scene at the moment, and what other new bands do you rate?

I think there are some great bands out there in the mainstream and also a lot of rubbish! We play live constantly and share a stage with loads of great bands who don’t get nearly enough support or press. Definitely check out Belligerence, Snakebite, Sworn to Oath, Mantra and the awesome Sons of Merrick,

If you could choose any band past or present, who would you want to tour with?

I’d love to tour with Corrosion of Conformity circa the ‘Deliverence/Wiseblood’ era. What a dangerous band! Clutch would be awesome too as would Down. Basically we’re all addicted to touring and playing so we’ll play with anyone who’ll have us! Godsized are predominantly a live band and that’s where the band’s music is best represented for sure.

We wish Godsized all the best for the future, and look forward to their album release!

Godsized's Myspace: www.myspace.com/godsized