Q: Overseas tours, a new album, Keep Me On Your Side, . . . how busy are you guys? Is the band your job?
A: It gets really busy now that we are doing more overseas, but it's all exciting stuff.
The band is our job and our recreation; it pretty much owns our lives. It's most musicians' dream to be able to play music full-time so we are very lucky.
Q: How do you work on songs? Is it a case of everyone bringing his ideas to the table? Are you a democracy or a dictatorship?
A: Songwriting is a fun time in our band. Everyone can write songs and music, so it's exciting to create something that everyone feels part of.
Everyone writes songs on their own and then we get together and work on the ideas that we think have the most potential.
Q: Do you have a preferred way of recording? Are you perfectionists? Or is it more important to capture a vibe/feel and go with that rather than worry about the exact tone of, say, the snare drum?
A: We are very open to new and different ways of recording our music. We try to make sure we capture the songs in an honest and genuine way to do justice to the music and our fans.
Q: Explain the difference in the process of recording your second album as opposed to your first?
A: Our first album was a very staggered process: the songs were a collection from the first three years of being in a band together.
We recorded the album not knowing if we had a record deal or even the money to pay for it.
Our second album was a more organic process where we really concentrated on writing good songs that weren't going to date within a year and we had great support from our label to do this.
Q: Can audiences expect a mixture of old and new material?
A: We believe in playing what the fans want to hear.
They are the ones who pay to come to the shows so we always play the favourites from both albums, and try to make it as fun as possible for everyone.
Q: What next after this tour? Any overseas trips planned? For many bands, the United States market seems the holy grail.
What's your "grand plan"?
A: Well, straight after this tour we head to Australia for six weeks to do a nationwide tour . . . and we just signed a deal to have our album released in Japan this year so we are hoping to get over there ASAP.
• Goodnight Nurse plays at Revolver, Queenstown, on Wednesday, November 5.
