We recently caught up with Craig Owens from D.R.U.G.S to talk about the instant success of the band, their current line up and record label change and plans for the future.

Your self titled debut album has been out for just over a year now are you happy with how the album has gone down with your fans and the press?
Yeah especially here in the UK it has gone down really well and I feel that D.R.U.G.S have had more success over here than what Chiodos had in years and years of trying to get out over here, and this is only our third time over here and Chiodos came over many times so it feels good to be so well excepted and we feel lucky to be playing on a sold out tour where the smallest rooms are 2000 – 3000 people a night so we are really pleased and excited that the fans in the UK are excited about it.

What would you say your favourite song to play live from the album is and why?
I like to play ‘Mr Owl Ate My Metal Worm’ just because it’s so heavy, I prefer to play heavy stuff live because the there is nothing quite like the energy in the room when there is a room full of people just losing their mind and there’s nothing better than that.

You have just released a new track online called ‘Scream If You’re Crazy’ when did you write and record the song and what influenced it?
‘Scream If You’re Crazy’ I wrote about the fact that we are all crazy and I didn’t want people to think that they were alone, it’s about a specific personal thing which happened to me this past summer but nothing that I would like to get into too deep but it’s basically about how we all lose it every once and a while and we look around and just feel crazy which is a normal feeling that we are suppose to feel, so the song is kind of like an anthem for it to let people know when they feel like it they are not alone.

When do you plan to start work on your second album? And do you have any idea on what direction you want to go down?
Right not we are going to finish this tour then we are to just breath, as we have been touring the album for just over a year now as we are going to take a breath and figure out what is next for D.R.U.G.S, we need to decide what direction we are going to take but it’s like when you have been running a marathon for so long you need to stop and take a look around before you can continue.

You have not long departed company with you record label, what happened here?
Basically they want to be a pop label and there is no room for rock in the disco era that we live in, there’s no guitar in the top 40 and they want to sell records they didn’t necessarily push it as much as we wanted so it was defiantly a mutual thing, we are defiantly excited about it as we thought that they had their hands on the record a bit more than we would of liked, everyone at Warner Bros were amazing but we decided that it wasn’t right for the band and it wasn’t the direction we wanted to go, we don’t want to be pop stars we want to play honest music and we are 4 people who generally care and we don’t want to have that hit single like they were looking for.

You recently announce that Adam Russell has left the band, how has this affected you as a band and have you found a permanent replacement yet?
No replacement our friend Tai Wright from Four Letter Lie is currently filling in. Adam left due to family issues, it’s not going to affect us to much he was a good friend good person but he was the last member to join the band and didn’t play on the record so everything was written before he joined, we are bummed to see him go but it was defiantly a mutual thing and we want the best for our friends.

You are currently back in the UK as main supports to the Black Veil Brides how did this come about? And how does it feel to be back in the UK?
It feels good to be back I love playing in the UK specifically because other countries are Bilingual much more than say the US, while in place like Germany and Amsterdam they can’t necessarily understand everything I am saying as fast as I am saying it so communication with the crowd is much harder, plus we have played the UK a few times now and we just expect it to be a little more crazier.

The tour is 8 shows long, are you looking forward to certain shows more than others?
No really I am just thankful to be able to play music for a living, I consider my microphone as psychiatry and every time I go on stage we go through things every day and that’s my chance to get it out to a room full of people who I believe understand and it’s kind of like my therapy, I do enjoy every show I play every night it doesn’t matter how many I play for if its thousands, hundreds or hardly anyone as I just love to play music.

What do you have planned once this tour comes to an end, do you have more shows or is this when you take a break?
Yeah this is when we are going to take a break, we are going to relax a little bit and breathe, were not going on hiatus or anything crazy like that, we just don’t know what we are going to do next and I think that is the most important part so it is time to sit back and reflect on where we have been what we have become and what it is we want to be, so we can make sure that the future of the band goes in the direction we want it to go as opposed to the direction that someone else might want it to go, like an agent keeping you out all the time to make money and a manager saying you need to be this but we are very in control and just needing to figure out what we want to do next.

What do you get up to on the road during long tours to pass time between shows?
I watch a lot of TV shows and try to catch up on ‘Mad Men’ as I don’t get a lot of time and home and when I am I spend it with the family or doing personal stuff, so when im on the road I try and write a song every day and I play my guitar a lot and I also try and see some sights here and there but a lot of the time I do just relax as the shows are so intense and the travelling is so gruelling, im also a sober guy so I don’t go out and party but I do work out as often as possible.

What would you say your biggest highs and lows as a band have been so far?
I don’t think we have really had any lows as we are a spoilt band as we were given a gift of a fan base right off from the start and that is something that we are thankful of and don’t take for granted, as for high points I think it is the same every point is a high point as the record has only been out for a year so technically we have only been a band for a year and to have the success that we have had over one year is amazing as we have all worked very hard in the past and we know what the first year is typically like being a touring musician and it’s nothing like this, so we are very spoilt and thankfull and will never take this for granted.

One last random question that we ask every band, if you could be an animal out of a zebra or Giraffe which one would you be and why?
Between a zebra or a giraffe I would be a giraffe as I really like the height and it’s that fun intimidating factor and you get to see the world from a different perspective and every time I turn on the tv it seems that a zebra is being attacked by a lion and that’s not something I would enjoy, the stripes would be fun though.

Thanks for your time is there a message for your fans reading this?
Thank you for the constant support and we hope we get to see all your pretty faces soon.

Interview by Trigger and Charlotte