You're almost at the end of your UK tour, how's it been going?
Melanie: It's our first headline tour of the UK and that's been a really nice feeling. We had one little set back because Dimitri got really ill for two shows, that sucked, we've never in the history of our band had to do that. He's been on antibiotics and now he's back on form.

How do you find UK audiences compared to the States.
Dimitri: It's pretty much the same but in America the fans are really starting to catch on and get into it and get physically involved, move around and freak out and yell and scream just as much as the fans here.

Dimitri

England is more of a challenge though you have to prove yourself in a lot of ways. We're up against this barrage of bands but we're oddballs over in the left field like QOTSA who're doing their own thing which is what we're aiming for.



How's it feel to have your debut album out on the shelves?
Melanie: It literally just came out.
Dimitri: But that record's old for us, so I think we're a little relieved that we can move on. We've been towing that thing around for three years! You have to understand that we recorded it ourselves and sold it at our shows for a good year. The function that it served was to get us signed and everybody seemed to think it was still relevant and to re-release it and that's where we're at now. We have an incredible new drummer now and better songs.

The Burning Brides in action.

Melanie: I would say different.
Dimitri: I think when we made that first record we were afraid of showing off our softer colours, if things got a little bit too pretty it felt like we had to sabotage it. If it was something we couldn't imagine playing live, we wouldn't record it. I think on the next record if it's a good song, it's a good song whether it has a cello on it, a piano - we just don't want to be afraid of anything anymore.

Would you say you have an image?
Melanie: For us rock music is an expression of who you are - that's not to say that I don't love a lot of bands that have an image like a Bowie kind of thing, it's not that I'm against that.
Dimitri: People try to put us into this garage category and when we get placed in that little tree it's OK, we're in some good company we like The White Stripes but we don't think of ourselves like that. A lot of bands are very well put together as far as image goes and a sound and style. We don't know what the **** we're doing yet. We look at ourselves as being in training wheels a little bit.

Jason

What's been the band's greatest achievement?
Melanie: The last tour that we did in the States with Audioslave was really a big deal for us it was the first time that we've consistently played to that many people every night. They're so sweet, they couldn't have been nicer to us. They hand-picked us to do that tour which is a compliment too. But just getting to play to thousands of people who've not heard of us and getting such an amazing response, it just made us feel that we were on top of the world.

Dimitri: I think the greatest achievement is just doing everything what you wanna do your way and then all of a sudden having people say: "All right this is great we want to put you into a bigger situation, just do exactly what you're doing." And all of a sudden it's like you're exposed to millions more people ultimately. It's pretty crazy to be considered as a potentially important band in rock music, it's a dream come true.

Dimitri

What's your favourite thing in the UK?
Dimitri: Not the food!
Melanie: I don't have a problem with it.
Dimitri: The breakfasts are awesome, but I've overdosed on them and now I don't know what I'm going to eat. The whole eggs with the beans, that was great.
Melanie: And the mushrooms every morning.
Dimitri: I tell you what all our favourite bands are from England.
Melanie: Not all, but a good few.
Dimitri: If you were to say greatest band of all time like a top five, I bet you four of them would be from England. The Beatles, The Stones, Sabbath, Zeppelin, this is where it's at. And even more recently those two Oasis records were really huge for me.
Melanie: The Cure and The Smiths....

What's your favourite drink?
Dimitri: Guinness
Melanie: Whiskey, but what I drink more of than anything in the whole world is tea which is what I love about being here. In America if you order tea the waitress are like "Oh I have to get the pot..." and there's no tea in the hotel rooms but here every hotel room has a little kettle.

What are you doing this summer?
Dimitri: We're doing Lollapalooza in the States, it's a festival like a portable Reading that goes along all over the country. And we're coming back here in June on tour with QOTSA.