by BBC South Yorkshire contributor Eleanor Goodman

Cali-stoners Nebula have been touring for seven years. Today they’re backstage at Sheffield's Fez Club, where they're amusing themselves by
randomly inserting the word 'ham' into every word under the sun…

Touring is a strange experience, but ham aside, drummer Ruben Romano is happy to talk about LA, meatheads and bassists.

Is there a story behind your band name? Were you playing on the Space Rock genre label?

LA is a big, huge place. It's a mecca for rock groups but there are so many clubs and so many bands that you might miss the best band in the world.

Ruben Romano

"We were coming up with names and one of those choices just got written down. It wasn't a concept, but it sounded good. We'd seen pictures of nebulas and they're cool looking!

"It was hearing the definition of cosmic space dust and saying 'that kind of fits'. Maybe at the time the space rock thing applied because we were listening to a lot of Hawkwind and early Monster Magnet records."

You're from LA, birthplace to some famous names. What is the rock scene like?

"LA is a big, huge place. It's a mecca for rock groups but there are so many clubs and so many bands that you might miss the best band in the world.

"We're busy worrying about doing our thing here, so we have to rely on some of our fans to tell us about new music!"

What's the best band you've toured with?

"Right before this tour we did a whole US tour with a Clutch. It was our third or fourth tour with Clutch.

"They've got that whole roarrrr, growly thing, where a bunch of meatheads come out and kill each other, it's pretty cool. It was perfect for us - it was to our benefit because they have a huge following."

Do people follow you around on tours?

Nebula

"You get regulars. When you go into town, you know there's going to be 'Joe' coming, with a zillion records to have you sign.

"Sometimes you're like, 'oh man, he's going to be there…' but sometimes it'll be 'that guy's really cool!' It all goes hand in hand. We have a good rapport with people who come out regularly."

You seem to attract fans of all ages, do you find that strange?

"We get a very vast age group, completely. It's pretty funny because you get all the older dudes coming up and saying 'man, I haven't seen rock and roll like that since I was young, that's why I like you guys!' Then you get young kids, who are like 'that was brilliant!'

"You'll be talking to a 50-year-old guy and then a 20-year-old guy and be having completely different conversations, but it’s all about the same thing - it's about rock n' roll."

You've got a reputation for rock n' roll excess, have you got any interesting tour stories?

Don't believe everything you read, you've got to hang out with me to know the truth! There have been plenty of antics. We have our new bass player, fresh blood, which is cool.

I know all the stories of everybody else…there's antics that go on, there's that stoner rock.com thing and you really have to investigate them yourself because you’ll get a laugh out of some of them.

You've had several different bassists, what happened?

We're oldies now! But since I play the drums I get to beat the crap out of things every night!

Ruben Romano

It was totally amicable when Mark left the band, I think he needed to do that, it could have been a sticky situation so I'm glad he had the guts to say how he felt.

"He's still one of my longest friends. We were hoping to get Isaiah but he had commitments when that happened, so we got this guy Dennis as a filler. It's cool now."

You've also changed labels numerous times, why is this?

"We've learnt from previous experiences and stories. We didn't want to get clamped down and not be able to move. Now we're with Liquor and Poker, we'll probably be with them for a little bit, we've finally got a bit of stability.

"We did exactly what we were hoping to do, not get stuck, then grow it, then plant ourselves after we'd already got roots to build on. Some people get weirded out about it, but you don't just want to jump into a pool without seeing if the water's warm."

It's been seven years, is the water still warm?

"We're oldies now! But since I play the drums I get to beat the crap out of things every night! For me, it's pretty easy to tour. If somebody pisses me off during the day I totally have a way to vent it physically.

"When we were younger we were staying out for 13/14 days at a time non-stop, three months straight and maybe eight days off at random.

"We shortened them down and thought 'let's not kill ourselves anymore!' We're still totally into touring. It's cool, we'll probably continue to do this for another seven years!"

- Eleanor Goodman