Q: First off, are you guys excited about releasing your new EP?

A: We couldn't be more excited, it took a lot of time and work to make that CD, so its amazing to be able to see it in its final stages. There's always a certain amount of pride in seeing someone pick up your cd and inspect the artwork and inserts. We spent a lot of time talking about what we wanted it to look like, and then we found the perfect designer in Pete Duffield, who works with some amazing bands like Mimi Soya, Not Advised, etc.. He was amazing and truly surpassed our expectations and more. Also we record everything ourselves, so when we get complimented on the sound, it's truly an amazing feeling. Especially when you consider all the time we spent tweaking everything back and forth to get the precise sound we wanted. Nothing was rushed and nothing was left to chance, it was a picky journey to say the least, but it was well worth it. We are pretty much like that with everything we do, it has to be just right for us when it comes to something we're creating.

Q: New artists are a dime a dozen these days. So what sets Call Off The Search apart?

A: We're not a fad, we're not writing to be that next flavor of the month, we're writing what we want and what we want to hear. We are a band who writes for themselves and just hopes others like it. Pretty selfish, but I'm being very honest. If you start out trying to write with the sole purpose of being the next hit sensation then you're just fooling yourself. by the time you are done with your work, you're already behind the times. Write for yourselves, not others. A lot of hard work's put into our songs and live sets, we give it our all at every show and play each night like it's our last. Not to mention every song has a true meaning and story behind them.

Q: How did Call Off The Search come together? Was it a simple case of musical talent and friends coming together or is there something more elaborate behind it all?

A: Call Off The Search was once known as The Sketch but with members changing along the way we decided to change our name to something more appropriate given our time spent looking for the right pieces to the COTS puzzle. We all originally knew each other with the exception of our drummer. He was someone we found on myspace, auditioned him, saw he was damn good and clicked well with us and went from there. He fit in perfectly, it would have been daft not to have get him in the band. The rest of us have known each other through the music scene either from shows or playing in bands together. So yeah, music has brought us together, and our friendships have only grown over time.

Q: Your debut EP "What Doesn't Kill Us" is receiving a lot of comparisons to Four Year Strong. Do you consider this a compliment or would you like people to consider the fact that you're forging your own path instead?

A: I can see why people say that, but have they heard all their tracks? Some have similar parts, but we quite as heavy, we have the odd beat down, but in all honesty we are 90's Emo kids at heart, so that's always in the music somewhere. We'll create our own path in time, but if people want to compare us to awesome bands like Four Year Strong and New Found Glory then I can't see any harm in that, it's a compliment for sure, I mean why wouldn't it be!? We have a huge basket of influences flowing through us. Maybe it's just easy to pigeon hole us with contemporary artists, saying that, we do seem to acquire a good number of FYS and NFG fans. No complaints there.

Q: From what I've heard, you guys have had these tracks for quite some time now, if that's true, does that mean that you've already started working on new material or at least started writing?

A: Sad but true, some older than others, all have been changed so many times it's not even funny. As I said, we are super picky. Songs get written, finished, thrown away and then sometimes born again or completely forgotten. We may just keep a title and forget the music or change a title and keep certain lyrics/parts. It all really, really varies. We have a few songs that have been finished, played live and gone down well. We'll be hitting the studio in the near future to record one or maybe two new tracks. Like I said we are always writing, but what we write and what gets played are two very different things.

Q: I've heard it said repeatedly that there's a difference between artists and shows in the UK and US. What do you think the key difference is when it comes to being an artists and playing shows in the UK as opposed to the US?

A: Our accents? Honestly I don't really know. We haven't played the US, however, those who I know who have played the US make it sound like there's quite the hunger for music over there and the crowds can be better for foreigners due to the "exoticness" of being "British", but not having toured there I sadly can't answer that question. The shows over in the UK vary so much, its incredible you can see bands who sell out shows of 500 capacity venues and then they'll still end up at a venue and only 20 or 30 people will turn up, why? I don't know. It all depends on where you play in the UK and who you're playing with. More importantly it all depends on who's promoting the shows. That is the key element in my opinion. If no one knows about it then no one will show up. Simple really.

Q: If there's one venue, area, region or country you could tour where would it be?

A: Europe, I love it. Such nice people. Having toured Europe in a different project myself, I want the band to get out there and experience it. It's a different world all together, saying that, Japan is high on the list too. Mainly due to the amount of people we know who've done it and said it was a mind blowing experience. But yeah, Europe or Japan please.

Q: I know you have some tour experience under your belt, that being said, do you have any particularly memorable tour story or show mishap that you would care to share?

A: Transportation is what we're famous for, we basically cram into one of our cars, usually mine (Mikee) and every tour we always end up killing one of my cars. I don't just mean break down either, what I mean is died. In other words it's the end of the road for that car, so I'll be calling the scrap yard so they can come tow it away. One time we broke down in the middle lane of Piccadilly Circus, London, and it honestly doesn't get any busier than that. Imagine breaking down in Time Square, it was insanely busy and we were stuck for hours waiting for the recovery people to help us out. We ended up having to push the car out of the road and ended up in the bus lane where we received constant abuse from the bus drivers. In fact you can see some of these happy times in our tour footage. I was not pleased to say the least...fun times.

Mikee - Call Off The Search