On Oct. 15, Interrobang had the opportunity to sit down with Chris Cresswell, lead singer of Ontario's hardest working ska-punk band, The Flatliners.

The band was at Fanshawe to headline our Rocktober concert in Forwell Hall.

After London, the band is heading off to tour Australia with their heroes turned friends, Lagwagon.

Cresswell said one of the most interesting parts of touring around Australia is just travelling from show to show.

“The distance between cities is so vast that you have to fly. If you don't, then you're in a van for an average of 10 hours between shows.”

Being at airports nearly every day may just be a necessity of touring the area, but he said it doesn't diminish the fact that you feel like a rock star.

It's a drastic change in environment, but for Cresswell the best part of getting on stage is playing music with his friends.

Cresswell recounted a particular memory from London that serves as the inspiration behind “You Guys Want One of These?” off their second album, The Great Awake.

They had just played a show at Call The Office, and their friend was holding half a dozen cocktails in her arms, much like the comedian Neil Hamburger. She was so drunk that she kept offering them drinks over the music, repeatedly saying, “You guys want one of these? You guys want one of these?”

It may not seem like a big deal, but sometimes the best memories are little memories with close friends.

“For some reason that stuck with us, I'll never forget that night. It was so hot there, and the way she was hydrating and battling this heat was just whiskey sours, like an armload of them. She was just unloading them on people and I don't think any of us took one from her. That's a huge regret.”

Looking towards the future, Cresswell says that the Australian tour marks the end of shows for a while as the band heads back into the studio. The Flatliners' albums have always had a special connection to London through Fanshawe alumnus, Steve Rizun.

Cresswell spoke fondly of him and Fanshawe, saying, “That's where he learned to hone his skills and get mad chops.”

Rizun is responsible for producing and engineering the past four albums, the last of which received a Juno nomination in 2014.

Cresswell went on to say that Rizun has worked with bands as far away as Europe.

“They've had him mix projects that were recorded with someone in France or someone in Germany and he'll mix it and send it back … He's doing great and he graduated from Fanshawe.”

With so much history between The Flatliners and London, I'm sure we'll see them soon as they tour their upcoming album. Maybe we'll even be lucky enough to host their album release show.

Photo credit: NICK REYNO