By Russell Miller

Published Friday, 25 August 2017 08:47

Krank’d Up 2017 is almost upon us and there is no doubt that anticipation is building to a fever pitch. From top to bottom the bill is filled with bands that’ll satiate palettes of everyone from the fun-loving concert goer to elitist music snobs. One of the bands set to make an appearance is After Robot. They’ll be making their Krank’d Up debut, but they’re far from being gig rookies. After Robot brings an alternative trippy blues-rock style to the stage and is sure to leave everyone begging for more. Here’s what they had to share with us:

KRANK’D UP Ticket Prices: Tickets are now available from Computicket at R500 each.

Tickets are on sale nationwide through computicket.com, as well as at Computicket outlets and Checkers stores.

Krank’d Up is nearly here, how excited are you to hit the stage?

Crazy- Mad hatter – Straitjacket excited !!! – Clifford Bryan

You’ve built a reputation as one of South Africa’s hardest working bands. How does your debut at Krank’d rank among the things the band has accomplished so far?

Hard work is one of the things that set us aside from other acts. We at After Robot embrace the music we play as our lives. We get our inspiration from our daily existence and being able to get up on an iconic stage such as Krank'd Up is all the reasons why we do what we do!! - Joshua Pearlson.

There are tons of local talent on the bill. Any bands you’ve played with before?

At some point a long the way, we have played with most of the bands. I think there are only 3/4 we haven't shared a stage with, excluding the internationals. – Greg Watson.

Who would you want to tour with regularly after Krank’d UP?

Most definitely! Being a prog fan myself, I would dig having a tour with Savage Lucy and Oh God. I also think an After Robot, De Wallen tour would be pretty powerful – Greg Watson.

What will you guys be doing at Krank’d while you’re not performing? Seeing any other bands?

This is my 4th Krank'd Up personally, so I will definitely be watching bands, talking crap and drinking beer! – Greg Watson.

Let’s talk about the set. Without too much of a spoiler, what can fest-goers expect when they see you guys?

The set is going to start off nice and friendly and progress to a full on crazy high energy party. The only way we know. Krank'd Up to 11. – Clifford Bryan.

Which songs do you guys get a kick out of performing the most?

All of the songs we play affect us all in our own special way. The hardest thing to do for us is put a set list together because we like to tell a story with our entire show – Joshua Pearlson.

What is your go-to to fill space between songs and how much fun is it to interact with the crowd from the stage?

With Jacques and Greg at times add a little ambience, as I introduce the next tale we are about to tell. It's important to put the crowd in the picture with us. We don't waste much time between songs as that means fewer songs to freak out too. So parrrrrty – Clifford Bryan.

Is there any chance someone will perform in the robot costume what was in the video for your single ‘Bed of Shame’?

Well, you will just have to wait and see hahah! Perhaps....mmm – Jacques Jacobs.

How does the band prepare for gigs? Any special pre-show rituals, foods etc.?

The most important thing before a show is to stretch and warm up. We tend to go quite crazy on stage so it's good to make sure the muscles are warm so that we can deliver the best possible show! – Joshua Pearlson.

Will After Robot be playing any shows leading up to Krank’d?

We are actually busy preparing our tents as we speak to go rock out at the WoodCrock music Festival taking place this weekend at the beautiful Blue Moon in Nelspruit. Then we have Plushy Fest next weekend at Rusty Hook in Honey Dew. We have more crazy stuff coming your way soon, so stay tuned to our social media pages for more After Robot adventures. – Jacques Jacobs.

What is in store for After Robots following Krank’d Up?

After Krank`d Up we head to the dust bowl for this year's Oppikoppi. It's the bands 3rd Koppie, so we are super stoked to get dirty. As soon as we get the red dust off our smiling faces we get to share the stage with the mighty Alien Ant Farm from the USA on their Joburg leg of their tour. Then the best way to finish off the year is with an After Robot tour.... so stay tuned for more! – Jacques Jacobs.