Drummer Dhani Mansworth and Guitarist Ben Brookland from Cambridge, UK band The Treatment were kind enough to take the time to have a quick chat about the band with Shane Pinnegar. At this stage I’ve only heard their song ‘The Doctor’, included on the Classic Rock Magazine issue #154 sampler CD, and I can confirm that the boys sound fired up and ready to rock. ‘The Doctor’ features some heavy riffing, gravelly vocals, and an anthemic chorus tailor made for singing along to at a sweaty gig. You can find ‘The Doctor’ easily on You Tube and hear what all the fuss is about.
G’day guys and thanks for talking to The Rockpit in Australia! Your debut album “This Might Hurt” is about to be released by Powerage Records – that’s pretty huge for a new band, what are your hopes for the album?
We hope that the album connects with rock fans from all around the world – that would be great.
How would you describe your sound and influences?
We see ourselves as a high energy guitar band our influences range from The Sex Pistols to AC/DC to Lynyrd Skynyrd.
What sort of a rock scene does Cambridge have nowadays? I lived there in ‘98/’99 and there really wasn’t much of a scene at all that I recall…
There is not a great amount of rock in Cambridge at the moment, there are still remnants of the hideous emo scene going on, but it is dying out fast. We live in hope!
What’s the most important business lesson your manager (Dhani’s Dad) Laurie (guitarist with More, Airrace, Roadstar) has imparted to you so far?
That you need to show complete dedication if you want to be a great band, and not to take partying to excess. He started touring when he was 17 with all the big acts from the 80’s and he has seen a lot of casualties over the years.
How was your experience recording at Steve Harris’s studio?
It was great. Steve popped into see us and liked the stuff. He now has a copy of the album. He is a really nice guy. It was also great to work with Tony Newton who mixed the record.
You guys are all pretty young, yet you’ve already made more contacts and had some really positive experiences which some artists struggle their whole lives and don’t achieve. Is it hard to keep your feet on the ground while this little whirlwind is happening around you?
We are very lucky really as none of us have big egos, and we have a really experienced manager to keep us on track.
There’s quite a buzz about The Treatment at the moment – can you tell us how it feels to have such positive feedback from people who’ve been in the industry for many years?
We have been blown away by the response, We have had many influential people within the music industry give the album the thumbs up, and that is really exciting for us.
What was your highlight of last year?
Listening to our finished album.
You recently toured the UK with a group of Powerage [The Treatment’s UK record label, run by the same people that bring us Classic Rock Magazine] artists, including New Device, Lethargy and Millon $ Reload, playing free gigs everywhere you went – how were attendances?
The attendances were very good and London was packed to the rafters.
I always say if you put a few bands together madness usually follows – what’s the craziest thing you got up to on this tour?
I think it has to be Margate – the venue wasn’t finished and the sound man never turned up!
Do you think this sort of package deal, free gig tour is possibly a viable option for the future for young bands?
Not really it’s hard enough for a band to survive with music being downloaded for free – gigs are the only way to break even.
What is The Treatment’s master plan for 2011 and beyond?
We want to get out and play as much as we can, in as many countries as we can.
If you could have been involved in the creation of one piece of music throughout time, what would that be?
It would have to be something from “Back in Black”, maybe ‘Shoot to Thrill’
And finally, we ask all our interviewees, what for you is the meaning of life?
To give misguided musical souls The Treatment!!!
Thanks so much for taking the time for this guys, we can’t wait to hear the full album and wish you all the very best with it.
