Hamish Rosser talks about The Vines' resurrection, getting away from it all and why he doesn't have to worry about trashed drums.

After making a triumphant return to the scene after a rollercoaster couple of years, The Vines have been making amends with tight and energetic live shows around the country.

In the lead-up to another round of appearances, including a slot at Sydney's Great Escape Festival, yourGigs caught up with drummer Hamish Rosser to talk about what's gone before and what's ahead.

yourGigs: What have you been doing since the Big Day Out tour?

Hamish Rosser: I actually stayed in Western Australia for a week and had a bit of a break. I'm producing a band at the moment. It's a girl band called Beau Monde.

yG: The reaction to the shows has been positive. How do you feel about the talk of the supposed comeback of The Vines?

HR: I'm glad people are writing positive reviews about us. I believe we are playing better than we have previously. We set the bar pretty low for ourselves and we managed to clear it.

yG: Was there a point in recent times where you thought "wow, this is amazing"?

HR: I guess that point was when we went to England. Craig [Nicholls] was always a really nervous flyer and it was always quite stressful putting him on planes. But this time there was no problem at all. The shows over there were good. We had a lot of fun over there too.

yG: Is it true that there might be a new album on the way?

HR: We're hoping to get back into the studio after this run of gigs over Easter. Hopefully recording in April/May. If we can get it recorded, mixed and finished by September, it'll be out this year. Otherwise, record companies won't put out an album in the last quarter of the year unless you're Robbie Williams or Madonna.

yG: Have you heard any of the new material yet?

HR: Yeah. Craig's got a bunch of new songs. He's got heaps of really cool new songs. There's some that are a bit different. There are a couple of songs where they're probably the most personal lyrics I've heard him sing. Normally his songs are quite abstract. He's still got the magic.

yG: How is Craig now?

HR: He's great. He's really turned himself around. He's in the best condition I've ever known him. He's a lot more outgoing than he was before. He never really had much interaction with the crowd, he just used to bark nonsense into the mic, but he's seen a lot of his favourite bands and seen how they do it and realised he can do it too.

yG: It must be nice not having him trash your drum kit as much.

HR: It's alright. Half the time they're rental drum kits and the one he trashes I got from an endorsement. The company I'm with, I told them "Look, he trashes my drums quite regularly". They said "It's okay, we had Keith Moon with us. We understand."

yG: What's your idea of the great escape?

HR: Getting out of town for a while. Being on the water.

yG: What made you decide to cover 'So Fresh So Clean' by Outkast instead of 'Ms Jackson'?

HR: I was begging Craig to drop 'Ms Jackson' from the set. [Laughs] It was funny, we played it at the Gold Coast Big Day Out and the next day it was a clip on YouTube. I wasn't sure how it would be received but people were singing along with the chorus. It was good to see it was well received.

yG: In some ways it kind of reflects the new approach by The Vines.

HR: I hadn't thought of that. I like that. It's a mission statement.