We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again, If you spend your evenings scavenging for new music and looking for the freshest tunes in rock, then you’d know that the last few months has been jammed packed with, THE VINES. Following the bands release of ‘Wicked Nature’ last week, we did the honours, caught up with bassist Tim John and chucked our best questions at him.

QUESTION: Firstly, congratulations on the release of ‘Wicked Nature’, your first album in 3 years, is it exciting to be a part The Vines moniker return as a force to be reckoned with?

TIM JOHN: Very exciting right now in the whole Vines camp. We started recording this album in mid-2012, so just, we’re stoked people can hear it now. It does seem like Craig can’t be stopped, we’re happy to be a part of it.

QUESTION: Album streams & reviews have been met with quite a positive reception. Is it a good feeling to know that the fans & critics alike are welcoming you back into the world of music?

TIM JOHN: It’s definitely a good feeling, especially joining a band that has been around for nearly 20 years, also being the first album Lachy and I have played on, couldn’t have been a cooler start. The fans seem to be liking the album, it’s a nice feeling.

QUESTION: Your management has been very hush about the release of the album, with only a few hardcore fans knowing that there was one coming along the way. Did it frustrate you to wait for almost 2 years to see the album’s release?

TIM JOHN: It was a little bit frustrating, only because we wanted people to hear the songs, but in hindsight it’s now a double album so it’s lucky we did wait. For a long time only close friends knew we had joined the band, other people probably thought we were lying.

QUESTION: In 2011 during a couple of interviews Craig mentioned of having written quite a substantial amount of songs, somewhere in the triple figures, do you know if the majority of the material from the album come from these songs written earlier?

TIM JOHN: I’m sure it’s a mix of songs old & new after Future Primitive came out, and I know there’s plenty more songs Lachlan and I didn’t even hear. Craig came into rehearsals with the strongest songs he knew he wanted on the album, we went from there. For the second disc of Wicked Nature, those songs had been writing in a 6 month gap after we recorded the first disc I’m pretty sure.

QUESTION: Will we ever see something like a boxset/compilation album of all these songs to be released on? Or will they forever stay inside The Vines vault?

TIM JOHN: Maybe one day we’ll see a boxset! I know there’s probably a stacks of tapes with demos on them. He records on 4 track tape recorder at home, usually just a guitar, main vocal line and some harmonies, there’s probably 5 more albums of material on them.

QUESTION: For Craig, this is the first time he’s properly taken position as a producer on any album, is this something that may continue on in future albums by The Vines?

TIM JOHN: That would be cool, Craig definitely comes to life in the studio. He’s not precious about anything, we all played percussion, sung backing vocals and played some keys on a few songs. He wasn’t interested in spending 5 hours on one guitar part or anything like that,  just wanted to make sure the song was there.

QUESTION: The recording of ‘Wicked Nature’ was done in 2 different sessions in 2 different studios; however were both recorded in an amazingly quick time. Do you prefer the quicker it takes to make a record or making sure the songs written are absolutely perfect before heading in to a studio?

TIM JOHN: For this album Craig had the songs fully written before he showed us them, then Lachy and I wrote most of our bass and drums parts in rehearsal. It was definitely the plan to get in the studio and record them as quickly as possible.  We wanted them to sound fresh and exciting, and more importantly like the 3 of us playing together in a room.

QUESTION: Along with the double album, there have been small rumours circulating about a collaboration album written with Craig & Nick Littlemore of PNAU. Will that album/project ever see a release.

TIM JOHN: We heard two songs from that, if they were anything to go by it’s fucking amazing. Hopefully it see’s the light of day soon.

QUESTION: The constant talk of a ‘rock uprising’ is being questioned by every band possible. Since The Vines were a part of the last massive ‘revival’ back in 2002, it seems fitting to ask the guys who have been there before. Does rock need ‘saving’?

TIM JOHN: Something definitely needs to change again. I think more than ever we need Craig’s songs, and guitar bands in general. I remember picking up a guitar and learning a Nirvana or Alice In Chains songs as a teenager, there’s barely any music like that right now. Arctic Monkeys are waving that flag and the moment, hopefully that’s a sign of things to come.

QUESTION: Were The Vines a band that the both of you grew up listening to? Is it quite surreal to know you’re now a part of the band?’

TIM JOHN: They were, Highly Involved had a big effect on me growing up, and had been a fan since. I know both of our high schools bands covered Vines songs too. “Get Free” was actually the first song we rehearsed with Craig, that was a great moment, Lach and I looked at each other and smirked we he began playing the opening riff, turned into school boys again.

QUESTION: How did the both of you manage to meet Craig/join the band?

TIM JOHN: Lachlan was asked to rehearse with Craig in early 2012, they played together a few times. He called me one day and asked if I wanted to come in and play some bass, as Lach and I have played together in various band for years. We rehearsed some older Vines songs and were asked to join sometime after that. Few weeks later we were in the studio, pretty crazy.

QUESTION: Because of the new album, plus the return from your extensive US tour with The Griswolds, will we see The Vines live for the first time in over 18 months? Possibly under an alias in a little venue around Sydney like the band has done before?

TIM JOHN: We have a few things lined up, nothing we can confirm just yet but we will be playing shows before the end of the year, we can’t wait. I’m going to think of an alias in the meantime, any help would be appreciated.