Ceres are now a few weeks from kicking off a little five show Winter tour wih The Pretty Littles and Sincerely Grizzy.

They’ll play shows together in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide.

Busy writing for their next release, Ceres popped out of hibernation earlier in the year with their Valentine’s Day single ‘Ceres Is For Lovers,’ and to playing at Melbourne’s recent Hobble Day celebrations.

This week we caught up with Grant from the band to answer our Hotseat questions ahead of the upcoming tour.

THE BASICS
Name : GY
Band : CERES
Job In Band : Bass player. Organiser. Father figure.
Website Address : weareceres.com
HOME
Hometown : Melbourne
Hometown is best known for : Music. Coffee. Bad weather.
Best venue in your hometown : The Corner. The Reverence. Old Bar.
Favourite show you’ve seen in your hometown : Oh, man. Maybe Mindsnare at the Arty, back in the day…
Favourite show you’ve played in your hometown : I reckon it’ll be our next one, Against Me!, Joyce Manor and US at The Corner on Saturday 6 June. HOW GOOD. Punk rock show of the year. I’m calling it early.
THE BAND
How did the band first come to exist? Tom has been writing songs forever. Rhys eventually talked him into starting a band. When we were REAL DRUNK at a party, Tom asked me to play bass for them. I asked Franky to come for a jam. CERES was formed.
How long has the band been going? Must have been early 2012 when we all came together. So, we’re coming up to 3 years old.
Is there an interesting story behind the name? Tom liked the word. Liked how it looked when written. He wanted the band name to be just a word and not mean anything… Turns out Ceres means HEAPS of things. It’s an Environmental Park in Brunswick, Melbourne. It’s a Roman deity of agriculture. It’s a little town near Geelong in Victoria. It’s a dwarf planet, the largest object in the asteroid belt. And let’s face it, it’s a shit band name.
What’s your most recent release? Tell us a little about it… Our most recent release is a love song (our ONLY non-sad song about a girl) called ‘Ceres Is For Lovers’. We released it for free on Valentine’s Day in February. You can listen to the song and see a video showing the creation of the cheesiest band photo ever on our dot com. Prior to that, we released a 7″ called ‘Selfish Prick’ in late 2014. We released our debut full-length album ‘I Don’t Want To Be Anywhere But Here’ in early 2014. And prior to that, we released the EP ‘Luck’ in 2013. But you only asked about our latest release. Ooops.
Got a personal stand out achievement of your band to date? It was an absolute achievement that WE DIDN’T DIE during the 22-date Violent Soho national tour late last year. Holy shit. What a party. 5 weeks of party. I’m still hungover.
OFF THE STAGE
What was your first introduction to music that made you think seriously about playing it? Good question. Maybe being a kid in early high school and seeing my mate’s older brothers in garage bands. Some of those same dudes went on to play in a cover band that did gigs at the underage nightclub where I would go drenched in aftershave and try to make out with girls. I definitely wanted to be cool like them. Girls like dudes in bands, right?
Any band, album, or song that you personally credit as a major influence? Oh boy. Hot Water Music for sure. And Blueline Medic, right back to their early days as Caustic Soda. What a band.
Your first band name, and what style did you play? My first band was ‘4-rated’. We played ‘I Could Have Lied’ by the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the high school talent quest. Yep, we won.
Most prized music related item you own? Hmmm. It WAS my all black Japan-made Fender Aerodyne Jass bass, but that got stolen (with the rest of my gear, in my car, WITH MY CAR). So, now, it’s probably my vinyl collection. So many rad local punk and hardcore gems in there.
When you’re not doing band related stuff, what are you usually found doing? Working as an environmental consultant. Hanging with my girl. Drinking Melbourne Bitter.
The thing you most look forward to just before a tour is… Playing music. Hanging out with legends. Drinking free beers.
The thing you least look forward to before a tour is… Being stressed at work trying to get everything sorted before the time off. The feeling when I walk out on the last day is dope though.
Any item you seem to always forget to take on tour? Panadol. But Rhys always remembers his American bumper-size bottle of Advil, so it’s all good. Tastes like candy.
WATCH
ON THE STAGE

When on offer, what’s your one must have item on the rider? Melbourne Bitter.
Got a favourite place you’ve toured… and why? Anywhere with a beach. We always try to get a band bodysurf in when we can. Perth is rad for that. Gold Coast too. And Newcastle.
Got a favourite venue you’ve played… and why? The big ones on the Violent Soho tour were rad. 170 Russell in Melbourne. Metropolis in Freo. Metro Theatre in Sydney.
Any embarrassing on stage moments come to mind? In Launceston the other week, I broke a bass string mid-song. I didn’t even bother dealing with it. Just took the bass off and leaned it against my amp. Drunk. Luckily Tyler from Luca Brasi was on the ball- he ran out with his bass and I was able to pop it on and get back to playing the song. But the thing was, it hung lower on me than Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic’s bass. I couldn’t reach the strings. I had to sit on the drum riser for a bit and struggle with the shortening the strap. Why do I always get so drunk when we play with Luca Brasi?
Any pre-show rituals? Try not to have too many beers, and get a bit of alone time.
What do you find is the hardest aspect of touring in a band today? Making money. It’s a big country. Flights and long drives cost a lot. Such rad fun though.
RIGHT NOW
Last song you listened to? ‘Humming’ from the new Turnover record, ‘Peripheral Vision’. That guitar lick. So good.
Last album you picked up? Rage Against The Machine’s ‘Renegades’ from the year 2000. What a record. I must have lost my CD. I heard ‘Renegades of Funk’ in a bar the other night and downloaded it to my phone right then and there.
Which band or album is currently on high rotation? Superheaven’s ‘Ours Is Chrome’. Melodic grunge. It is so dope.
Tell us an up and coming band or artist you think we should go and listen to right now? The two Sydney bands that we’re playing with at our next show up there- Sweater Season and Burners. Both rad. Can’t wait to see them both live.
What’s on the cards for the next few months for the band? In June/July we’re doing a quick 5-date headline winter tour. Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne. Can’t wait. We’re touring with Melbourne legends The Pretty Littles and our Adelaide boyfriends in Sincerely, Grizzly. Local supports in each city are rad. It’s going to be gooooooood.
IF ONLY…
You can pick any one album for your band to cover in full, what would it be and why? Oh, man. I’ve never thought about that. But ‘Four Minute Mile’ by The Get Up Kids! How good would that be?
You can pick any one band / artist to cover one of your albums in full, what would it be, and why? How do you reckon Thursday would go with our ‘I Don’t Want To Be Anywhere But Here’ record?
One band you wish you were able to see live but never had the chance? Refused. I was in Japan when they toured here in 2012. They’ll tour their new-metal album here in 2016, right?
One venue you have yet to play that you would love to? We’ve never played The Tote in Melbourne. Such a sticky-carpeted institution. And we get to do it on 26 June. STOKED.
The chance comes up to fill in for a member of a band for one tour, which band would it be, and why? Slowly Slowly, Ben from The Sinking Teeth’s new band. They are seriously fucking good. Although I would not look as swag as Quayle on the bass, I’d be so into it. And I might even wear shorts on stage like BennyBoy.
A headline tour overseas comes up, tell us two bands you’d take along to support your band. Oslow, so I can watch them play every night. And does anyone remember The Bradshaw Figure from Melbourne? I’d ask them if they can reform and join us.
TOUR DATES

CERES and THE PRETTY LITTLES
With guests SINCERELY GRIZZLY
JUNE
27th – The Tote, Collingwood [18+] w/ Oslow, The Flying So High-o’s.
JULY
10th – The Factory Floor, Marrickville [18+] w/ Sweater Season, Burners.
11th – Crowbar, Brisbane [18+] w/ The Gifthorse, Columbia Buffet.
17th – Crown & Anchor, Adelaide [18+] w/ Grenadiers, the Sinking Teeth, Horror My Friend + more.
25th – The Old Bar, Fitzroy [18+] w/ Slowly Slowly, Self Talk.
—> Tickets available at the door.
—> For more information, visit [Here].

TOUR POSTER
ceres-the-pretty-littles