Nick Martin Travels And Parties Differently A Decade On

To say Nick Martin is excited to tour Australia for the first time since joining post-hardcore miscreants Sleeping With Sirens (SWS) in 2013 is an understatement. But his excitement is pegged on something from completely out of left field.  

"The one thing I do want to do is go and see quokkas — is that how you say it?" he asks, back home in California after a tour of South America. "They're like little furry animals on an island outside of Perth. I've held a koala, I've hung out with the kangaroos, I've done those quote-unquote typical Australian things, but I want to go see quokkas." 

It's not something one typically expects to hear from a guitarist, especially one whose punk/hardcore band credits prior to SWS include Underminded and DRUGS. But as the oldest in the five-piece — he's 32 — touring these days has become less about quantity and more about quality. 

"I want to enjoy the local culture and check out new things, and the cities and the people."

"I've been doing this since I was around 18, 19 years old," Martin explains. "How I used to travel and party when I was 21 versus now when I'm 32 are two completely different things. When you're older you tend to want to enjoy the other things. Like, I want to enjoy the local culture and check out new things, and the cities and the people."

And things are slightly different for all band members since catapulting onto the scene in 2010 with With Ears To See And Eyes To Hear. Amid the global tours, countless chart entries, signing with Rise and their recent move to Epitaph, the boys have built families and relationships back home. Keeping one foot in the band's world and the other in the family realm is a challenge Martin says can be overcome with effort.

"You kind of have to consider it a long-distance relationship. And it is difficult because you live in a different world to your partner. For us we're in a different city every day, experiencing life in completely different ways, so it becomes difficult. Over the years it's hard to find the individuals that understand it, who are compassionate and backing what you do every day. So when you do have that, you cherish it a lot." 

Enlisting the god-like guidance of John Feldmann (Panic! At the Disco, The Used, All Time Low) for latest album Madness steered the band's pop-punk flavour towards a tighter, more mature direction. Each and every band member agrees that future SWS albums will be touched by none other than Feldmann, even if Martin admits the man can be a bit intense.

"Intense is an understatement!" he laughs. "John's just like this very eccentric, crazy motherfucker — he gets out of his mind. He's able to come into a room and if we come in and we're not feeling it that day, somehow he can come in and spark something. He's so high-strung but in the most positive way ever. To have someone that is equally at a level ten, or at a level 100 like John Feldmann — it's nice to have. I wouldn't want to break away from that."