Justin Schlosberg, frontman for London-based rockers Hell is for Heroes sets out ten points about himself and the band that you should know…

Record labels have no bearing on us.
    “Being on what label when is of pretty minor consequence to us [The band left major label EMI after their first album, and can now be found on Captains of Industry/Burning Heart]. So long as we're making music we enjoy and paying our bills - everything else is just details.
    "We'll never be the kind of band that enslaves themselves to any label or anything 'industry'. We write and play music only for ourselves and the people that listen to us so the label switch never affected us creatively in any way.”

We still love playing the UK.
    “We enjoy touring wherever it is. Doesn't make difference really although travelling in places we've never been before is always fun. We've toured the UK a lot so it’s refreshing to get to other countries but we're looking forward to touring the UK again too. Home is where the heart is and all that.”

We always push ourselves to do better.
    “We just want to make every album better than our last. If we can do that there can be no greater achievement for us. So its all about pushing our songwriting as much as our sound. Lyrics-wise there's no agenda - I write words to fit music and that’s about it.”

The media has no affect on me whatsoever.
    “I don’t really read magazines to be honest so I can’t comment on the British music press compared to elsewhere. I can say that I’ll never believe in the 'next big thing' whether it’s us or anyone else.”

There is only one thing for new bands to know.
    “Play hard. Play hard. Play hard.”

‘Emo’ can mean anything.
    “I guess 'emo' stands for 'emotional' so in theory that can describe anything from the blues to uplifting house. I don’t think 'emo' carries as much meaning for me as the word 'punk' or 'hardcore'.
    I think these words no longer stand for a type of music because in that sense they've been used to describe worldly different bands, but they do stand for an attitude or approach that still resonates and it can apply to anything you do.”

There are no fancy titles for Hell is for Heroes.
    “We just call ourselves a rock band. We once got mistaken in an interview for that band sings the song Gay Bar [Electric Six]. I can’t remember their name but that was pretty funny.”

Politics in music is still relevant today.
    “I don’t think there's anything cliché about politics in music. In fact I think music is politics in some way - if it’s the expression of people's thoughts, feelings, ideals. Obviously there are some people that seek to exploit it in a disingenuous way but that’s always been the case and always will.”

We still have the same aims as we did when we started.
    “We just want to get on do what we do and be ourselves whilst still pushing ourselves as far as we can go through the music we write and play. And we still lust after money.”

Time is no boundary for us.
    “I see no reason to be anywhere different than where I am now. I just hope I can learn stuff and do memorable things in that time and not fritter it away on bullshit.”