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After The Fall.
 Ben Windsor is kicking back at home on the New South Wales central coast before heading out to band practice later in the afternoon. Otherwise he'd be playing his guitar or Xbox (he's a self-confessed games nerd who doesn't see more than about an hour of sunlight per day), or going to his local hangout for some food. Although he seems like he'd be a shy guy who might be hard to talk to, Windsor comes across as funny and chatty when we speak.
Having seen the film clip for The Fighter last weekend, I just had to ask Windsor what was going on. I mean, in half the shots it looks like he's about to burst out laughing at any second. "It's hard to keep a straight face when you're getting beaten up by a chick," Windsor explains with a laugh. "She was just going nuts; she was like 'Fuck this! Fuck! Fuck that! Where've you been! Fuck you!' She was just going apeshit and I was trying not to laugh. She just doesn't come across as that type of person, which she's not, and she's just acting, but it was just really funny."
'She' being Rose, the girl in the film clips to both The Fighter as well as Concrete Boots. It seems their acting relationship is a bit strange, as Windsor explains. "I enjoyed it in the first clip 'cause I got to pash her, but in the second clip, she's kinda bashing me up. I've still got bruises."
Mind you, Windsor points out the making of the film clip as a whole was an interesting experience. For those unfamiliar with the video, it flicks between a ragingly mad girl (Rose) shoving her boyfriend (Windsor) around, throwing things at him and smashing a guitar, and the band playing in a room in the same house. Windsor says none of the equipment used is on - except for the one without a switch, the drum kit. "All we had were these little speakers playing the song," he says, "and we could hardly hear it because Andrew [Atkins, drummer] was bashing the drums heaps hard, and I was really deaf after that day. But it's pretty much just acting - a lot of acting."
And at the end of the clip, why does it look like he's about to crack up? "Because I was trying not to laugh because I had this big camera zooming in on me, and I could kinda see my reflection," he explains, "so I was trying not to laugh."
Windsor is equally enthusiastic about the new album. He lists The Fighter and A Friend Named Karma as two of his favourites, with the latter being described as: "It's like a song off [Guns 'n' Roses album] 'Appetite for Destruction'. That's why it's good." The album title, though is also a point of interest. 'Always. Forever. Now.' has a definitiveness and authoritative ring to it. But what are After The Fall trying to say? "Pretty much I stole it from a U2 song - one of their b-sides," explains Windsor. "I thought it was a good name for an album. And then I thought, 'Hang on. Always. Forever. Now. Always - I've always wanted to be in a band and play live and shit, Forever, and Now, because I like the way it is now, and I don't want it to change."
Lonely, Lonely, one of the oldest songs on the album, documents change in Windsor's own life. It's one of the highlights of the album and shows the band's diversity, Windsor reveals the lyrics were written during the recording of the band's self-titled debut album. "It was pretty much when my girlfriend broke up with me," he says quietly. "I've never actually written a song like that before. I don't normally write about my relationships. It was the end of a three year relationship."
If he doesn't write about his own relationships, what is The Fighter written about? "It's just about relationships in general," Windsor replies. "It's kind of about every relationship I've been in and how they all ended up."
Ann Marie Sosnowski
 | 'Always. Forever. Now' is out now through FMR. |
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