Forging remnants of the anti-establishment punk style of the Clash with the beats and progressions of true pop hits, the UK has produced Beat Union, yet another band worthy of world interest. Audiomuffin was there first hand to see their high-energy, punk rock stage presence quickly rile up a sold out Belly Up Tavern crowd in Solana Beach, CA (2/7/08) as they played with Canadian group, Bedouin Soundclash.

Singer/guitarist Dave Warsop, drummer Luke Johnson, guitarist Dean Ashton and bassist Ade Preston of Beat Union will be the first to humbly admit that the road from rocking out the garage in their hometown outside Birmingham, UK to playing sold out shows across the United States was no easy feat. The band caught the attention of acclaimed punk-rock music producer and front man of Goldfinger, John Feldmann, who, in turn, continues to be a defining stepping-stone for the band in their achieving success. Feldmann brought them to Los Angeles and worked with the band in recording their debut album “Disconnected” which takes shelf April 22nd. After Feldmann’s success with bands like The Used and Story Of The Year, we can expect nothing less than big things from his work with Beat Union.

Beat Union was signed by Science Records in the Fall of 2007, an Indie label based in Orange County, CA that features other accomplished and promising punk bands like The Dear and Departed, Greeley Estates and Confessional. As was expected, Beat Union rocked the stages of Austin alongside many other Science Records bands at South by Southwest (SXSW) this year and consonantly will be rocking the stages of Warped Tour 2008 as well. Until then, the band will close up their North American tour with Authority Zero concluding in Hollywood on April 8th where they will shoot back across pond to the UK and join State Radio on tour.

After their pulsating stage performance highlighted by their high-energy hits ‘Can’t Stop the Radio’ and ‘She is the Gun’ I was lucky enough to catch up with Luke, Beat Union’s drummer and chat for a bit.

Where did the name Beat Union originate?

The First time we recorded with Feldy, we were still using our old name “Shortcut to Newark” and for some reason people just didn’t get what we were sayin, it was almost like a language barrier, someone would ask the name of the band and we would say “Shortcut to Newark” they would be like “oh right sweet, short bus to Newark” or “shortcut to New York” so it had to change, we went through so many ideas, and we ended up with “Love Beat Union”, we wanted a name with out “the” at the start something different and English. But then it was a united decision to drop the “love” and we ended up where were at now with Beat Union, but still people call us “The Beat Union,” I guess we will never escape it (haha).

What is the best part about being on tour?

The Best thing about being on the road is meeting so many new music lovers, also being from across the pond people want to hear our story and maybe crack the occasional joke about our “Limey” accents, but I think being a team and actually getting up everyday and doing what we want to do and living out our dreams is pretty sick too. There’s nothing else I would rather be doing!!!

What was it like working with John Feldmann?

SICK, we learnt so much from him, he totally made us better song writers, players and performers, when you start working with a guy like that you really got to step up your game. He really did make recording the easiest experience ever. He definitely knows how to get the best out of us in the studio.

What do you look forward to most about returning to the UK on your tour when you pick up with State Radio?

Probably seeing loved ones after a long stint away, it will be ace when we join with State Radio though because were playing our home town and our friends and family will be able to come to the show and see how the band has evolved in the last few months.

What are your goals/expectations for the band in 2008? For your debut album release?

We came to America with no expectation, we were just happy with having recorded our album with an A-list producer and the chance to tour the States, so what ever happens from here on out is a bonus to us! Of course we want to do well, but were taking this day by day, its all a lot to take in…

Beat Union is making huge strides and turning heads at every stop.

Beat Union - Calling (altpress.com exclusive) from Alternative Press on Vimeo.