The problems started before the gig. No amplifier for one of the guitarists; the keyboard and saxophone acting up. On stage things didn't get much better. The lead guitarist — the one with the amp — broke a string on the second song. His strap didn't last much longer.

"And then," guitarist/saxophonist Jon Shaban picks up the story, "our singer Nick fell through the stage."

"He manned through," adds drummer Ryk Otto. "He finished the whole song with his leg through the stage and then got up all covered in blood."

And the show just continued.

"They were fixing the stage while we were playing, so we all had to move forward to get out of their way," laughs Shaban. "It was just horrific, just absolutely horrific, but it was cool, good fun."

Concurs Otto: "We came off the stage just high-fiving and feeling like a million dollars."

But what else would you expect from six good friends who make music that sounds like a good time? Ferchrissakes, their original name — Captain Stu and the Llamas — came from the film 'Dude, Where's My Car?'

"We're happy people which comes across in our music – we're a happy band," confirms Shaban, almost unnecessarily.

"Obviously within the band we have individual issues every now and then but that's all about talking and sorting it out like friends do. Because that's ultimately what we are — we're not colleagues, we're friends."

"It makes everything a lot smoother," continues Otto. "Things work a lot better. And it's ultimately much better for the band because we all know what we want and we all get along well."

It helps that their musical tastes converge — mostly.

"As far as the music goes, I think there's quite a good general direction we all go with. We have the same feel for stuff. So musically the decisions are quite easy," explains the drummer.

"Of course we each have different kind of influences and music tastes," offers the saxophonist, "but generally we all listen to the same style of music, we all enjoy similar stuff."

Well, mostly.

"James listens to a lot of anarcho punk. It's very heavy and you can hardly hear what anyone's saying. Nicholas listens to a lot of hip hop," says Shaban.

"We're all very tolerant. You have to be in a band with six people otherwise you're going to clash."

He thinks for a second.

"Matt listens to pop – that's probably the worst..." he laughs, once again highlighting the band's unbridled sense of fun.