Twenty-two hours in the van, all the way from Belgium to Italy – and then this: Dead City Ruins are scheduled to play a show in Rome on a scorching hot summer day. Arriving at the venue, five guys in shorts stumble out of their rusty van, followed by empty beer cans clattering on the pavement.

The band’s singer Jake Wiffen can’t help laughing when he recalls this moment, saying: “The guys from Mastodon, who were headlining that night, looked at us as if we were totally alien. We proceeded to unload our gear, half-naked and drenched in sweat. The show is obviously the most important part of our day, but somehow word got out that we couldn’t play and that the production was running late. We were freaking out!”

He adds: “But we hung out with Mastodon, had a couple of whiskeys and joked about our shitty van, and things calmed down. We were allowed to perform, and the gig went down like a storm. We went crazy, the fans went crazy, and Mastodon high-fived us when we staggered offstage… Stuff like this only happens in rock’n’roll.

Things are completely fucked up, but end up totally rad. You persevere, have a laugh – and get that rush you are looking for.“