Crossing early-00s down-stroking guitar hooks with ’board life, let’s get one thing about the band SKATERS out the way: they don’t skate. Their name is a device to capture the group’s youthful exuberance, visually and sonically.

(In a broader rock ‘n’ roll context, The Beach Boys didn’t actually surf, but their harmonic surf music wasn’t too shabby, to say the least).

The band’s freshly unleashed (and boldly titled) debut album Manhattan is an ode to the Big Apple. A couple of years ago, a dusk-till-dawn drinking session at an LA house party kicked things off, bringing frontman Ian Michael Cummings and English guitarist Josh Hubbard to four inevitable words: ‘let’s start a band’.

Despite going their separate ways soon after, it wasn’t long before ex-Paddington Hubbard, who hails from Hull, was back in the States, this time to New York where Cummings had relocated. They picked up from where they’d left off and SKATERS’ debut EP, Schemers, hit 10,000 downloads. That’s when major label Warner Bros called.

Collaborative ‘zines and energetic live shows, which they’ve been ploughing through at a rapid rate, are getting the band talked about.  You’re likely to find them at the merch booth afterwards as well, their inspired garb like a DIY skate label of its own.

Matthew Liam Fogg: Everyone who fancies themselves a guitar player has had the drunken ‘we should jam together’ conversation. Why, in your case, did you actually follow through and take it to the next level?
Michael Ian Cummings: I had no intention to seriously follow it through. Josh, however, is the kind of guy that just seems to make stuff happen. He saw something that I didn’t. I’m really glad that he did and flew to NYC, or else this band would be completely different.

MLF: Having been in bands before, did it feel different this time around?
MIC: We knew the ropes and, most importantly, we knew what not to do. This saved us a lot of time. Being selective with our shows in the early days really helped us focus on what we were tying to accomplish.

MLF: So you’d say you’ve gone about it any differently than with your previous groups?
MIC: Yes, totally. You need to point yourself in the right direction. A lot of bands just start off kind of aimless.

MLF: You really threw yourselves into it, booking shows early on when you had a handful of songs. How did that work out?
MIC: Yeah, Josh showed up in New York and put us on the spot. We started the band the night he flew in and booked the first three shows the next morning. It was nerve wracking, but it made us shit or get off the pot, so to speak. We never really had band practice the first year of the band.

MLF: You recently played SXSW – I heard about an impromptu spliff being passed onstage and closing with a raucous Nirvana cover. How was it?
MIC: It was very fun. Getting stoned on stage is always interesting. You never know which direction the show will take. It was upper pot, so things stayed pretty good. That was a great show.

MLF: SKATERS’ first EP Schemers was a free download. What was the significance in giving it away?
MIC: We just wanted all of our friends to know what we were up to. We had no expectations and it was more important to us that people heard it. No one’s getting rich off a Bandcamp EP.

MLF: How did you feel about the response?
MIC: It was pretty impressive. It spread rather rapidly and we ended up getting like, 10,000 downloads. We were shocked. We thought, ‘maybe we should take this seriously now’.

MLF: Was major label interest surprising to you? When you signed did it bring any pressure?
MIC: Yeah, I’d never been on a major before.  I was apprehensive, but we wanted the opportunity to get our music to as many people as possible, so in the end that was the choice we made. In a lot of ways things are pretty much the same. Everything is done in-house, the label acts as our patron and we can now do a lot more than we could before. It’s still very hands-on and homegrown.

MLF: The band’s background includes none-more-different cities LA and Hull. How did New York get the album title tribute?
MIC: The city is the reason we formed the band. We met there, wrote about it, recorded it, and played it. It was kind of the obvious title that you normally wouldn’t take but we said, “Fuck it, it’s a New York record”.

MLF: YONKS is a ‘zine you created featuring all of the artists you’ve worked with since your inception. Why was it important to you?
MIC: Because they are so talented! If we can turn anyone on to our friend’s art, that makes us very happy. You’ve got to support your friends. The ‘zine is sick. You should buy one if you get the chance. We lose money on every issue, so you know it’s got to be good.

Visit SKATERS’ website, Soundcloud and follow them on Facebook and Twitter