Shred Yr Face 2: Father Damian, Fucked Up

Fucked Up vocalist Father Damian tells us about paying dues, playing pubs and being punk rock...

Posted Monday, 2 February 2009 in

Shred Yr Face 2: Father Damian, Fucked Up Shred Yr Face 2 looms large on the horizon, as Rock Sound counts down on the tour of the year Fucked Up vocalist Father Damian tells us about paying dues, playing pubs and being punk rock...

So what were the early shows like in the UK?
“It was nightmare. On our first tour of the UK we did it over a long Easter weekend, and then we also had some other dates on it. We were playing two shows a day in every little nook and cranny. Loading up to the third floor of a pub or the second floor of a pub, twice a day and then unloading twice a day, it was completely soul-sucking; if there’s one time Fucked Up had to pay dues, it would be on that tour. We’d be loading all this gear up all these flights of stairs and then playing to a room of half-interested people and then jacking it up and doing it all again for the second time in day. It wasn’t all bad, we had some amazing experiences and we met some amazing people; the first time we played Sheffield was unbelievable, the first time we played London was unbelievable, but it was just a really hard tour.”

You’re dead trendy right now; a lot of indie kids seem to be into you. Did you have that in mind when making your current album?
“No, absolutely not. This is a record we would have made, I seriously believe – even given the time in the studio we were afforded by signing to Matador – this is the record we would have made, no matter what label we were on. If we were on our own label, if we had Fucked Up Records, this is the record we would have made. So it’s not like we aimed to get a larger, different audience, this is just where we’ve gone.”

Have you seen John Lydon’s butter ads?
“Yeah, but as long as your heart’s in the same place, you’re still punk. I think, yeah, you can kinda question where his heart is now, but I definitely think he made probably greatest punk record of all time.”

What lasting effect do you want Fucked Up to leave on the evolution of punk?
“I hope we have the same effect that punk rock had for me, which is that it just changed my life, saved my life. If we can do that for a couple of kids, then I’m the happiest man in the world.”

Shred Yr Face 2 featuring The Bronx, Fucked Up and Rolo Tomassi demolishes the following towns near you:

FEBRUARY
26 - LEEDS Cockpit
27 - GLASGOW Garage
28 - MANCHESTER Club Academy
MARCH
02 - CARDIFF Clwb Ifor Bach
03 - NOTTINGHAM Rescue Rooms
04 - LONDON Electric Ballroom
05 - BRIGHTON Concorde
06 - BIRMINGHAM Academy