By Kieran Webber
Many people utter the words ‘Punk is dead’ in many ways they may be right, I mean walk down Camden and you would beleive it to be true. However, if you search long and hard into the depths of the genre you will find a rare gem flying the flag high.
One of these said gems is the East London based Falseheads a band that boasts ferocity through their music, with a no bars held attitude and snarling vocals they may just be the beginning of a much needed resurgence. They have already have garnered support from punk icon Iggy Pop and Ramones manager Danny Fields.
We had a chat with the riotous lads about life, Brexit, and their influences.
CLUNK: Thanks very much for taking the time to answer our questions, how have things been and what have you been up to?
Luke: Things have been great, we did a lot of writing early this year and late last year, picked out the best tunes and went into the studio which was great and now we’re just looking forward to everyone hearing them. We’ve been playing a lot of shows as well and we’ve got a lot coming up, talks of a tour end of the this year and a few other festivals we haven’t announced yet. So yeah, things are all looking rosy.
CLUNK: So how did you all meet and how did False Heads come to be?
Luke: We’ve been friends since school, jake and barney were in a band. We all went off to uni, I tried to get a band going at Bognor, and Jake joined whilst I was living in Bognor Regis and was coming down from York for a few jams and a few gigs and then we came back home to Essex and Barney moved back from Bristol the day our drummer quit, I called him pissed out of my head and he joined and we all lived happily ever after.
“no one shits, pisses, jizzes or throws up on themselves on stage, although we may have to re-invent ourselves one day and they may be the route we take”
CLUNK: Do you share similar influences or is it varied?
Luke: There’s a lot of crossovers between the three of us and then there are a lot of different influences as well. But to be honest I think that’s perfect, the way we work is that for the most part I’ll write the bare bones of a tune and the lyrics and bring it to Barney and Jake and we jam on it until it’s ready, having a crossover of influences but also having differing ideas makes songs turnout better I think. You all push yourself and tinker until you’ve got something you all think sounds great. When you can all bring something to the table in terms of perfecting a song is a great position to be in, I think everyone liking the exact same thing would probably take some elements of that away.
CLUNK: Was their a particular person or band that influenced your music today?
Luke: When I was a little chav, it was Eminem, he just didn’t give a fuck and was genuinely exciting and rebellious. I’d like to think an element of that comes across in our music haha. But the band that made me want to be in a band was Nirvana. Hearing Nevermind for the first time the whole way through was like a fucking mind revolution or something. Then after that for me I’d say the two other biggest influences on me as a songwriter that still influence today from first hearing them was Radiohead and Elliott Smith.
CLUNK: What was the infuence behind your latest single ‘Thick Skin’?
Luke: Musically, I have no idea, I had the opening riff and the vocal melody sorted and Barney added that almost Bends Esque bit to finish the verse chord sequence off and then I added a riff at the end to give it a kick up the bollocks. It’s fairly punky though I’d say with a Rage Against the Machine kinda riff thing at the end with a little pop chorus whacked in for good measure. Lyrically, it’s me just ranting really about self-assured cunts that clog up my social media and most news outlets these days but there’s a bit of sarcastic humour in there as well, well I think there is anyway, maybe others disagree.
CLUNK: Now a band with as much energy as yourselves, you must have had some wild experiences whilst playing live care to share any stories?
Luke: Haha nothing too crazy, No GG Allin like stories, no one shits, pisses, jizzes or throws up on themselves on stage, although we may have to re-invent ourselves one day and they may be the route we take. A few smashed guitars over the years and stuff getting broke, head butting cymbal. Jake and I like to have little battles on stage occasionally but just a lot of energy being let loose really more than anything else.
CLUNK: I always try to sneak a political question in especially the way the climate is at the moment, I am curious to know where you stand on Brexit and why? And what do you feel it could do the creative industry?
Luke: I voted in, I tried my best to read the most impartial fact based articles possible and I’ve decided that I’m in, as for how it will effect the creative industry, I have no fucking clue, does anyone haha? no one has left before. I’ve read some stuff that looks scary for bands and musicians but that’s pretty much every article on the subject isn’t it, scary. To be honest with you though I am fucking sick of it and glad it is over. I think both the way the leave and remain camp have been acting is pretty fucking vile and they should both be ashamed of themselves. FEAR FEAR FEAR is pretty much all I’ve saw from both sides. Basically getting people to vote emotionally rather than using any sort of reason or rationale. From major players to the average self-assured div on facebook, fear and personal attacks is pretty much all I’ve fucking seen. The best article I’ve read as an opinion article that seems to be the most fact based and reasonable is on fucking newsthump for fucksake haha. I do urge people to have a read of that though, it’s a very good article and it shared my frustration of just how fucked up the situation has been and how little a balanced and reasonable debate has taken place.
Jake: Staunch remain-er. I get the momentum driving the leave campaign, the idea of control and hope or whatever, but can’t see it being anything other than miserable and chaotic in reality. We’ll probably be using guitars for firewood in a few years now that we have left.
CLUNK: Did you ever see yourselves playing in a band when you were younger, has it always been a dream?
Luke: When I was really little, I wanted to be an archaeologist for a while after watching Jurassic Park haha so not really but from about 15 onwards it has been, and all the things that have been happening seem surreal when I think of me as a 15 year old writing shit songs and growling along in my room to Nirvana and the Sex Pistols. But we’ve got a very long way to go still and a lot more hard work to put in.
Jake: Always been a dream but didn’t think I’d still be doing it. We all sort of just fell together over the last couple of years and it’s been non-stop good times/massive riffs..
Barney: YES.
CLUNK: What are your top 5 most listened to records this year?
Luke: I honestly have no idea haha.
Jake:
Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool
EL VY – Return to the Moon
Kurt Vile – B’lieve I’m Going Down
David Bowie – Hunky Dory
William Basinski – Melancholia
Barney:
Teebs – Estera
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – UMO
FlaKo – Eclosure
Flying Lotus – Until the Quiet Comes
Grizzly Bear – Yellow House
CLUNK: Lastly, what can we expect from you 2016 and beyond?
Luke: Hopefully, a fuck load of shows, a fuck load of songs and an album. I reckon an album in late 2017 sounds good don’t it?