UK's got talent: interview with Fair Do's
Hello Fair Do's. Thanks so much for your time! For those who have never heard of your band, would you mind introducing yourselves, as well as Fair Do's?
(Danny) - Hello Greg, it's our pleasure! I'm Danny, the guitarist and main shouter at Fair Do's. (John) - And I'm John, the drummer and backing shouter in Fair Do's. We play fast and heavy, melodic hardcore punk and come from Manchester, UK.There are so many skatepunk bands, all around the world. According to you, what do you think sets your band apart from all the other bands in your genre?
(Danny) - We stopped looking for musical ideas within the punk scene a long time ago. If you want metal, break beat, grime and soul influenced skate punk, then you're in the right place. (John) - Like Danny said, we like to introduce ideas and styles we've heard in other places into our musical genre, and our playing. We think that good rhythm and melody, can be found in many places, so we keep our listening varied. We're all a sucker for a classic punk rock singalong chorus, but we also tried to include some more groovy, and bouncy parts this time around.You guys drop your debut album, "Leopards", today. How long have you worked on it and how did you approach the writing process for this record?
(Danny) - It's been 4 years since we released the Trying Times EP. We spent 2 years writing and practising, meticulously demoing each riff, run, fill and vocal line. It then took around 18 months to record, mix and master. We all work full time so we were spending every free weekend over in York tracking. Then the last 6 months have been spent preparing for the release. We totally suck at this so were lucky the team at Lockjaw Records took over and whipped us into shape. (John) - We took a lot of time to be able to play through all of the songs from start to finish in all honesty. Our guitarist, Dave, had a large hand in writing our album tracks, and he essentially set us all a huge task in upping our playing. He would approach us with demos, and we would spend week after week drilling those songs home, ironing them out, and getting them up to tempo. We also spent that time working on lyrics and vocal melodies, as our writing process always starts with guitars and drums.Focusing on this new album: How much would you say your sound has improved, compared to your previous EP, Trying Times?
(Danny) - It feels more like the EP was a demo and this is the real thing. Everything you might have liked about Trying Times has just been multiplied. Bigger riffs, harder lyrics, catchier choruses, faster songs, slower songs, more crushing breakdowns and a real step up in production. If you can't tell, I'm over the moon with how it's turned out! (John) - I think we definitely polished our sound and style a bit more thoroughly than we had on the E.P. We've always tried to include some metal influence in our sound, but we really focused on bringing that forward a bit more this time around. We also tracked with our good friend, and great drummer/guitarist Dave Boothroyd at Reel Recording Studio, York. We knew he had first hand experience in the style we play, and the sound we were looking for, so we're happy to track with him, and aim for something a bit more polished than last time around.
If each one of you had to pick ONE track that, according to you, best reflects the spirit of this new release: Which one would you pick and why?
(Danny) - That's not an easy question but I've got to say Hanging. When I first heard Dave's demo,I had no idea how i was going to be able to play it! Without being too cheesy, I think it sums up the journey we've gone through as a band, gives an indication of where we're heading sonically, and captures the moment lyrically of a political climate that is both hilarious and frightening in pretty equal measure. (John) - I feel like a bit of cheat here, but I'm going with Hanging too, for pretty much the same reasons. It feels like we created quite a defined sound with that track, and it was truly a huge challenge for us all to be able to play from start to finish.I've noticed that many people compare Danny's vocals, and the band in general, with Belvedere. How do you feel about this ?
(Danny) - I have absolutely no problem with that. Steve has an iconic voice and Belvedere are one of my favourite bands! (John) - Yeah, we have heard that comparison before. We all love Belvedere, and spent a lot of time in our younger days with them on the stereo. Great band!
Leave a comment
Log in to post comments