A cloaked figure gazes upon a thousand-yard vista of turmoil, strife, and purgatory. In the …
Faux Bandit are a band that likes to buck the trends. They write catchy rock’n’roll tunes, with rap vocals, they have influences ranging from big-band jazz to cheesy disco tunes, yet they write big riffs and chunky drum fills that make you want to bang your head, and they enjoy penning a crazy tale about climbing to Heaven to meet Ned Kelly rather than sticking with the angst and anger one would expect from a gritty rock’n’roll band.
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Whatever they are doing though, it is working, as Faux Bandit have just dropped their third EP to rave reviews, and are packing venues and picking up new fans wherever they go. We got vocalist and guitarist Adam on the phone to chat about the release, the new addition to the lineup and the inspiration behind some of those song lyrics.
Kicking off life as a two-piece, Faux Bandit have been at this music caper for a while now, having released two EP’s prior to Rock’n’Roll Simulator 2019, which saw them thrown into the spotlight in the rock scene in Australia. Now, as the band has recently changed lineups and welcomed Zac Sakrewski into the fold on bass, they have been hard at work creating their third EP which they have just released to the world.
This new release sees Faux Bandit explore new territory and Adam believes that having Sakrewski join Faux Bandit has brought a new depth to the band, both in the studio and on stage. Having another voice has strengthened the song-writing process when it comes to creating new material and the boys are also making him work hard when it comes to performing the tracks they wrote as a duo.
“We make him work for it,” Adam laughs. “Zac actually has a really good sense of the songs, so there are some parts where he might play something different and change it up and that adds depth to some of the old material. A lot of the old stuff is just straight doubled, but he can do it with a bit of a different sound and the song, well, it’s already more interesting. So he can play exactly what I am playing but it will still feel a little bit different,” Adam explains.
The whole song is about a man who builds a tower to Heaven, out of milk crates, in a bid to go and see Ned Kelly
[ Adam ]
Even though Rock’n’Roll Simulator 2019 is Faux Bandit’s third EP, it could be viewed as a debut of sorts, as they move into life as a three-piece, especially as the three of them were all involved in the writing process of the release.
“It’s absolutely collaborative,” Adam says. “All of the songs that we write are all of us in a room, throwing ideas at each other until eventually, we have a song. Then I’ll sneak it away and write the lyrics for it,” he continues.
Adam explains that even that is a collaborative process as he asks for input from the band members and encourages feedback on his ideas.
And it’s these ideas and lyrics that Faux Bandit are becoming known for. They enjoy bucking the trends and have even got a bit of a name for themselves for penning notoriously long song titles (case in point; Every Man Is A Pyramid Scheme and The Better You Look The More You See). But Adam enjoys this.
“I just really like long song titles! I think they are fantastic,” Adam laughs. However, there are other reasons behind the current EP title.
“There are a couple of reasons that we included 2019 as part of the title. One, I think, that putting the year 2019 is just so against everything that you are supposed to do when you’re writing your songs. Everyone tells you ‘don’t date your song’. Don’t put in dates, don’t put in cultural references. If you want to make a ‘timeless piece of art’, then you’re not supposed to do that. But there is something fun about being, this is exactly what it is,” Adam explains, talking about the idea behind the title Rock’n’Roll Simulator 2019.
“So yeah, this will look extremely dated in the future, because we put a year in the title!” he laughs. “But it is also a fun play on simulator games. Like ‘farming simulator 2019’ or something, that is also part of the joke there,” he continues.
But it’s not just simulator gaming that the band enjoys joking about, as the song Intruder Blues is basically the exact opposite to what you might think the lyrical content is.
“Intruder Blues is low-key, probably my favourite. Just because I really enjoy putting small absurdities into songs and stories and Intruder Blues is probably the whackiest I suppose!” Adam says. “The whole song is about a man who builds a tower to Heaven, out of milk crates, in a bid to go and see Ned Kelly,” Adam says. “It’s ridiculous!” he laughs.
The songs aren’t all joking around though. For example, on the track Do Better, Be Better, Adam yells about the expectations thrown at you in life and his reaction to all the demands, both unreasonable and reasonable.
“Ninety percent of what I would write is a reaction and a criticism to things around me, and questions of things that are happening. Do Better is definitely a reaction to the capitalistic imperative that you have to do better, to be better. And to do that, the answer to that is always to spend money and ‘be successful’,” Adam says.
All jokes aside though, Adam is very hopeful for fans to have a listen to Rock’n’Roll Simulator 2019 and to check them out at one of the upcoming shows they are playing in support of the release.
Purchase/Stream Rock’n’Roll Simulator 2019 here.
Catch Faux Bandit at the following dates:
BRISBANE // Saturday 17 August // The Bearded Lady
MELBOURNE // Thursday 5 September // The Vineyard
MELBOURNE // Friday 6 September // Young Supper Club
MELBOURNE // Saturday 7 September // Bombay Rock
IPSWICH // Friday 13 September // Banshees Bar
