Lead singer Josh reveals to Jason Bruckner that the band are focusing only on the positive as they get ready for their 20-date Australian tour.
Punktuation sits down with FANGZ energetic singer Josh to get the low down on his band’s fast approaching Aussie tour and how Covid continues its attempts to sabotage all our plans. Josh, however, refuses to let this ‘new norm’ dampen the band’s spirits and remains positive and upbeat throughout our chat.
So Josh, what did you get up to during your end of year break?
“I went on a two-week road trip with my wife and our two Pomeranians. We visited places such as Wee Jasper near Canberra and all the way down to Ballarat, Victoria where they held the Knight and Day Festival. We were actually supposed to play there but had to pull out due to Covid complications which was unfortunate, to say the least.”
Have the band members caught the spicy flu yet?
“Half of the band has had Covid, I haven’t caught it yet, I wish it would happen, haha. Maybe I’ve got some kind of special super-immunity.”
Do you think Covid has changed the musical environment forever, do you think it will ever go back to normal?
“I think there’s going to be a ‘new normal’. I don’t think the disease is going to go away for a while, so I think we have to just learn to live with it. I think it’s getting better, there was a time when we were all isolated at home and only catching up on FaceTime. During this time I did some videos where I would review a new beer or something silly like that, haha, just to stay relevant.”
With the new tour, have you played some of the venues before? What are some of your fave places to play?
“Man, we cannot wait to get out there and play! Of course, there’s always a worry that a gig gets cancelled because of restrictions put on the venue or whatever. It’s frustrating because the government will still allow 40,000 people into the cricket.
“However, we are excited about this tour. There are some towns I’ve never even been to. There’s the Halloween Hysteria festival in Brisbane with Spiderbait and Clowns, that’s going to be awesome. We always love playing at Woolongong, there’s a great scene there and in Queensland, we’re also playing at Solbar; that’s a great venue. I like it with these smaller shows that you get to meet a lot of the fans. There are times when we have seen the same faces at a string of venues, I love that!”
You are branching out to some more rural areas, what kind of reaction do you expect from these crowds?
“With towns like Orange, which is in rural NSW, you know I think they need a great night out and they will be excited to have a band like ours playing out that way. It’s going to be awesome, I can’t wait!”
Which band member will be the biggest diva on the tour?
“Honestly, the answer to that is it’s me! Haha. I always need a comfortable bed and a good feed; I really love a cooked breakfast. I wouldn’t go as far as saying I’m high maintenance, but definitely the biggest diva for sure.”
Are any band members artistic in other ways outside of music?
“Well, we have a chef and I’m a wood sculptor. Yeah ok, I’m actually a carpenter, haha.
Jesus was a carpenter…
“That’s right and my initials are J.C. as well! haha.”
I love the humour you bring to your film clips. Although one of your videos has just one band member in it, did the rest of the guys not get the memo?
“You know that video for ‘I Don’t Like Me’ with Jameel (FANGZ guitar player) was done while we were all in lockdown and separated. He did an amazing job, it’s the simplicity of it and how it came out that is very artistic and cool. His partner is a make-up artist and really helped out. I’m really proud of that video.
Our newest video for ‘Won’t Be Me’ was really fun to make and involves the whole band this time!”
Explain the typical songwriting process
“We usually start with a bunch of riffs and go over the ones we like and then make changes. Woodie adds some drumbeats and we then make a rough recording. I will take all these ideas home and work on melodies and lyrics to finish off. Of course, when we get to the studio the song will be completely different to how we first thought it would sound like, haha.”
What does 2022 look like for the band?
“We are hoping to do more shows and festivals. We have a new music video being planned and we’re also looking forward to recording our debut album soon as well.”
FANGZ 20-date Australian tour starts at the Lansdowne Hotel in Sydney on Friday, January 21st. See the poster below for further dates and venues.
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