Frank Turner
We caught up with Frank in Aberdeen on his mini tour of Scotland.
Frank Turner is a workaholic, and could talk for England! Having recorded and released an E.P, recorded his debut album and played over 200 shows everywhere from London to Russia in the last 18 months you can't argue with that. We caught up with him in Aberdeen on his mini tour of Scotland.
You have just finished recording your debut album, and you recorded it in Tarant's (Dive Dive) Mum's house. Why there?
Well it was Tarant's Mum's house, with Nigel on drums and Ben producing, and Jamie did some backing vocals so it was a real Dive Dive help out, it was very communal. It was a really great working environment, and it's where I recorded 'Campfire' as well, but I was only there for about three days doing that, but I was there for a month to five weeks doing the album. It was just a really nice atmosphere because, among other things, we had to wrap up at about 6pm, and the thing with studios is that you often end up working into the night, and actually the longer you work into the night, the less you get done and you end up re-doing everything the next day. It was nice just to get up at nine, work for eight hours and be able to do stuff in the evenings and have normal lives! So what I'm really trying to say is that it was great!
You've already been writing more songs since the album has been recorded is that right?
Yeah, well the thing is that writing on tour is quite hard to do, to have the discipline to do, as you're already playing for a certain amount of time each day, but you're not writing new, and so you kind of have to make yourself do it. Basically I got to a point where I had two weeks off when I had to finish about ten songs. I kind of went into 'super-creative mode' and turned my phone off and just starting writing. I always seem to write a verse and chorus and it sounds great and then that goes on the ideas pile, and that's the end of that. So I tried to finish all them off, and didn't really switch off and got 2 or 3 new songs completely finished and a shit load more on the way. It's great, I'm really pleased, and it's interesting that I'm starting to get a feel for what the next album will be like. I think it's going to be more folky still than what I'm doing just now. There's a lot of rock influence on the album, you know, that's the background I'm from, so it's hardly surprising, and I think the next record will be a lot different. We actually recorded 18 or 19 songs for the album, and there were a whole bunch more that we thought this just isn't finished, this is just plain old bollocks or in one case, sounds way too much like Coldplay!
Are you airing much of the new stuff live?
Oh yeah yeah sure. There's some stuff people are gonna know, like the first track 'The Real Damage' was on a split 7" with Reuben, and Romantic Fatigue and Worse Things Happen At Sea were also on there. So there's some older songs, but on the album they're new recordings. So yeah I'll be playing some of it live, but there's a few songs that I don't think will work without a backing band. I kind of had a rule that all songs could be done solo if need be, and they can, but there's some I'm reluctant too play on my own.
So do you have plans for a full band tour?
As of January I'll be touring with a full band, I'll have a drummer, bass player, pianist and guitarist. It's gonna be all the guys from Dive Dive which made sense as they know all the songs from the recording process. And they'll be main support for the tour too. Hopefully Beans on Toast will open up and that'll be the bill, for me it's perfect as it's two of my favourite fucking acts and me with a band which is awesome. My booking agent has actually sorted a show here [at Aberdeen Tunnels] which is cool. It's weird having a booking agent as I've been booking my own shows for long time and as much as I believe in a DIY ethic and not waiting around for other people to do stuff for you, at the same time I've been doing everything for the last 18 months and recently I've got a booking agent, a lawyer, a publishing firm, I've signed a proper record contract. I know I sound defensive by bringing this up, but I won't be attacked for that cos I paid my fucking dues! And I want to expand what I do, I have ambition, I want to be fucking Bruce Springsteen God-damnit!
Speaking about a full band, do you have any aspirations to be back in a band again?
Yeah maybe, I wouldn't rule anything out, but I think the likelihood of me playing hardcore again is extremely low. The thing with me is that most people are aware of me from my time in Million Dead and with what I do now, and they don't know that I've been in hardcore bands since I was 14 and life is short and there's other styles of music I wanna try and play, and I'm just not pissed off enough anymore! I still listen to a lot of hardcore, but I'm more discerning about it now, there's only a few bands I really keep my eye on. Like Converge for example, whose new album is amazing by the way. Me and Ben from Million Dead and Jamie our tour manager did have some rehearsals for a project we were going to do which was variously called Gunt, Baby Sex, we had these different crazy names, but anyway, it didn't really gel because basically I'm just not fucked off enough about that kind of music anymore.
Your last tour was with The Automatic, how long did it take for you to get Monster out of your head?!
Not very long at all, I don't think it's a particularly great song to be honest, I've think they've got some great songs but that's not one of them in my opinion. I think That's What She Said or Raul are far better songs. It was a really fun tour to do, plus I got to play to a shit load of people.
What are your plans for after the tour?
I'll tell you what I'm doing, I'm going on holiday for the first time in five years! I fucking cannot wait. I've a friend living and working in New Delhi so I'm going out there to see her. I'm going to turn my phone off, not check my email and be off net for a while. I've done a hell of a lot of work in the last 18 months and I think I deserve one so I'm fucking taking one!
What will be the first single from the album?
Vital Signs which we shot a video for last month which should be done by now. I actually ended up directing it, as I fired the director cos he was a twat! It was my directorial debut and people actually thought I knew what I was doing, it was great!
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