FULC
Backroom Surgery Boys
Look
a little further than those horrible manufactured boy bands, “Pop
Idol” type karaoke singers, and even worse, the manufactured so-called
“rock” outfits that seem to have been continuously shipped
over to us over the last year and you will be pleasantly surprised at
what you’ll find. FULC are a REAL rock band (although to class
them as purely “rock” is sacrilegious, to be frank) with REAL
tunes and REAL people who couldn’t give a shit about the industry
fat cats or having a hit record…and that’s good news because,
with the present chart climate, they are probably too good to do so
anyway. FULC’s innovative, charismatic guitarist Rik Clay talked
to AD:
AD: You’ve achieved some rave reviews in what seems to be a relatively
short space of time, not least within these pages when I said you were
the best live act I’d seen in about five years. How are you managing
to keep your feet on the ground since attracting so much praise from
record labels, websites and established music papers such as Kerrang!
these days? Tell me about the latter interview.
RC:
Our feet have always been on the ground, and that’s where we hope
they will stay. It’s great getting good reviews and features, but
when it comes down to it, we are doing it for the love of it; we like
making music and enjoy playing it. It’s just a bonus if people
along the way pick up on it, and appreciates it too.
The Kerrang! Interview was with myself and Essi Berelian, we basically
chatted down the phone for coming onto an hour, had a laugh and spoke
about our views on the UK music scene as it stands today. They did actually
misquote me towards the end, I sounded like Fred Durst from fucking
Limp Bizkit. But I’ll be honest and say I was pretty harsh towards
the Nu-Grunge scene and Ska-Punk, I pretty much detest those flanking
genres.
AD: What’s the story with this dodgy fat bloke who keeps stripping
off at your shows? Are you going to endorse him as a mascot a la Iron
Maiden and Eddie?
RC: Martin, what a top bloke! He’s yet to go all the way, he
normally stops around his underwear, but I can see it happening someday
soon. Basically, at any one of our gigs he attends, usually the ones
in Leeds and Bradford, he feels it his duty, without any form of pestering
from us, to get on stage and strip down. I think one day we might invite
him to come to London with us, just to show them what they are missing
out on.
AD: From what I can gather, you’re all individually fans of
totally different kinds of music to eachother. Does this ever cause
any major conflict where songwriting is concerned?
RC: It hasn’t done yet. I love the Manics, but I have no desire
to rip them off, same with Faith No More and Nine Inch Nails. I think
even though we all come from such varying musical backgrounds, we all
stand strong on what we are doing. It’s heavy enough for Mark (drums)
who’s a complete metaller, but still melodic enough for me and
Kris (bass) who is more rock orientated. We know we’ve created
something unique somewhere along the line, and it’s here to stay.
AD: You’ve had considerable interest from various well known
record labels of late, yet you’ve sent them all packing with a
two fingered salute so far. Why?
RC: We know what our music is worth to us, so someone coming along
offering a deal that tie up our live performances, our recordings and
our lifestyles just won’t do. Far too many are asking for everything
with little in return, and we aren’t happy with that. We know what
our limitations are, and to what point we are capable of promoting the
band between ourselves and the management. Once we’ve reached that
limit, then maybe we will look for something that can take us onto the
next stage.
AD: What’s been the defining moment of your time in FULC so
far?
RC: Either cramming 100 people into a small Indian restaurant in
Scunthorpe, for the Fallen EP’s launch party, or a recent gig in
Stoke, where there were around 500 people jumping around going crazy.
Incidentally, that was the week we had featured in Kerrang!, it goes
to show what national press can do for a band, why give it each week
to the likes of the Vines and the Libertines (bands that land and burn
out within a year)! That gig has to be the highlight of our tour this
year. People were trying to touch my legs and screaming at us, whilst
we were playing. Bizarre stuff!
AD: Who would play each member of the band in a film about you?
RC: Oooo. I’m not so sure about film characters, but we all
have our WWF wrestling counterparts. Mark (drums) would be Andre the
Giant, Kris (bass) is Stone Cold Steve Austin, Duane (vocals, guitar)
would definitely be the Rock because of the eyes, and I’d have
to be Lita because I’ve got such a feminine side I’ve been
told - must be the hair.
AD: You go home a little worse for wear one day after an extremely
successful gig, and discover that Elvis Presley has been hiding under
your bed for the last 25 years. He begs you not to tell anybody. Do
you grass him up or not?
RC: So long as he was quiet whilst I’m asleep I’d have
no worries him living under there, and so long as he doesn’t sing
at any point.
AD: What do you think sets FULC apart from their contemporaries?
RC: FULC have determination and commitment, no matter how many brick
walls we find ourselves running into. I think the music both recorded
and live speaks for itself, we’re not the average run of the mill
Nirvana wannabe. If you take a look at Nickelback, they are calculated
cold and precise, it’s all about selling the records, its fine
if that’s what they want to do, but surely that’s not what
music is about. We try to do our very best to connect with anyone and
everyone, we’re always around to talk to on our website, we feed
off the fans like they feed of what we do. Lastly, we’re in it
for the long-term, no-ones going to get rid of us that easily. Is that
a cocky enough answer?
AD: What’s the most exciting thing that’s happened to you
in the last couple of months (either musically or generally)?
RC: Constant touring got rid of the beer-belly I was forming through
excessive Guinness consumption, but seriously, I’d say obviously
the Kerrang feature. Its every kids dream to appear in those pages,
and I feel fortunate we did.
AD: Anything else you’d like to talk about?
RC: It’s maybe worth a mention that the next release, is going
to be another EP appearing in March, as a follow up to “The Fallen”.
The track listing is still being toyed around with but it is confirmed
that songs “Feet” and “Bruised” will appear. In
co-ordination with this, we will be touring the UK extensively from
the mid-February until the end of March. Check out www.fulc.co.uk
for further news and updates. Cheers AD.
Fans of Atomicduster will know that two of our favourite bands of
the year are presently unsigned – both FULC and Jetplane Landing.
The latter released a single entitled “This Is Not Revolution Rock”.
But listen to FULC, and trust me, this most definitely IS.
Interview and transcript by Tone E
