Finally Punk

Finally Punk are going to be playing at The Deaf Institute on 29^th June supporting Deerhoof. They seriously rule hard. Toby Vaill from Bikini Kill said “This is the band Bikini Kill was trying to inspire with all that riot grrl stuff.” Who are we to argue? Deerhoof are obviously great and everything but Finally Punk are the real reason we’re going to haul ourselves back from Glastonbury early.

Assuming this is the first time any of you guys have been to Manchester... do you have any preconceptions? Are you fans of any bands that have come from here?

Well are all very much into all the bands that everyone is into from Manchester i.e. Smiths, Joy Division, etc. I have never been but hear that it’s a failing industrial city which I am really into. I spend a lot of time exploring abandoned factories so any city like that is really what I am into visually. I am really excited to see it.

What would you do if Mark E Smith stumbled up to you after the Manchester show and asked you all to join the Fall?

Erin would punch him in the face. I would say "Yes."

What are you most looking forward to doing/seeing in the UK?

Snogging! J/K

Elizabeth: Hanging out with Robin and John from Pre. Austin is my hometown and I showed them all around when they were here from SXSW. So I know that they will do the honors of London. Touring in the UK is supposed to be crazy so I am excited to see it firsthand.

Erin: Looking forward to seeing the landscape, castles, etc. I’m a bit of a daydreamer...

I racked my brains to think of another song about Manatees and I couldn't. I saw one in Ft. Lauderdale when I was a kid and it struck me that they have a pretty cool life (apart from the whole boat propeller thing) This isn't really a question is it?

Erin: No but you are totally right. Manatees are the cutest things ever.

Elizabeth: My parents live in Mexico near Lake Chapala which was polluted with this nasty weed. So all the Americans paid to have the lake cleaned up and have manatees put in to keep the weeds at bay. But unfortunately the Indians came and killed all the manatees so the lake is still polluted. It always makes me sad when I look at the lake.

In 2009 why is it still a talking point that a band is an 'all girl band'? It seems crazy for that to be the first thing people talk about when you're mentioned.

We don’t really worry about it too much. The separation between boys and girls (or men and women) is pretty thin these days.

Why do you think there's been an influx of bands recently who don't really seem to care that much about the fidelity of their recordings?

We don’t think lo-fi sound ever disappeared. Even though recording well is so easy now with computer technology, a lot of people seem to be faking a "lo-fi" sound which we find sort of confusing. There is a little bit of digital backlash going on here. As everything in our world becomes more digital I think people really crave to use something that is physical to record on, like cassette tapes. I do think the return to using cassette tapes is super interesting, like all the tape only labels that have started, etc.

Nerd question alert... Your recordings seem full of spontaneity and excitement...how do you record?

We have recorded always in someone's living room. Jason Chronis from Voxtrot recorded our last 7". Adam Jones from Yellow Fever had recorded us a whole lot. Also Dustin Coffey from Shapes Have Fangs recorded us as well. Mostly we just record by finding someone who is available and hanging out with them for a while. The session with Jason was the most intense because we wrote 3 of those songs the day before we recorded them.

Who should we be listening to?

Elvis, the band from Austin

Thee Oh Sees

Grass Widow

Brilliant Colors

The PrimaDonnas

Paul Wall

Silver Daggers

WFMU comp of Cramps favorite songs

Finally Punk support Deerhoof at The Deaf Institute on 29th June

www.myspace.com/finallypunk