EMQ’s with FUMAROLE
EMQ’s with FUMAROLE
Hi Everyone. Welcome to our new EMQ’s interview with Brisbane based. Stoner Rock band Fumarole! Huge thanks to Guitarist/Vocalist Kurt Werder for taking part!
What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
Hi I’m Kurt, I play guitar and vocals. Dan who plays bass and I work together and had bonded over our love of heavy music. I decided I wanted to start a band, asked if Dan wanted to join and he thankfully agreed. The first band we had was a punk band that failed and after we figured out we didn’t have the same direction with the Drummer and Guitarist we were jamming with on that project we decided that we wanted more riffs. From there Dan and I started writing more riff driven songs and when we jammed with Ryan it all fell into place. 3 months later Mountain was written and recorded in the Jam room we were ready to start gigging and gig we did! We played anything we could get on and must have made an impression because when Sydney based psych legends Comacozer were touring and came into town they asked if we wanted to do a show with them which we did out in regional Queensland which was a great success. We’ve been really involved in the scene trying to get the word out that Australia really is a hotbed for guitar driven music and stoner rock and that music and people are starting to notice because it earned us the opening slot for Wo Fat when they came through Brisbane. That was a great show. Now we’re working on a full length to release into the world.
How did you come up with your band name?
We wanted something earthy and powerful. Dan came up with it; A Fumarole is a crack in the earth’s crust which spews huge clouds of gas like sulphur. After seeing a few images of how they kind of look almost alien I knew that was the right name for us. It really ties into our lyrical style of alien landscapes and ruined planets.
What country are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?
We’re from Australia, The metal scene is amazing right now, there’s so many great bands and clubs and promoters booking killer shows, I can’t think of a time in the last twenty years that it has been this great! You only have to look at festivals like Wo Fest & Dead of Winter and bands like Hobo Magic, Witchskull & Zong to see that the calibre of music coming from our shores. It really is thriving, it’s at the point where now there’s at least 3 good shows a weekend in Brisbane!
What is your latest release (Album, EP, Single, Video)?
Our latest single is called ‘Ghost Smoke’ and we recorded it at Love Street Studios on the Gold Coast with Scott French. It follows a group of escaped slaves on a freezing planet as they navigate the harsh landscape in search of food. We recorded the instruments live and it was honestly the best experience, Scotty knew exactly what he was doing and there’s no going back for us. It came out heavy and dark and exactly what we wanted the song to sound like. It’s available on all streaming services and Bandcamp.
Who have been your greatest influences?
Personally Minor Threat showed me you can do it yourself and it’s more about passion, Every Time I Die showed me you can be different and succeed, Isaiah Mitchell from Earthless is the greatest lead player ever in IMO and Toke have the whole damn package I just see videos of them live and think I wanna be that cool! at the risk of being derivative here I’m gonna also say Matt Pike as he just knows who he is and does what he wants and gives no fucks and that’s the coolest shit ever.
What first got you into music?
When I was 7 I walked into my cousin’s room and he had this huge Pearl Jam Poster on the wall. Now my Cousin Shayne was my hero so instantly I was getting up first thing to watch the music video countdown we had in the morning called Rage, it was there I saw the video for ‘Alive’. You know that part where Eddie climbs the rigging hangs upside down? That was the exact moment I knew I wanted to be in a band.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
Toke or High Reeper! I can’t stop listening to their stuff, it’s just so pure and sure of itself I love it!
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Hellfest, just look at the most recent line-up! Incredible! I really love that camping festival vibe, the sculptures! It all looked so spectacular! That is how you do a festival!
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
Probably a pack of roll your own cigarette filters, but hey they came in handy haha!
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
If you have a passion follow it! I still work my 9-5 soul sucking office job but Fumarole makes all that bullshit worth it! It’s never too late and if you do send that shit to us! I wanna see/hear/smell it!
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Dimebag fucking Darrell, what a legend, what an inspiration, I mean that swing! The dude had groove.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
There’s a moment when you go off on a tangent and without speaking everyone is vining on the same wave length and just smiling and into it, that right there is the cats pyjamas. I hate that I love big old tube amps and have to carry them upstairs haha.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
I would make pay to play Illegal.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
Orange Goblin – “Back From The Abyss”! They are absolute legends in my eyes and this album has it all, start to finish it’s a ripper!
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
Vinyl! Nothing better than getting a new LP and blasting it while smashing a tinnie (can of beer for the non Aussies) and absorbing it with that big artwork!
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
It’s a tie between playing with Wo Fat because they are AMAZING and we got to play our favourite Brisbane club Crowbar & playing at Banshees in Ipswich with Comacozer. Comacozer are so good and we had the best time with the guys, they really are the best kind of people. I said I’d do a shoey which is where you fill your shoe with beer and down the whole thing and Rick from Comacozer said he would too but he only had thongs (flip flops), so he managed to curve the thong into a kind of funnel and true to his word did a shoey with a thong and the Thongy was born. What a night!
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
I’d probably be dead, I’m a man of extremes and if it weren’t for my need to create I would have had one bender too many by now. There was a point in my life where I wasn’t playing guitar and I was an absolute mess. There’s no going back there ever!
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Matt Pike, Henry Rollins, Jamie Jasta, Vinnie Stigma, Dave Grohl
What’s next for the band?
We’re working on a full length album as we speak; it’s almost all written and is very sci-fi driven. Has a great story line to it, it’s a bit of a different take on a concept as it’s all mini stories based in a universe that we have created where the rich have discovered the how to become immortal but have had to enslave the poor to mine the material used in the pharmaceuticals that keep them alive.
What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
You can find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fumaroleband and @fumarolebandaus on Twitter and Instagram. The easiest way is to go to www.fumarole.com.au. Other than that we are streaming on all the main offenders Spotify, Apple, Bandcamp.
Jaffa Cakes! Are they a cake or a biscuit?
It’s like they took a cake and biscuitised it, bizarre!
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Ozzy Sabbath is the better Sabbath! Thanks heaps legends! OWW OWW!!!!
Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview, unless you have the strict permission of said parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
