1. Thanks for your time, could you give us a quick introduction to Daves?
Hello, we’re Daves, a three-piece punk outfit from Leeds. Drinky on guitar and vocals; Jazz on bass and vocals, and Zach on drums. We’ve been playing for about three years now all over the place and we’re looking forward to smashing it for #360RAW9.
2. You’re playing #360RAW9 in a few weeks; what can we expect from your set?
You can definitely expect some lively performance! We’re always giving everything into our sets. It’ll be fast, hard punk and we’ll undoubtedly be struggling to catch our breath between songs. Other than that, it’s always a nice surprise to see where the performance takes us, whether that’s off stage or on to the street. We shall see!
3.Your sound is described as hardcore influenced political punk rock; which bands would you put yourself alongside musically?
Musically, it’s difficult; we fit in well within the DIY punk scene – which is awesome in the UK – but we definitely have a similar sound to bands like PUP, Menzingers, Gnarwolves.
4. Political punk rock? You must have plenty of inspiration given the current political mayhem?
Too much! It’s hard to know what to write about because it’s all crap! We wish it wasn’t the case and we didn’t have anything to write about politically, but we have to try challenge the rise of the far right and the destruction of working class communities.
5. Boris Johnson for Prime Minister … discuss …
He’s another clown from what is the circus of the Tories. It’s just a little game for these Etonian upper class so and sos. That’s all we can about say about him without swearing. But yeah, it’s a terrifying thought that the man who has been fired from The Times for lying to be in charge. We’re all goosed.
6. Growing up, was there a point in time or an event / situation that raised your interest in politics?
I (Drinky) grew up in a working-class family with my Dad being a firefighter through the firefighters strikes and was also raised on punk and old school hip hop which, at the time, was a platform to try change things. I think that seeing the lack of opportunity growing up in Seacroft and the social injustice of wealth disparity … well, what else was there to write about?
7. What about the punk / hardcore scene in Yorkshire; how healthy is it in terms of bands, venues and labels?
The punk scene will always be there and in Yorkshire it certainly has its place, with all the co-operative bars and DIY venues. Our label, One Step Outside, is just a small outfit run by an OG punk who just loves music and helping us and others out. There are loads of bands to check out from Yorkshire too; Woke Up Dead, Mr Shiraz, Incisions and so many more.
8. Speaking of which, do you have any new music lined-up in the near future?
We hope to have some new releases out after we get in the studio over summer. It’s not too long since we released our last EP but we have some good stuff coming.
9. Curveball question: if you could form a side-project with any three famous Daves who would you choose and why?
Dave Grohl would be good; he seems like he’s always up for a beer.
David Bowie seems too obvious but, again, it would be amazing, wouldn’t it?
And Dave from Chas and Dave.
10. Apart from #360RAW9 – what does the rest of the year hold in store for the band?
We’re getting in the studio this summer and having a bit of ‘us’ time until September, as it’s been a busy year in our personal lives with Jazz opening up a new restaurant (Stuzzi, check it out) Zach starting his new company Totalroaster.com, and Drinky starting his nurse training. So, summer is a time to regroup for us. But check back in with us in a month or two and we’ll be able to unveil more I’m sure.
