Jersey Live Interviews

To the delight of many – this writer included – punk-folk firebrand Frank Turner has confirmed he will be bringing his raucous live act to the main stage at this year’s Jersey Live Festival.

Honed by a seemingly never ending series of tour dates, Turner’s show is an exhilarating experience; the DIY feel perhaps due, in part, to his impeccable punk rock grounding as frontman for hardcore nearly men Million Dead. 

It will be the singer-songwriter’s first visit to the Channel Islands, but he says the boutique mini-festival has been ‘on the radar’ for a while now.

Poetry of the Deed

Frank said: “I have heard great reports about it and I think it is going to be a really nice way to wrap up the festival season.”

Jersey Live coincides nicely with the release of Turner’s third album - Poetry of the Deed - and he says the crowd can expect some new material.

He said: “I am in the studio right now and we are beavering away working on the new record. I am very excited about getting it out.

“I suppose the key difference between previous records is this one has pretty much been arranged and rehearsed with the guys in the band.

“In the past, we have recorded all the instruments separately with me playing quite a lot of stuff myself. This time, we are trying to record it live to get a band sound and a band feel.”

“It is still me writing songs in the same kind of vein but I think it will sound a little bit more kind of live and a bit more rock.”

More Rock

Rock is not something you associate with guitar strumming singer songwriters, but any notions people have of a ‘sensitive’ James Blunt-type are quickly dispelled when Turner starts to sing.

Political disillusionment, binge drinking, and failed relationships are some of the issues the former punk rocker tackles and there is a brutal honesty about his lyrics, which lend themselves to his passionate delivery.

For some - and to Turner’s occasional chagrin - he will always be associated with his hardcore beginnings, however it is this tag which has seen him ply his trade in front of a bizarre hotch–potch of different crowds; scooping up new fans from a variety of musical genres.

“I am quite keen on playing to any audience. I mean, I will play to a black metal audience, I don’t really care. I am reasonably confident I can make a few friends regardless,” he said.

Unfazable

Sandwiched between a funk act (Golden Silvers) and an american grime-metal band (Spinnerette) and playing late in the day may be a daunting prospect considering he is essentially just one man and a guitar. But Turner dismisses the idea that gigs can lose their intimacy when playing to a large crowd.

He said: “I am generally pretty unfazable when it comes to live shows,’ he said. “I think there is an accepted myth that a larger show loses that kind of angle, which is not true at all. I am just as happy chatting to five people to five thousand.”

A cursory glance at the comments on youtube that accompany one of Turner’s music videos will tell you there are plenty of people in cyberspace that believe he is on the verge of becoming the ‘next big thing.’ Turner himself has studiously ignored such talk, believing it to be a destructive influence.

He said: “I think it is vitally important as an artist to not think about that kind of thing. The minute you start trying to consider your position in the grand scheme of things then you lose focus on the music, which is what it is supposed to be about.

“It is a very destructive mind-set to get into because it stops you thinking about anything relevant at all.

“My focus is in the studio to make the best record I can. Beyond that, it is to approach every single gig, no matter how big or small it might be, and try and do the best gig I can and make sure everyone has a good time.”