This interview was firstly posted last April 7th on the Spanish version of the blog-zine.
The Fatty Farmers come from Toledo, a town which is not in the Celtic area of Spain. Could you please tell us how the band was born?
Rodri, the singer, was looking for people interested in playing in the band. At the beginning, everybody thought that it was funny, but not easy. However, after some line-up changes the band is already established. The last musician to join The Fatty Farmers has been Goyo, who comes from Soria and plays the accordion. So, we are an 8 piece band playing instruments such as Highland pipes, Galician pipes, accordion, fiddle, banjo, mandolin and so on. The youngest member is 16 years old and the oldest member is 38 years old, but we get on well.
When we began to play we thought that there was no other band making the music we wanted to play. Actually there are other Celtic punk bands in Spain, but we feel that all of them are different, every band has its own personality
Have you been previously in another band?
Yeah, several members have already played with other bands. Rodri and Lalo were in a band playing ska-punk rock (in English), Juancar, Lamber and Diego played heavy rock, Goyo used to play in different covers bands and Rodri was also a member of a metal band, Hatecode, that played at the Villa de Bilbao Contest and at the Viñarock festival
People say that The Fatty Farmers sound like Flogging Molly. What do you think about that?
Well, we’re not angry they are a great band and it’s clear that we’re influenced by them, but we’re also influenced by bands such as Dropckick Murphys or The Real McKenzies.
We know that normally the new bands sound like the main bands. However, we want to draw the attention of the fans to our live shows. We feel that we are really a live act, we want that the fans enjoy our shows: they can listen, dance … and we expect that they recall the gig and think “Those guys were really crazy on stage”
In fact, we feel that the album allows us to play in more venues, but we prefer the open air shows, if the sound is good and all the instruments can be heard
The Fatty Farmers have played several contests or Battle of the Bands. What do you think about them? Have they helped you to become a well-known band? We guess that after the debut album is released you will stop that.
When we played at those contests we didn’t intend to reach a bigger audience. In fact, most of them are not well advertised. For us, it was a mean to get money to finance the recording of the album, to buy the gear,etc.
We didn’t want to put money to record the album. The money should come from the shows or from the prizes. And, fortunately, we got the first prize and the second prize in both contests we played, so we got enough money.
We will try to win more contests in order to get more funds to pay the next album, although it won’t be easy. The rules state often that the bands that have released albums cannot apply.
But, apart from the contests, we also play at weddings, High Schools … we play a lot of these private gigs. The music we play has that festive side, so we are open to all kind of events and we adapt to them.
Let’s talk about the debut album. What is the title?
We have been talking about the album for a long time, and we know that the release date has been delayed, but there are a lot of things to take into account: recording, mixing, mastering, register the songs, booklet, pressing of the CDs, how to sell it …
We are a lot of people and sometimes we have to reach a compromise or we have to vote. We expect to have it ready in a couple of weeks. It’s coming from Ireland and we are already working on the artwork, the website, T-shirts, photo session …
Then we have to make the booklet, another 15 days.
The album is titled “Down in the Streets”, like the first song or intro.
Are all the tracks original numbers or have you recorded some covers?
All the tracks are self-penned songs and we have included the songs from our demo. We have also recorded an extra track, but we don’t know if we are going to release it. Besides, it’s a sort of a piss-take, so it doesn’t match with the other 10 songs in the CD.
Regarding covers, legal issues are quite complex and we should ask for the permit to release the songs before recording them. So, for the moment we haven’t recorded any cover.
Is the track list ready?
Yeah, these are the 10 tracks:
1 - Down In The Streets
2 - Man Of Glendalough
3 - A Drunken Night In Temple Bar
4 - Homeless
5 - Welcome To Baja California
6 - The School Shooter
7 - Wild Ways To Galway
8 - Tomorrow
9 - Brisking Your Nights
10 – Island
We were wondering if you have had some guests on the album.
We thought over the possibility of adding further vocals on "Brisking Your Nights", because it’s a different number and we wanted to try another singer together with Rodri. But finally, we forgot about that, we decided to make it as simple as possible. I guess that some fans will be wondering why we recorded that track. But we wanted to try something different.
Who has produced the album? Where has it been recorded and mixed? If you have had a bigger budget, would you have chosen another producer?
The album has been produced by Luis Alberto Caballero in Dopplermedia (Madrid) http://www.dopplermedia.es I have to admit that Alberto has born with us, he has been very patient. It’s not easy to record 8 guys and he has done it quite well, taking into account the difficulties to record some instruments.
The master has been made by Richard Dowling (Foo Fighters, Kylie Minogue, David Bowie, La Unión, etc) in his studio Wav Mastering in Limerick.
We have not listened to the album yet, but we have listened to the mixes and we feel that it will sound great.
Alberto offers a ratio quality/price that is very good, so we trust him. Even if we have had more money, we wouldn’t have spent a bigger budget on the first album. Moreover, we feel that Alberto’s quality is as good as that of other people that would charge you the double. We have already decided to record the second album with Alberto, we have got on with him.
Are you going to release the album on your own or are you dealing with some labels?
It will be released by a label and we will make 1.000 copies. However, we don’t know how to proceed yet: maybe a song could be downloaded, we could sell the album at the shows or in stores… we will take a decision once the copies are available.
Have you thought over licencing the CD to an international indie label?
It’s not easy, but we will see.
And what about selling it in the USA via CDBaby or Interpunk or Amazon (CDs and/or mp3)?
It’s a good idea. We know that there are labels that could make it for us, but we have to check how it works and if we can do it on our own, we will go ahead.
You have a couple of websites (MySpace and Musikaze)? Are you going to have your own website www.thefattyfarmers.com or open an account on Facebook or Reverbnation? (remark: the website is already on line)
Yes, you’re right, we have a MySpace account, some accounts on Tuenti, one account on Musikaze and another one on YouTube.
The website is ready, but we are waiting to get the master to launch it, so I think that it could be available in two weeks. Regarding the Facebook account, it’s the same, as soon as we get the master we will be there.
What about the Saint Patrick’s gigs in Madrid?
They were amazing! We feel that the fans really enjoyed the shows. They didn’t expect that a band from Toledo could be a top-notch live band. Our drummer couldn’t go to the first show, so we play an acoustic gig. Taking into account that it was our first acoustic gig, it was really successful, the venue was full of fans.
At the Gruta 77 we really enjoyed the show, the sound was one of the best I’ve heard in a venue. The guys who called us to play that festival were very happy and they told us that they would call us again when a foreign Celtic punk band is scheduled. There were several bands playing, so the show was a lot of fun
Are you going to play a special show to release the album or go on tour?
We intend to release it in Toledo at the local Festival and we also want to play some shows in different towns. In fact we have already started to work on that in order to have some dates in September. As you know, it’s not easy to do it in Summer, because it’s the open-air festival season.
We feel that we could play a couple of shows in every town, Friday and Saturday (for instance, one day in a bigger venue and the other one in a pub or a bar). This way the costs wouldn’t be so high.
Are you going to release a professionaly shot video to promote the album?
Yeah, probably during the Summer. Some friends would make it, but we feel that the quality will be quite good. Then we will upload it to YouTube. I think that the song will be “Homeless”
Bastards on Parade have just been touring Europe. Skontra toured The Netherlands and Germany last December 2010. And Brutus’ Daughters are going to play a big festival in Poland. Are you thinking about playing abroad?
Well, it’s a possibility. We have been together only two years and first of all we should try to play in Spain and then abroad. A European tour is not easy, we are 8 guys and the costs are high. Anyway, we will talk with other bands and ask them how they arranged it.
We guess that you have gone to several Celtic punk shows. Which have been your favourite bands on stage?
Flogging Molly were great in Madrid, an excellent sound. Dropkick Murphys rocked, but the banjo was hardly noticed. Then, The Real McKenzies acoustic gig was also amazing. The Mahones were not so good on stage, but we like them too.
And which are the bands that you would like to play with?
Any of them would be OK, apart from the Spanish bands that play this genre of music. But we would also like to play with other bands ,even if they are not Celtic punk bands.
We feel that a band located in Madrid has more posibilities. Have you thought about moving to this city?
No, we don’t need to move to Madrid. In fact we are only 40 minutes from Madrid and some of the members are already studying in Madrid. For us it’s quite easy to go Madrid, because it’s close to Toledo.
If we would rehearse in Madrid maybe we would have more contacts to get gigs. Anyway, we feel that this will depend on the promotion we made: radio, press, spotify, YouTube, Tuenti, Facebook … We have a lot of ideas about that.
What do you think about the European Celtic punk scene? Do you know other bands?
As we have been playing this kind of music for a short time, we have been focused on writing our own material.
Maybe it’s time to begin to check other bands, listen to their songs .. We will try to add more bands to the social networks when the songs from the album are available and, who knows, maybe we could do something together.
We feel that this genre, with the right promotion, can be a big thing, like other genres have been in the past (grunge, metal …) The shows will help to get a bigger fan base.
And what do you think about the Spanish scene? Do you know any other band?
This kind of music was not very popular here but little by little more bands are playing Celtic punk. So I feel that the main festivals will include more Celtic punk bands too.
We only know Brutus’ Daughters and Drink Hunters, they are cool. We would like to play with Bastards on Parade and Skontra soon. A festival with all the Celtic punk band from Spain would be a dream!
Do you want to add something?
The website will have a special “comments” section, so the fans will be able to tell their opinion about our music, if there is a venue near their home in which we can play, if they know any radio station that could play our songs … We will appreciate very much this feedback and we will try to play everywhere. Let’s go Farmers!
Now check their website and listen to some tracks:
www.thefattyfarmers.com
.
The Fatty Farmers come from Toledo, a town which is not in the Celtic area of Spain. Could you please tell us how the band was born?
Rodri, the singer, was looking for people interested in playing in the band. At the beginning, everybody thought that it was funny, but not easy. However, after some line-up changes the band is already established. The last musician to join The Fatty Farmers has been Goyo, who comes from Soria and plays the accordion. So, we are an 8 piece band playing instruments such as Highland pipes, Galician pipes, accordion, fiddle, banjo, mandolin and so on. The youngest member is 16 years old and the oldest member is 38 years old, but we get on well.
When we began to play we thought that there was no other band making the music we wanted to play. Actually there are other Celtic punk bands in Spain, but we feel that all of them are different, every band has its own personality
Have you been previously in another band?
Yeah, several members have already played with other bands. Rodri and Lalo were in a band playing ska-punk rock (in English), Juancar, Lamber and Diego played heavy rock, Goyo used to play in different covers bands and Rodri was also a member of a metal band, Hatecode, that played at the Villa de Bilbao Contest and at the Viñarock festival
People say that The Fatty Farmers sound like Flogging Molly. What do you think about that?
Well, we’re not angry they are a great band and it’s clear that we’re influenced by them, but we’re also influenced by bands such as Dropckick Murphys or The Real McKenzies.
We know that normally the new bands sound like the main bands. However, we want to draw the attention of the fans to our live shows. We feel that we are really a live act, we want that the fans enjoy our shows: they can listen, dance … and we expect that they recall the gig and think “Those guys were really crazy on stage”
In fact, we feel that the album allows us to play in more venues, but we prefer the open air shows, if the sound is good and all the instruments can be heard
The Fatty Farmers have played several contests or Battle of the Bands. What do you think about them? Have they helped you to become a well-known band? We guess that after the debut album is released you will stop that.
When we played at those contests we didn’t intend to reach a bigger audience. In fact, most of them are not well advertised. For us, it was a mean to get money to finance the recording of the album, to buy the gear,etc.
We didn’t want to put money to record the album. The money should come from the shows or from the prizes. And, fortunately, we got the first prize and the second prize in both contests we played, so we got enough money.
We will try to win more contests in order to get more funds to pay the next album, although it won’t be easy. The rules state often that the bands that have released albums cannot apply.
But, apart from the contests, we also play at weddings, High Schools … we play a lot of these private gigs. The music we play has that festive side, so we are open to all kind of events and we adapt to them.
Let’s talk about the debut album. What is the title?
We have been talking about the album for a long time, and we know that the release date has been delayed, but there are a lot of things to take into account: recording, mixing, mastering, register the songs, booklet, pressing of the CDs, how to sell it …
We are a lot of people and sometimes we have to reach a compromise or we have to vote. We expect to have it ready in a couple of weeks. It’s coming from Ireland and we are already working on the artwork, the website, T-shirts, photo session …
Then we have to make the booklet, another 15 days.
The album is titled “Down in the Streets”, like the first song or intro.
Are all the tracks original numbers or have you recorded some covers?
All the tracks are self-penned songs and we have included the songs from our demo. We have also recorded an extra track, but we don’t know if we are going to release it. Besides, it’s a sort of a piss-take, so it doesn’t match with the other 10 songs in the CD.
Regarding covers, legal issues are quite complex and we should ask for the permit to release the songs before recording them. So, for the moment we haven’t recorded any cover.
Is the track list ready?
Yeah, these are the 10 tracks:
1 - Down In The Streets
2 - Man Of Glendalough
3 - A Drunken Night In Temple Bar
4 - Homeless
5 - Welcome To Baja California
6 - The School Shooter
7 - Wild Ways To Galway
8 - Tomorrow
9 - Brisking Your Nights
10 – Island
We were wondering if you have had some guests on the album.
We thought over the possibility of adding further vocals on "Brisking Your Nights", because it’s a different number and we wanted to try another singer together with Rodri. But finally, we forgot about that, we decided to make it as simple as possible. I guess that some fans will be wondering why we recorded that track. But we wanted to try something different.
Who has produced the album? Where has it been recorded and mixed? If you have had a bigger budget, would you have chosen another producer?
The album has been produced by Luis Alberto Caballero in Dopplermedia (Madrid) http://www.dopplermedia.es I have to admit that Alberto has born with us, he has been very patient. It’s not easy to record 8 guys and he has done it quite well, taking into account the difficulties to record some instruments.
The master has been made by Richard Dowling (Foo Fighters, Kylie Minogue, David Bowie, La Unión, etc) in his studio Wav Mastering in Limerick.
We have not listened to the album yet, but we have listened to the mixes and we feel that it will sound great.
Alberto offers a ratio quality/price that is very good, so we trust him. Even if we have had more money, we wouldn’t have spent a bigger budget on the first album. Moreover, we feel that Alberto’s quality is as good as that of other people that would charge you the double. We have already decided to record the second album with Alberto, we have got on with him.
Are you going to release the album on your own or are you dealing with some labels?
It will be released by a label and we will make 1.000 copies. However, we don’t know how to proceed yet: maybe a song could be downloaded, we could sell the album at the shows or in stores… we will take a decision once the copies are available.
Have you thought over licencing the CD to an international indie label?
It’s not easy, but we will see.
And what about selling it in the USA via CDBaby or Interpunk or Amazon (CDs and/or mp3)?
It’s a good idea. We know that there are labels that could make it for us, but we have to check how it works and if we can do it on our own, we will go ahead.
You have a couple of websites (MySpace and Musikaze)? Are you going to have your own website www.thefattyfarmers.com or open an account on Facebook or Reverbnation? (remark: the website is already on line)
Yes, you’re right, we have a MySpace account, some accounts on Tuenti, one account on Musikaze and another one on YouTube.
The website is ready, but we are waiting to get the master to launch it, so I think that it could be available in two weeks. Regarding the Facebook account, it’s the same, as soon as we get the master we will be there.
What about the Saint Patrick’s gigs in Madrid?
They were amazing! We feel that the fans really enjoyed the shows. They didn’t expect that a band from Toledo could be a top-notch live band. Our drummer couldn’t go to the first show, so we play an acoustic gig. Taking into account that it was our first acoustic gig, it was really successful, the venue was full of fans.
At the Gruta 77 we really enjoyed the show, the sound was one of the best I’ve heard in a venue. The guys who called us to play that festival were very happy and they told us that they would call us again when a foreign Celtic punk band is scheduled. There were several bands playing, so the show was a lot of fun
Are you going to play a special show to release the album or go on tour?
We intend to release it in Toledo at the local Festival and we also want to play some shows in different towns. In fact we have already started to work on that in order to have some dates in September. As you know, it’s not easy to do it in Summer, because it’s the open-air festival season.
We feel that we could play a couple of shows in every town, Friday and Saturday (for instance, one day in a bigger venue and the other one in a pub or a bar). This way the costs wouldn’t be so high.
Are you going to release a professionaly shot video to promote the album?
Yeah, probably during the Summer. Some friends would make it, but we feel that the quality will be quite good. Then we will upload it to YouTube. I think that the song will be “Homeless”
Bastards on Parade have just been touring Europe. Skontra toured The Netherlands and Germany last December 2010. And Brutus’ Daughters are going to play a big festival in Poland. Are you thinking about playing abroad?
Well, it’s a possibility. We have been together only two years and first of all we should try to play in Spain and then abroad. A European tour is not easy, we are 8 guys and the costs are high. Anyway, we will talk with other bands and ask them how they arranged it.
We guess that you have gone to several Celtic punk shows. Which have been your favourite bands on stage?
Flogging Molly were great in Madrid, an excellent sound. Dropkick Murphys rocked, but the banjo was hardly noticed. Then, The Real McKenzies acoustic gig was also amazing. The Mahones were not so good on stage, but we like them too.
And which are the bands that you would like to play with?
Any of them would be OK, apart from the Spanish bands that play this genre of music. But we would also like to play with other bands ,even if they are not Celtic punk bands.
We feel that a band located in Madrid has more posibilities. Have you thought about moving to this city?
No, we don’t need to move to Madrid. In fact we are only 40 minutes from Madrid and some of the members are already studying in Madrid. For us it’s quite easy to go Madrid, because it’s close to Toledo.
If we would rehearse in Madrid maybe we would have more contacts to get gigs. Anyway, we feel that this will depend on the promotion we made: radio, press, spotify, YouTube, Tuenti, Facebook … We have a lot of ideas about that.
What do you think about the European Celtic punk scene? Do you know other bands?
As we have been playing this kind of music for a short time, we have been focused on writing our own material.
Maybe it’s time to begin to check other bands, listen to their songs .. We will try to add more bands to the social networks when the songs from the album are available and, who knows, maybe we could do something together.
We feel that this genre, with the right promotion, can be a big thing, like other genres have been in the past (grunge, metal …) The shows will help to get a bigger fan base.
And what do you think about the Spanish scene? Do you know any other band?
This kind of music was not very popular here but little by little more bands are playing Celtic punk. So I feel that the main festivals will include more Celtic punk bands too.
We only know Brutus’ Daughters and Drink Hunters, they are cool. We would like to play with Bastards on Parade and Skontra soon. A festival with all the Celtic punk band from Spain would be a dream!
Do you want to add something?
The website will have a special “comments” section, so the fans will be able to tell their opinion about our music, if there is a venue near their home in which we can play, if they know any radio station that could play our songs … We will appreciate very much this feedback and we will try to play everywhere. Let’s go Farmers!
Now check their website and listen to some tracks:
www.thefattyfarmers.com
.
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