Fair Do’s’ Leopards sees 10 tracks of fast, metal-infused melodic hardcore with a political focus, ideal for fans of Strung Out, Propagandhi and Death by Stereo. The album was released on CD and 12” vinyl on Lockjaw Records.
Formed in 2009, Fair Do’s have established a following of dedicated fans around Europe, playing with legends like After The Fall, A Wilhelm Scream and Frenzal Rhomb. Driven by a strong DIY ethos and riding on the success of their shred-heavy EP Trying Times, the new album captures the energy and technical prowess of their explosive live show. Check out Leopards below!
We caught up with drummer/vocalist John as he talks about the latest release and more!
So how has the initial response been for Leopards?
(John) – We’ve been blown away by people’s first impressions of “Leopards.” We sat on some of the songs on the album for a good bit of time, so to finally get them out, and have a lot of folks come back with beaming reviews, we can’t be anything other than chuffed!
Would you say this is any different to your previous releases?
(John) – We spent a lot of time, and effort, trying to bring the finished product up to a much higher standard than we’ve aimed for before. We decided to start from the bottom up, and really concentrate on getting the drum sounds we wanted. There’s a lot of replacement in drum sounds these days, and it wasn’t a path we wished to journey down with Leopards. We entered Reel Recording Studio with engineer, Dave Boothroyd, and spent a weekend per instrument. Vocals were treated with a bit more time and patience, as we wanted our vocal melodies, and harmonies, to come across with a little more finesse than we had before.
Can you tell something about the album no one else knows?
(John) – During tracking, our guitarist, Dave, wrote a copy of a 16th century bible, word for word, one handed, upside down whilst wearing a tank of Bavarian beer on his back. He burnt it when he’d finished.
What’s your favourite single on the album?
(John) – Personally, I’m keen on “Hanging”. It’s, by far, the longest song we’ve written, and it took us absolutely ages to be able to play it from front to back. We really did try to challenge ourselves, and our playing, with some of the songs on Leopards, and “Hanging” has yet to be knocked off the top spot of the satisfaction charts for me. We have always tried to included a good amount of metal influence in our style, whilst not becoming an out and out metal band, but we tried to set the tone early with “Hanging”. I consider it a success for us, in our attempts to mix punk, hardcore, and metal styles in a hearty, yet flavoursome soup.
How has the people at Lockjaw Records help you become the band you are today?
(John) – We’ve been good friends with the Lockjaw family for quite a few years now. We’re good friends with most of their roster too, and always happy to share a stage with label mates. When we first started talking with Lockjaw about Leopards, they were up front, honest, and keen to get the ball rolling. We jumped at the chance to work with them, as we have seen their work ethic in action with many other releases before now. We were familiar with their team, and that includes a number of people, who, like us, have been involved in the D.I.Y. punk scene for a number of years. Trust is a very important part of placing your music under and communal umbrella with other people, and we’re happy to see a solid team working hard behind the scenes at Lockjaw Records. We have always been a band with a very strong D.I.Y. ethos. We book, and drive our own tours, we don’t ask for handouts, we put up our hands when someone asks for help, and we are all brutally aware of the reality of being in a band of this type. Lockjaw have really helped us push our release to places we don’t think we could have got it to on our own. Throughout the release, the team had worked hard trying to give us promotional materials, album teasers, worked on our pre-orders, and got our release to the right people. We’re over the moon that we decided to work with Lockjaw Records, and we wish them all the luck in the world for the future.
If you could work with any band on a new song, who would it be and why?
(John) – If it was up to me, I’d work with the entire line up of Earth, Wind and Fire. I’d re-record “September” and prove to Taylor Swift that the only way to improve a classic, and the only real reason you should ever tamper with said classics, is to make them double time. Never add banjo to an Earth, Wind and Fire song. That shit should be punishable by something I can’t really write here.
Will you be touring at all this year?
(John) – We just returned from a short run around mainland europe, and KNRD Fest in Germany, so for the remainder of the year, we will be focusing on taking “Leopards” to most corners of the U.K. We know we have a thriving scene here in the U.K. (one which a lot of the world are envious of) so we like to get out and be a part of it as often as possible. We’re always happy to get to new places, and meet new people, so to have our latest release in tow makes us all the more keen to get out there. We also have an eye on a few far away places for early next year, but keep your eyes peeled on that front.
What was the first ever gig you went to?
(John) – I can’t remember if my first ever gig was a samba band from Manchester called Inner Sense, or the famous litter beaters, STOMP! Both would’ve been attended with my mum, as i was only 7 or 8 at the time. Probably explains why I play drums. My first ever punk gig that I attended under my own steam was Anti-Flag at Manchester Academy, about 16 or 17 years ago. I can remember being gobsmacked at all the people who shared a common interest with me, a small town idiot, who lived under the impression he and his small circle of friends were the only fast punk fans in the world. I was 14 or 15 at the time, and had travelled into the city centre, so you can imagine how much of an eye opener that was for me. I distinctly remember at least 4 individual circle pits, and my buddy really pissed some guy off (understandably) when he launched a bottle of water crowd bound, but immediately made contact with the guy’s head, 3 feet in front of him. Right on the bonce. Good times.