The Barstool Preachers are taking the isolation bull firmly by the stay-at-home horns and releasing ‘The Soundtrack To Your Apocalypse’ single. The two tracks, ‘When This World Ends’ and ‘State Of Emergency’ are now both available free of charge on the band’s website (and the usual streaming sites) www.thebarstoolpreachers.com .
Original Rock chatted to lead singer and founder member Tom McFaull over a cyber pint to discuss The Barstool Preachers latest release, future plans and keeping afloat in these troubling times.
OriginalRock.net The band are releasing two new singles. What songs are these and what were they originally recorded for?
Tom McFaull. “Two new singles, a new video, a bunch of new merch, custom designs and a new website! The tracks are ‘When This World Ends’ which is feel-good punk-anthem told while stood on the edge of the apocalypse. State of Emergency is a riot track, with roots in bands like The Specials, but with a modern day delivery. It’s a politically charged stomper that will be heard on sound systems in locked down gardens across the world. We wrote them around a year ago, asking questions like ‘What happened to Grenfell? Why are British bombs destroying Yemen?’ and now those questions are still pertinent but framed in context of the pandemic.”
OR. You’re giving the two singles away for free is that correct?
T.M “We are. We’ve got our eyes open. Times are uncertain and tight, and they’re gonna get tighter. People don’t know what’s round the corner, but they’re still gonna need strong music. We don’t wanna take a pound out of someone’s pocket that can’t afford it, so we’re giving the tracks away for free. We’re selling merch and asking for donations if people can afford it. We’re not too worried about our cut, but we are raising money for NHS Charities Together through the donation and merch sales. So if you can afford it, it’s a great way to support the band and the NHS at the same time.”
OR. Before this lockdown, you were on the cusp of heading over to the USA for a full tour and to also play Punk Rock Bowling in Las Vegas (are you planning on going over for 2021?). How has the cancellation affected the band financially? and how do bands in your position plan for the future at the moment
TM. “We were! We are! (The USA tour) The cancellation has hit us hard, we’d sunk almost all our money into visas and flights, but we’ll be ok. A lot of people are going through worse, and we’ve got a pretty simple plan. Stick together, release music, and as soon as we can, tour the fuck out of the world. We’re lucky, because of last years touring and deals, for the first time the whole planet is open to us to tour, so as soon as it’s possible, we’ll be there filling small sweaty rooms of people with huge hearts.”
OR. Merchandise seems to be a huge part of the BSP’s band income, have T-shirts and hoodies replaced records as, not just yours, but all bands main wage payer?
TM.”It is a huge part of the band’s income, but we put every penny we make back into the band to do other cool shit. Touring is normally our wages, and the merch covers the business. With (what looks like) 8 tours cancelled for the rest of the year, merch might have to become our mainstay, but we all know we’ve got a killer album to produce, potentially soon, so we’ve got all our merch pennies earmarked for that. To be honest with you though mate, right now surviving is the new thriving, and we all might have to be a bit flexible and creative with how we do things. Do you wanna buy a Bungle?”
OR. NHS staff and other frontlines services, including shop workers, delivery drivers, food banks and numerous charities are pretty much holding the country up during this pandemic. While Branson et al sun themselves on private islands and still pay no tax while claiming government aid, do you think as a country we’ll remember the real heroes and villains when this is all over?
“I really fucking hope they do. There needs to be some accountability for sure. For years our political landscape – and as an extension our mainstream media – has been based on point scoring and fear mongering, that needs to change if we’re ever going to see systemic change. Unfortunately a large part of me thinks when this is over, it’ll be business as usual for the exploitative upper classes. Let’s hope it’s not just us punks trying to hold them accountable after. We haven’t experienced this level of national threat since the war, and there were some incredible things (prime examples being social housing and the NHS) that came out of that, so why can’t they again. We’ve got a chance to demand that things change and it’s up to every single person to demand it, even when they tell us it’s impossible. Everyone deserves a living wage. Everyone deserves access to top of the range healthcare for free. Everyone deserves a roof over their head and to not have to feed their family from a food bank. Right now though, we need to band together and get pass this, but after… there needs to be some serious fucking tallying and laying the dead at the feet of the parasites that have been cutting and underfunding our social services, whilst offering tax breaks and shady deals. The dead demand that someone remembers.”
OR.When and how will you release your new album?
TM “What album!?”
The live stream/gig om May 1st will be on the band’s Facebook site, link below.