Yuck have been one of the most exciting bands to emerge in 2011. Consisting of members from three different continents all in their early 20s, they released their debut record ealrier this year to both critical and fan acclaim. Playing a sometimes screaming, sometime's soothing, always melody-driven style of rock and roll, they've drawn a lot of comparisons with early '90s rock bands.
We talked to the band's front man, Daniel Blumberg, about his previous band, Cajun Dance Party, how he is surprisingly influenced by Nashville alt country band Lambchop and what it's like to be signed to the respected indie label Fat Possum.
You guys released a fantastic debut album this year and you’ve started to pop up on a lot of ‘Best Of’ album lists – is that a gratifying feeling?
It’s weird – I don’t know if I’m meant to but no.
It is weird because I like a lot of those albums and I do look at those lists sometimes at the end of the year and see albums that I might of missed. And sometimes I’ve had experiences where I’ve looked at those lists and seen albums that I really love, so it’s kind of weird but in terms of a “gratifying” feeling – I normally feel graitified closer to the time that I’ve written a song or something.
It’s a bit... I don’t know. Maybe I’m meant to feel something really good? But...
No, no no, you feel however you feel. I was just interested about what you thought of it. But yeah, I remember hearing you guys for the first time earlier this year and thinking, “Shit, that dude sounds a lot like the guy from Cajun Dance Party (Daniel's previous band),” and of course low and behold!
I’m sure it’s a question you get all the time but how has your experience in Yuck compared with your last band?
It doesn’t really get asked. Maybe in Australia people get Cajun Dance Party more but we didn’t really didn’t do many shows or press when the album came out. Sometimes in London we got asked at the start. But... Yeah, they’re completely different – they’re utterly different.
Cajun Dance Party was when we were at school. We started it when we were 15 and then the record came out three years later, which was really frustrating. I think we recorded it two and a half years after we wrote it. I mean to me, that’s like a stupid thing that I never want to do again.
We didn’t do that here, we were adding tracks to our album the day of mastering the Yuck album. So, yeah... everything is different.
You guys have had a pretty whirlwind year of touring – what would you say are some of the more interesting places you’ve played this year?
Ahhh... It’s all a bit of mush at the moment.
Well I just read on your tour page that before you head to Australia for the Laneway shows you’re heading off on the Weezer cruise – that sounds fucking rad! How did that come about?
Yeah, that’s so weird. It’s gonna be really strange but fun.
I was reading on your blog that Lambchop are a massive influence on Yuck, which I found really surprising.
Oh, yeah, yeah. I’m a massive Lambchop fan. They’re one of the most brilliant bands.
How would you say they’ve influenced your music?
Well, I went to Nashville – I dropped out of school and went to record in Nashville with Mark Levin and he was in Lambchop and has recorded a lot of their albums. And Kurt (Wagner - Lambchop lead singer) was around the whole time and I stayed in contact with him and he’s sort of quite a big part of Yuck really, in the background – well for me – and helping with... You know, it’s nice to have someone who’s experienced to vent to if touring is getting difficult. And then I guess I love their music.
I guess ‘Suicide Policeman’ was the first time I acknowledged a direct influence and I was like, “Shit, I’ve been listening to too much Lambchop.” (Laughs). But no one really says that and you picked up on that which is quite funny.
I also just read that Fat Possum has also released a book of your drawings – that’s a pretty fantastic project. Has visual art been something you’ve always done as well as music? Because I know you drew all the cover art for the Yuck releases.
Yeah, I’d been making these books since we started playing, out of the drawings I was doing. And yeah, when I started this type of drawing it was directly I when we started writing Yuck songs. And working on lyrics I’d always be drawing, or if I couldn’t think of lyrics, there’d be a drawing instead.
Those drawings that they’ve released in the book, we’ve used them for single covers and record covers. And I stopped drawing them when we mastered the record, and they sort of put it out as a complete thing next to the album, like every single drawing I did during that period of making and writing.
Obviously, after being in Cajun Dance Party, you’ve got a bit of experience being on different labels – how is dealing with Fat Possum as compared to other labels you’ve been involved with? They have a pretty impressive roster of artists like A.A. Bondy, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and of course you guys.
I think they’re amazing. We didn’t really know them, like – they hadn’t seen us when we signed to them. We hadn’t really spoken much before we signed. They were only people like”We want to give you money to tour and release your record in shops.”
So, we just signed and ... When I mentioned the book and that I had all these drawings, that was because when we did the Unknown Mortal Orchestra tour they kept emailing me and calling me and saying “We really want to make a screen poster for this tour because it’s going to be amazing,” and they kept hassling me and then they ended up printing it so beautifully! I had no idea that it would look so good.
Yeah they’re quite crazy – they do stuff that they like and they don’t really give a fuck.
I actually heard Oupa for the first time yesterday. It’s really lovely. Was that something you just did yourself?
Yeah, because we’re doing so many interviews and shows around the Yuck record I decided I just wanted to put out some music without a structure and just do it on a smaller scale because I find it quite rewarding. So yeah I set up a label for releasing that stuff.
Cool – have you had much positive feedback from that?
Yeah people have seemed to like it. It’s really nice that they can order it and that I can send it to them.
Nathan Wood
Originally published at www.vmusic.com.au
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