When you think of hot new U.K. rock bands, a group of petulant old-school punks probably doesn’t leap to mind. But the overseas buzz for Gallows is hard to ignore. Hipster Brit-rock guide NME recently placed the band’s frontman Frank Carter at number one on its annual “Cool List,” up-and-coming singer Kate Nash is reportedly a fan and the group is already a fixture on the European rock festival circuit.
“I think we do well because most bands here get overshadowed by American bands,” says Gallows guitarist/founder Laurent Barnard. “Too many U.K. bands now try to sound like American bands. They lose their national character. Meanwhile, we’re proud to be British and raw.”
As the group heads up its first headline tour of the U.S. (after stints on the Warped Tour and with Bad Religion) in support of its debut “Orchestra of Wolves,” we spoke with Barnard about the rise of real punk, the joys of tattoos and why ladies could possibly dig this scary, scary group.
I caught you for the first time this summer on the Warped Tour. You were great—and you also really stuck out among all the pop-punk/emo groups. Did you enjoy your time on that tour?Oh, it was awesome. We made a lot of new friends, and we reconnected with a lot of old friends, like the guys in New Found Glory. As for the shows…I didn’t realize heat like that existed.
Are you influenced by new American bands, or old hardcore groups, or who exactly?I’m really into Drive Like Jehu, and a lot of ‘80s-‘90s bands. There’s not many bands doing anything new or different these days, ourselves included. I mean, we write original songs, but no one’s gonna give us awards for starting something new.
What do you think of emo?It’s still big, especially over in the U.K. Bands like My Chemical Romance, I think they actually had a number one hit recently. We met them; they’re awesome guys. And they make good music. Same with Fall Out Boy. They make awesome pop records. No wonder they’re huge. Gallows could do that; it’s easy to write pop songs. But we challenge ourselves, and make it not too easy for kids to listen to. I think they end up appreciating it more.
I heard your singer, Frank, got tattooed live on stage.Yeah! We played our best show of the year at the Reading Festival, the kind of place when you’re a kid you dream of playing. Frank had his tattoo gear with him, and he tattooed Jordan from New Found Glory earlier that day. He decided if we had a good show, he’d get one done on stage. And it was, so we got Chad from New Found Glory to do it. It was a lock with seven stars on it, to represent 2007 and the stage [the Lock Up stage].
You have a song in “Guitar Hero III,” which seems to be the new cool thing for bands to do. Do you guys play it?
We’re massive “Guitar Hero” fans, even before we were featured in the game. We went crazy when we got a song on it. A lot of people probably thought we were sell-outs, but there’s no way we were going to turn that opportunity down.
This is certainly one of the angriest records of the past few years. Does that come out on stage?Yeah. On stage, it’s our release. You can release all the angst and energy from your day in a positive way. If we weren’t in Gallows, I think we’d all be in prison.
Based off of your lyrics…well, let me ask you this: Do you have a lot of female fans?Yes.
OK. Do they see what you’re trying to say…You’re talking about the title track of our album, right? F---, dude, that’s a story about some guy who’s so into lust…he’s trying so hard to get it on with girls. It’s not the true meaning of love. But look at our other songs—we call out date rapists on “Will Someone Shoot That F---ing Snake.” That’s a story about things that have actually happened to people I know. This one guy spiked a drink of my ex-girlfiend’s. I found out about that and I was so incredibly angry. So that sort of shows a different side to the anger.
Another side appears on “Stay Cold.”Yeah! We played this show in Watford, our hometown. We were still D.I.Y. at the time. At the end of the night, we had sold a ton of our shirts and demo CDs. We put the money near our merch table, and it disappeared. Looking back, it was obvious what had happened; it was a dodgy venue, run by boxers, and they were big dudes. We’re a skinny punk rock band, we’re not going to complain too much. And the police were, obviously, no help. But that song was a way to release the aggression in a positive way.
What’s been your best and worst experience playing in the U.S.?The worst experience is just the distance we have to drive between each town over here. I’ve been on the bus for 15 hours today alone. Back home, in 15 hours, we could circle the U.K. three times. But I love meeting people really into the band, seeing American fans with Gallows tattoos all over their body. That’s f---ing crazy. They must really like our band if they want it permanently on their body.
Do you have tats?I have a few. I got one of a panther while I was in Japan—that’s like visiting Mars, by the way. For a while, I wasn’t going to get one, because I thought I needed to get a serious job or something. But since Gallows is doing so well, I’ve decided I can do a few risqué things with my life.
