Punching Above Your Weight With JASON WHALLEY From FRENZAL RHOMB

Interview by Kris Peters
Aussie punk legends Frenzal Rhomb are the gift that keeps on
giving. Just like the Energiser Bunny, the guys seem to just keep
on trucking where others half their age would have put up the white
flag.
Following the near-completed 25 (ish) Anniversary Tour for A Man's
Not A Camel, Frenzal have also been invited to fly the flag for the
naughty kids left in our generation to play at two of this
country's biggest and best music festivals. First, they head to the
Northern Territory in September to take their place at Blacken 2025
before getting in some well-deserved R & R leading up to the
double header of Froth & Fury shows early next year in Perth on
January 24 and Adelaide on January 31.
Not bad for a band who were playing other great festivals such as
Livid around the turn of the century!
While their music has an irresistibly infectious charm to it,
there's no doubting much of Frenzal Rhomb's staying power is down
to their laconic sense of humour and general no fucks given
attitude in the face of adversity. Throughout their career, they
have offended everyone from radio hosts to television hosts to
croupiers at the casino, but, more importantly than that, they have
gotten away with it. Which I guess isn't that hard to do when you
are able to brush things off with a strum of the guitar and a flash
of attitude and move on.
That's not to say Frenzal Rhomb are snotty-nosed and disrespectful
- although they have more than enough of those attributes to go
around - but when you realise that it is possible to have and voice
an opinion without being a wanker about it, then the world suddenly
opens up, and the walls move out a little.
Which is all a long-winded way of saying that Frenzal Rhomb are
Australian punk walking dinosaurs for the simple reason that they
only take things seriously that are meant to be taken that way and
subscribe to the theory that when all else fails play some music
and have a laugh and maybe things will turn out not quite as bad as
you thought they might be.
Which is possibly why they are still welcome at otherwise
metal-only gatherings to shoot the shit and play some tunes.
HEAVY recently caught up with the man with the flowing locks and
the voice of Frenzal Rhomb, Jason Whalley, to talk about the band's
enduring legacy and hopefully find out the reasons why the band is
still the toast of the music world. With debate already circling
around whether Frenzal Rhomb are representing the Froth or the Fury
at next year's event, we ask Jason to set the record
straight.
"Oh, listen, we're a big Froth band," he declared. "There's not a
lot of Fury going in our world these days, but still a lot of
froth."
We mention the line-up, which includes Polaris, Soulfly, Nailbomb,
Comeback Kid, Lagwagon and In Hearts Wake and ask where Frenzal
sits on the musical merry-go-round.
"I'm looking forward to being the least heavy band on the entire
line up," he smiled. "I think it'll be some pleasant relief for
people to hear some nice three-part harmonies, a bit of Linda
Ronstadt… a bit of The Eagles, maybe?"
Which begs the question: is Jason even a fan of heavier
music?
"Oh God, I don't like any music," he laughed. "No, I do like some
heavy music. I feel like when I'm being screamed at for longer than
probably 15 minutes, then I start getting the shits. But those 15
minutes are good. When I can't understand one lyric for, 10 to 15
minutes, then I'm like, don't make me look at the Internet to find
out what you're saying. I'm just going to assume that you're not a
Nazi."
In the full interview, we talk about the A Man's (Still) Not A
Camel Tour and how it has been going, the fact that Frenzal are
still a musical force so deep into their career, why he thinks
festival organisers keep asking for Frenzal Rhomb to play on
heavier line-ups and where Frenzal sit amongst so much
aggression.
We talk about the remaining shows of the tour, their smash and grab
mission to play in Quebec, how people overseas react to the band's
sarcastic sense of humour, the endless possibilities with
Anniversary tours, old websites that still have value and
more.

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