GRIM FANDANGO

Rough Diamonds

Grim Fandango are keeping the spirit of pop-punk alive with their primal raunch‘n’roll. JENNIFER PETERSON-WARD caught up with vocalist Tom Ware ahead of their launch shows for new 7”/Digital EP, In The Rough, on Friday, February 3, at The Rosemount Hotel and Saturday, February 4, at The Prince Of Wales in Bunbury.

From humble beginnings on the local circuit, much-loved foursome Grim Fandango has flourished into a bombastic, over-the-top punk band. Their most recent 7”/EP, In The Rough, underlines their ambition and their audible disinterest in accepted notions of good taste. It’s difficult to tell how far their tongues are wedged into their cheeks, but it’s equally difficult not to be swept along by their hook-laden, punk-fuelled power-pop.
“We are very excited to launch this record and for people to hear it,” says vocalist Tom Ware. “It was recorded in Perth, mixed in Adelaide, mastered in New York and released by a Melbourne label so it was a team effort and we are really happy with how all the songs turned out. We have had these songs for a while so it will be great to finally play them live.”
The new release comes hot on the heels of their debut LP Birthmark Blues, which was released to national acclaim at the tail end of 2010.
“We are still really proud of Birthmark Blues and I think the new stuff we have been writing and playing since that album has been a steady progression,” Ware says. “[At gigs] we still get people yelling at us to play songs off our first release, IV: Eat Not The Heart, and I hope all our releases are like that. I don’t think there is anything that would pass through the Grim writing process that we all weren’t happy with, and we have tried to keep challenging ourselves to play better and practice harder, even when people steal all our guitars.”
Grim Fandago are set to prove their reputation as one of WA’s most infectious and exciting bands during their upcoming special joint national tour with Victorian punksters The Smith St Band.
“The Smith St Band are one of the best bands I have ever seen live, ever,” Ware attests, adding that local punters who choose to head to either of their launch shows can expect: “Sing-a-longs galore, some honest bands, the genius of [The Smith St Band frontman] Wil Wagner and maybe a few shoey’s.”