INTERVIEW: - The Meffs

 One of the Uk's best DIY Punk bands play Norwich tonight, at Waterfront Studio. We were lucky enough to get some words with Lily from the Meffs about Glastonbury, Frank Turner, and the uk scene.

 

 photos

 Lily and Lewis - Ola Sroczyńska 

Lily - Andi Callen

 

 

 

Punk is alive and well in the UK, and The Meffs are one of the stand out acts in the country right now! You must be looking forward to the up coming shows, how has preparation gone?

We love being on the road so getting back out there for a headline tour is exciting. What makes it even more special is that it's a grassroots tour where we're playing small venues that we've not played before. A couple we have, but the majority we haven't. The set we're doing is a mixture of old and new stuff so that's also going to be fun!

 You've got a support slot on tour in December with Million Dead, Congrats well deserved! how did this come about? I believe Frank Turner produced your album "What a Life"?

Frank has become a good friend of ours over the last five years or so. He produced our EPs and our debut full length album then we toured Europe and the UK with him and the Sleeping Souls. We were eying up the Million Dead tour ever since we heard it was happening so when we got the offer it was a GOOD day. To be hitting venues like Rock City too... Let's go.

 Summer is always a busy time for bands, and you played some big festivals this year, including the biggest of them all, Glastonbury on the Leftfield stage. this must have been a dream come true moment? It's also a huge testament to how hard you've worked over the last few years, whats the aim for the next 12 months?

This summer we played around 30 festivals including Glastonbury, 2000 Trees, Beautiful Days, Download, Bearded Theory, Mighty Sounds and Jera on Air. Those are just the ones that come to mind straight away. It's been the most productive and fun summer we've had as a band. It's also the most miles we've done probably! Playing the Leftfield Stage was a bucket list moment and we don't really have bucket lists. Billy Bragg was a legend and I managed to get Bimini up to sing The Prodigy's 'Breathe' with us. That was a proper moment for me. 

 

We ended festival season at The Levellers' festival, Beautiful Days, and it was up there with the best responses we've ever had from a field of people who don't know us. Bang on.

You always give out strong messages in your music, and one of the big ones is remembering grassroots, this isnt just venues, but something much more than that as well? There's some scummy people in the country trying to scare, trying to divide and trying to break us, Grassroots is a statement that we're gonna stick together and not let them win?

Grassroots is everything. It's easy to forget where you came from and why you do what you do. Grassroots venues are struggling and the UK government places very little importance on music. Look at the funding difference between certain sporting events and music for example. I write music based on what's happening around us and we play music as a band to entertain people, but it feels a bit irresponsible for a growing platform to be used purely for entertainment. Do you know what I mean? 

 

As you say, look at what is happening right now in the world and in the UK alone. We have people in power responsible for dividing the nation rather than uniting the nation. Of course politics will always divide opinion but not like this. Now if you're refering to the people responsible for the St George's flags, here is one view; if people don't have the empathy or emotional intelligence to understand why plastering the country with this flag might be intimidating to others, they need to check themselves. 

 

It's not about whether it intimidates YOU. When they then question why rainbow flags are okay, there's an easy response; these aren't used to intimate or exclude, they're used to celebrate and promote inclusion, and they're not sprayed on roundabouts or zebra crossings by the general public. Now give it up and go make a positive difference.

You're playing our home city of Norwich, upstairs in the Waterfront, the small venues are always the best! have you played any others in the city?

We LOVE Norwich. It's a bonus that it always sells out. We supported Pete Doherty downstairs at The Waterfront a couple of years ago. We've played Voodoo Daddy's and Epic Studios in the past too. Norwich has a sick scene and it's only a couple of hours from us.

Which 3 bands should we be checking out right now?

My top three listened to albums right now are probably SPEED 'Only One Mode', TURNSTILE 'Never Enough' and DOECHII 'Alligator Bites Never Heal'.

 

Finally, we always share a music fact in all of the interviews we do - Primus, of "Jerry was a Race car driver" fame,  are one of the bands that lose the Battle of the Bands to Wyld Stallyns in Bill and Ted's Bogus journey - have you got one for us?

Tinhead from Brookside's my dad. That's why we're called The Meffs......

 

P.S. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

Thanks Lily!