Publications
Partners
They are...
Rockwell: bass, vocals
Leander: drums
Jay: Guitar, vocals
Monkey: trombone, trumpet, beer funnel and backing vocals
- Check out their , Free. Click here
We interviewed Fuzigish by e-mail. This gave them a chance to really think seriously about what they had to say to MWEB's thousands of readers. Hmm. These are the results.
Jean Barker for MWEB: Why did you like each other enough to form a band? I mean, that's a pretty serious commitment, don't you think?
Rockwell: When we started it was all just about friends coming together and having a rad time playing music. And that's exactly what it is like now.
JAY: Well if you love music and making it - then it's not so serious and actually more like freedom.
MWEB: Punk is a term that gets thrown around a lot - every second pissed-off young band calls themselves punk. What is punk? Why are you punk?
LEE: I am not punk! Are you?
JAY: They do? It seems every second band says "We have a unique sound that cannot be classified and that's why we sound like Rage Against the Machine"
WILL: Bands/People who call themselves punk... aren't. Genre names are good for marketing but not for writing music.
MWEB: You're said in other interviews that politics bores you. Can you be bored by politics and have a right to an opinion? Can you be punk without an opinion?
LEE: Politics are boring. A bunch of fat old men deciding how I live my life. F*** that!
JAY: Politics in anything just sucks, except when I run for political office...that will be different. Ha.
Rockwell: Everyone has an opinion, I just don't want to listen to some politicians opinion about anything! Oh yes and F*** OFF! Was that punk enough?
WILL: Politics is just the surface of the problems that need addressing. People elected those morons. That's what bothers me.
MWEB: Apparently, you don't think it's a bad idea to give away MP3s. Why not?
JAY: Spread the Fuz, not the rash.
Rockwell: Share the love man. Share the love.
WILL: Anyone who won't let me hear their music unless I pay for it, is doing it for the wrong reasons and can shove it. Unfortunately it's normally not the artists who act like that, it's the record companies. Business is greedy by nature. COPY IT.
MWEB: When have you felt most understood as a band?
Rockwell: When everyone is singing along at a show and it's no longer about us on stage, it's about everyone that's there at the show feeling the same thing and rocking out.
WILL: Go Rockwell.
MWEB: When have you felt most misunderstood?
JAY: Every time I speak.
Rockwell: When we came back from our first Europe tour and there were a whole stack of rumours flying around about the band and why two of the members were leaving.
MWEB: If people like your music, who else should they listen to or buy?
LEE: Elton John
Rockwell: Sublime, Rancid, The Bee Gees
Jay: The Muppet Soundtrack
WILL: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Hog Hoggidy Hog.
MWEB: What do you do to make money - or is this it?
JAY: We all got full times jobs. If this was it, we wouldn't be able to afford to buy decent instruments.
Rockwell: I'm an Art Director for an ad firm.
WILL: Music Teacher.
MWEB: What would a fan have to do or say to really impress you?
LEE: "I like the way you smell"
Rockwell: Just sing along!
WILL: Talk about quantum mechanics, seriously love that shit.
MWEB: Is Avril Lavigne punk? How about Green Day? Why or why not?
LEE: I prefer the term gay punk. That works for me.
JAY: I like Green Day. Who cares if they're punk or not. The term is thrown around so loosely. I mean if your idea of punk is living in the gutters and being an anarchist, Green Day are not punk. I bet they all use the ATM and have credit cards and I'm sure they have really cool houses.
WILL: Avril Lavigne is merchandise.
MWEB: If there's one onstage memory you all laugh about, that's a big touchstone or that's really important to you, which would it be?
JAY: Not really sure. Its all a bit blurry.
WILL: The encore at Woodstock 6. We had Pestroy on stage, stage diving, funneling. Chaos, it was beautiful.
MWEB: How was touring overseas? Are you trying to reach the overseas market with your music?
Rockwell: I think we're trying to reach whoever will listen and enjoy Fuzigish and what we're about. If that happens to be abroad then great.
LEE: Touring overseas is like a dream come true.
JAY: Yeah it was cool. It would be great to sell more overseas and really tap into the markets. Then maybe we could do this full time.
MWEB: When people hear your music overseas, does it sound African to them? Is ska punk big elsewhere or is it one of the things that makes you unusual?
Rockwell: There are a lot of Ska bands in Europe but I think we have taken Ska and made our own sound using the influences of it and the influences of being African. Then there is all the other stuff that we've thrown in : Punk, jazz, Swing, Hip Hop, Trance, Dub and....um....Vivaldi....
LEE: In Switzerland ska is huge! Bigger than the BeeGees!
JAY: It seems in the US that ska punk is not popular - when you read magazines. The big trend over there is horror punk thing with eyeliner and goth punk trend and all this screamo post punk stuff. That's all cool but Fuzi just does what we want and it's not that!
MWEB: Each pick a favourite pet and give it a name: eg Fish - ienJy or something
LEE: Dog - Dave
JAY: Cat - Dylan
ROCKWELL: Dog - Dog
WILL: Pig - Dimebag
MWEB: If you all went and did something scary like say rode a rollercoaster, who would scream the most?
LEE: HA HA! ME
Rockwell: Me
JAY: Lee or Rockwell, but probably Lee first.
WILL: Lee or Rockwell. Jay and I would be too wasted to care.
MWEB: Who in the band is going to settle down, get married and have kids first? Or is this forever?
Rockwell: I think Lee will be the first to get married and have five kids, but they'll all land up coming on tour with us and carrying our equipment.
LEE: That's not fair!
JAY: Maybe Big Willy cause he takes after Ozzy Osbourne. Loads of punk rockers are married and have kids. Punk rock is about community.
WILL: Five roadies would be good.
