Earlier today I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Alex Sabey, vocalist for Derby punk band Fakers. I’ve had the privilege of sharing the stage with Fakers when we played the same bill at SOUPFEST 2022 and after hearing the bands new single “Idiot Box” I jumped at the chance to interview them. Below is the transcript of our conversation.
Oscar: So, Fakers, Derby punk n roll. What defines Fakers? Who are you and what is your mission statement?
Fakers: WE ARE FAKERS! We wanna keep PUNK ROCK N ROLL alive, have fun, play music we love, and keep it authentic (the name was a bit of a joke in that way haha).
Oscar: You’ve recently released a single “Idiot Box”. What was that experience like?
Fakers: It was great, it’s amazing to get some music out there and we’re really happy with the way the recording sounds! Jay Dean did a great job with the mixing and recording, capturing the live sound we wanted and Joe Caithness brought everything out perfectly in the mastering. Doing it at the new Dubrek was also a bonus (I think we were the first to record there).
Oscar: As a part of Derby’s music scene, I’ve always felt it’s underestimated by outsiders, often being compared to Nottingham or Leicester. How do you feel about Derby?
Fakers: I think the Derby scene is hard to measure in a way, there seems to be pockets of musicians, like little scenes, but there doesn’t seem to be any kind of major scene I can think of. I think it’s hindered by the lack of venues in Derby for new or unknown independent bands/artists to play. But there’s some great bands that Derby has to offer.
Oscar: Do you have plans to conquer the world with Raw Power? (Pun intended)
Fakers: Of course haha, we want to reach as many people as possible with our music and freak em out, but our main aim is to have fun, there’s no point if there’s no fun (no fun, my babe, no fun).
Oscar: Fakers have a very old school punk style, what is it like to be playing that sort of music 40 years after it was initially popular?
Fakers: I’m just glad that kind of music is still around, there’s band like Amyl and The Sniffers which we’re fans of that have a similar raw punk rock n roll energy and sound. It’ll never die, there’s always gonna be kids in their garage bashing out power chords and annoying the neighbours.
Oscar: Any words of encouragement for punks young and old who are getting into playing music?
Fakers: You can do it! Just keep going, if you can’t play a certain chord just yet, then write a song with the chords you can play or play power chords. Don’t hold back, just go for it, the only thing stopping you is yourself. As long as you’re having fun and do it for yourself, because you want to, then you’re a winner.
Oscar: Thanks so much for your time. Any final words to my readers?
Fakers: Keep an eye out on our social media (@fakersofficial – insta, fb @fakersband – twitter), we’re always making new announcements of gigs and we’ve plenty of surprises to come.
Fakers: Upcoming gigs (for the next couple of weeks) Dot to Dot (The Angel 2pm) – Sun 29th May Chameleon – Weds 8th June
Fakers: Cheers for the interview!
I really enjoyed having this chat with Alex, even if it was only via text, let me know if you’d like me to do some interviews in person? For now, check out Fakers and as always…
Peace, Love & Cowbells,
Oscar