A MODERN UK punk legend, Frank Carter has been in the music industry for over a decade now. Embarking on the largest tour of his career with a first date at Manchester’s Gorrilla, Quays News reporter Beth Halfpenny went down to delve into the workings of a punk enigma.
Since rising to promience with hardcore kingpins ‘Gallows’ Carter has moved through a series of sounds such as the lighter alt-rock group ‘Pure Love.’ Since then he has found a new lease of life in a now iconic Gucci suit and with new punk band ‘Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes.’
Now he is embarking on the largest tour of his career with first date at Manchester’s Gorilla and Quays News’ Beth Halfpenny was down to delve into the workings of a modern punk enigma.
“I’m really excited to play” he said “We’ve been waiting a long time and we’ve been steadily growing this band for a year and a half now.”
The group put out their first album ‘Blossom’ in a rushed fashion of touring before its released and Carter is looking forward to playing shows where the crowd actually know the songs.
“It was really exciting but people didn’t really know what we were playing. Whereas this time, everybody has had the album for a little while now and we haven’t played a headline tour this year yet so I hope everybody is ready for one”
The Rattlesnakes’ second album titled ‘Modern Ruin’ will be released in January next year.
“It’s about human relationships with your family, your friends, your loved ones, your work colleagues and strangers; it’s about the relationships that we have with everyone we meet really.”
The changing atmosphere of Carter’s life and the life around him gave him solid inspiration for his sophomore release. “All I was seeing on the news and in magazines was this war we were part of and that made me think about relationships as a battlefield and that’s where the name ‘Modern Ruin’” he said.
Frank shares that ultimately the record is quite hopeful to him and that he hopes other people will hear it in a similar way to the way he does.
When recording an album Frank says that he doesn’t listen to any music as he finds it to be too much of an influence on what he’s trying to create. Instead he will read and watch films a lot.
When we brought up the Rattlesnakes’ almost instant success compared to Frank’s other projects he remained modest and level headed “I don’t know about fame, I try not to think about it. I’m not doing this for acknowledgment or recognition, I just write music because I have to.
“It feels good that people are getting behind it and the music it connecting. You want your art to be exciting for other people because it’s exciting for me and hope they find strength and power in it” Carter enthuastically told Quays.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BMoOQ_vD0C1/?taken-by=frankcarter23&hl=en
Since appearing at his Reading festival opening set, Frank wears a now iconic black and white floral Gucci suit. Dismissing the old leather and denim punk look of the old age this is another aspect that sets Carter aside and make him a driving force of UK punk. However the suit to him means a bit more than just fashion:
“There was this big change when I bought this f***ing suit and putting this on its like battle armour. I put it on and I suddenly get in this different mode. It’s something I’ve never had before because I used to just go out in jeans and a t-shirt, whatever I was wearing in the day and there was no real cut off” he said, wearing a hoodie with his bands name on.
“There was always this stage persona but it was so intermingled with who I was as a person, whereas now I can step into this character for the stage and he’s a lot more confident than I am.”
With such a wide range of different projects it’s hard to even consider all the places Frank has been with his music and his most memorable moments. But staying reformed and a modest family man he revealed that his main highlight was him and his wife’s anniversary… but also opening Reading last year.
Discussing his future in music, Carter doesn’t see a life without music ahead of him;
“I think it’s what I’ve been put here to do. I think my place in the world is onstage as a performer and as a songwriter. I really, really hope that in 10 years I’m still doing it. I love it, I really love it.”
His previous successes with Gallows and Pure Love left him dejected and questioning what he was doing. However, now with Rattlesnakes he has found a position where he is happy and hopeful for the future.
‘it’s weird because it’s taken me 10 years to find that. And to make that realisation of oh you actually really enjoy this. This is what you’re supposed to be doing.
And I’ve realised now that that unhappiness was all in me, and I’ve got rid of that now. So in 10 years time I wish I’m doing that still.”
The Rattlesnakes went on to tear Gorilla apart later that day in their boisterous sold out show leaving fans amazed, both with the show and with an icon that’s finally found himself.
By Beth Halfpenny
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