Punk Rock Factory – Masters of the Uniwurst

By starrymag | July 30, 2021

By: Ellie Yates

 

 

Q) Who were your musical influences growing up? 

 

A) It’s VERY varied. I (Peej) was, and still am, a huge fan of Nirvana, Green Day, Blink-182, but I also love Every Time I Die, The Bronx, Queens of the Stone Age and many more!

Benj and Kob both grew up on that classic skate punk sound of NOFX, Lagwagon, Belvedere, No Use For a Name and bands like that. However, Kob loves a bit of cock rock and Benj is into some bonkers prog metal.

Steadman loves Metallica, Avenged Sevenfold, and other various crab walk style metal.

But, overall, you could say pop punk and skate punk are at the heart of our main influences!

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) I’d say we’re kind of like a turbo charged Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. That’s not a slight on them at all. We LOVE that band, but we go so deep into each song to make it our own!

At its core it’s fast, melodic, pretty technical and dirty at times but we aim for mass appeal, so nothing too crazy!

 

Q) Congratulations on your new album Masters of the Uniwurst coming out on July 30, which is an album of absolute classic TV theme tunes! How do you decide on which songs to cover?

 

A) We kind of just did them all! We went through everything we used to watch as kids and we took fan suggestions on board and came out with twenty-one tracks. There were songs like Biker Mice from Mars and the X-Men TV theme that we really wanted to do, but we had to make sure we could make a viable song out of them. So, if they were heavily instrumental then they just didn’t really work unfortunately. We actually posted live videos on TikTok of some of the more instrumental ones!

We think there’s something on there for everyone though.

 

Q) If the album itself isn’t nostalgic enough, it’s being released in various formats including a limited-edition cassette tape. How important to you was it to keep a real nostalgic feel with this one?

 

A) Massively! We were all born in the 80s and we have fond memories of sitting in front of the TV in our pajamas watching cartoons on a Saturday morning. Or being in the car and listening to albums and mixes on cassette tape. The whole 80’s/90s era was a great time for music and media and we’re so happy we’re kids of that time!

We don’t miss having to rewind though!

 

Q) What was your favorite song to cover on the album and why?

 

A) I’d say “Mask.” It’s a bit of a dark horse on the album but it actually turned out great (we think!). It wasn’t a track we originally chose for the album. It was a little before our time! But as soon as it was brought to our attention, it had to be done. It’s an amazingtheme song and we think it really stands out. It’s catchy, powerful and has a real 80s vibe to it that we absolutely love.

 

Q) What does the process of taking a “cheesy” song such as “Mmmbop,” (from your album The Wurst is Yet to Come) and turning it into an absolute headbanger involve?

 

A) It’s tough to remember our thought process back then really! We actually tracked that song back in 2015, but after a four-year hiatus only released it in 2019 on our first album.

Our process is largely the same for every song though. Kob puts drums over the original track, adjusted to a tempo we like of course. Then, we all get together and build the rest of the song around the drums.

There was never any “jam it out” element to creating our covers. We just kind of start with drums and layer it all up. Although that has since changed!

 

Q) There were a few collaborations with artists on your last album A Whole New Wurst, including Jarret Reddick from Bowling for Soup. Can we expect to see any collaborations in the future?

 

A) More than likely! We have spoken with Ajay from Lit. He was supposed to be on A Whole New Wurst but couldn’t get to a studio at the time. He’s into the idea of doing something in future though!

We also had interest from Scott from Unwritten Law and Craig from Escape the Fate. They may be options to explore in future!

 

Q) You’ve had quite the success on Tik Tok. How important do you think Social Media is for artists to reach out to fans and new listeners, especially in the current climate?

 

A) We can’t stress how important it is. TikTok thrust us into the limelight and our social media presence across all platforms has grown exponentially since then.

We are always experimenting and testing things on our social media. Some things work, some don’t, but every time we post we learn something new and that’s invaluable.

 

Q) Having watched your Tik Toks for quite a few months (self-confessed fan), I can tell you have quite a lot of fun together. How much are you looking forward to bringing this style of music making to your upcoming tour?

 

A) Oh, it’s going to be awesome! Essentially, we’re four idiots who have difficulty taking things seriously, but on tour we’re going to be playing things you won’t have heard before. I think the best thing about taking this on tour is that all of the songs are well known already. There should be singalongs every night!

 

Q) Do you have any other themes lined up for future albums?

 

A) We’ve discussed many ideas. But we can’t reveal anything yet. Oooh mysterious…

 

Q) What would you like to say to your fans and those who have supported you on your journey so far?

 

A) Honestly, thank you. When we started this we were just four friends playing punk cover songs for fun one evening a week, and over the past six months it has exploded beyond our wildest dreams. All of the support has enabled us to do this full time and keep delivering for our fans in the future. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

 

 

All Questions Answered By Kob