Fake News - 'Dead Set on Making An Impact'

Gold Coast punks Fake News are putting the tourist city back on the map for the right reasons.

Following the release of three killer EPs and a stack of notable tour support slots, the band have unveiled their latest full length Dead Set - and much like the title, they're dead set on making sure their music is heard across the country and the world.

In the wake of its release, we grabbed the lads for a chat about it, the initiation ritual they took part in while touring with Pennywise and Millencolin and what the future holds...

Congrats on the release of your second full length album - what can you tell us about the band's progression between the first and Dead Set?

It has been a long road between albums. In that 4-year time we have released 3 EP’s, but the big goal was always to release another full-length album

Everyday Warrior was such a good album we knew we had to better it, so we took our time getting the right songs together to make Dead Set.

As a band we have come so far in our songwriting, our stage presence & just the way we can work together efficiently as a band to maximise the time we have together as a band as there is a considerable distance gap between our members. We have established a solid fanbase both in Australia & overseas which is continually growing which has placed us in the position as one of Australia's premiere punk bands.

‍You guys had the lucky job of supporting Pennywise and Millencolin for their recent Australian tour, how did you enjoy it?

What an experience! We always felt like we were one of many that fitted this tour pretty well. So, when it came together last minute, we were definitely up for the challenge to make it happen. It was a daunting schedule with all the distance to travel between cities & back-to-back shows all of us really needed to stay focused on the next show & making sure we were in good form to play again the next day. Touring is hard but the feeling of walking out on stage to 1000's of people every night was amazing, most of whom had no idea who we were, but we certainly won over plenty of new fans along the way.

To have complete strangers that have never heard of Fake News before coming up to tell us how much they loved the show & buying our merch & wondered how they hadn't heard of us before

‍Any of Fletcher Dragge’s infamous pranks we should know about? (Nick’s not missing one bass guitar, is he?)

Darren here, well I usually pop my false teeth out as a party trick when I'm feeling frisky. So when I did this to Fletcher he had this game that I'm pretty sure he does often where he put the teeth in his mouth which is all pretty standard practice when the falsely's come out... but what he did from there was dropped them into a glass filled with rum and red wine and he gargled the teeth then spat them back into the jar. Then it became an initiation ritual for the rest of the guys in the band to do it so that we became united as brothers for life.

He then wanted to do it with the lads in Millencolin as a part of the end of tour tour celebration but the only one up for it was there drummer Fredrik [Larzon]. So, he did the deed then we had a big group hug as brothers, and I got my teeth back in my mouth and everyone lived happily ever after. It was a real funny moment in time that we shared and I'm sure the guys and crew associated from MC & PW won't forget us anytime soon.

When first coming across the name Fake News, you couldn't help but think of the Orange man in power in the US. Do you notice an influx of viewers or lost people every time he's been in charge?

Yeah, he is the guy that coined our name, but the landscape of the world is constantly changing and evolving in many different ways. It started out as just a jazz word for us back in 2017 when the band started but a lot has changed in this world since then. And there does seem to be a movement towards people waking up to the media's BS. We keep our eyes on the prize and stick to what we do which is playing music. But one thing everyone can agree on is the media is not necessarily being as truthful as what they should or could be on world issues.

So, the name Fake News is for everyone, as the world turns and vibrates on a higher level and more people become socially aware and awake to what's happening whatever side of the fence you subscribe to. You know they can press play on some Fake News and all their troubles or worries will instantly disperse.

‍Dead Set marks a significant leap forward for the band with some of your best material to date - which songs are you eager to debut in a live setting?

Pretty much every song on this album was written for a live setting on a real dynamic level. But 'Destination' given the mass epic intro on a huge PA system is definitely going to blow the roof off a lot of venues. Then followed by 'Break a Leg' in the live setting, 'Hit the Ground', 'Running Out of Time' & 'Face of Death' also have such a high energy and dynamic sound which transcribes really well In a live setting.

What’s the songwriting process like for Fake News? Are you an all-in with ideas type of band or is there a main songwriter who delegates?

We are a team of 5 members, and we work together as a unit to bring the sound to life. Usually, Darren will start off with a structure then Nat and Darren will build the drums from there to tie into the song's core, then it just snowballs and gains momentum as it goes through all the components of the band. We usually take a full structure to Tim then he will put down his vocals and we might remove a section or add something to make it work, but most of the time Tim's vocals will slot straight in.

There's no passengers in this band we all bring the ruckus in our own special unique way. It's the only way to make the Fake News sound.

Is it important for you to not lose your Australian identities when writing material?

It’s not something we think about, we just love jamming out and writing sick riffs and melodies. Obviously, we are proud to Be Australian, but we are all very worldly dudes, and we are all well-travelled dudes.

We get drum edits in Scotland, our artwork comes from Portugal, mix/master is done in Italy and we just got signed to a Canadian label in Thousand Island records. So yeah, we are Aussie punks, but the punk community on a global scale is quite small just like all industries. We are just pumped to be representing Australia like so many great Aussie punk bands that came before us to name a few. One Dollar Short, Game Over, Irrelevant, Antiskeptic, Bodyjar. The Decline, Friends with The Enemy. So Yes, Aussie punk is Alive and well and we are psyched to be carrying the torch into 2025 and beyond.

‍What’s the plan for touring around this album, do you have a national tour in the pipeline?

At this stage we are pretty open, but we are currently in chats with a few bands and working on getting ourselves over to EU/UK or USA. An Oz tour of some sort may need to happen here first in order for this to happen though. Almost like a tour exchange program. We can't disclose names just yet but watch this space...

‍How is the Gold Coast scene? Do you guys have a favourite venue and/or other local bands you’d like to give some love to?

Well, we are lucky now that Watto has jumped on guitar this means 3 members are now from Sunny Coast and me and Nick are the only 2 left on the Goldy. So, we are able to play anywhere from GC to Brissy to Sunny Coast without over playing one particular area. Gold Coast has some great venues we have played at Miami Marketta, MO's Club house and Vinnies but we are currently working on a boat show on the Gold Coast to add a bit of glitz and glamour as we know that the Gold Coast is the Hollywood of Australia.

But SE QLD as a whole is a great region for music as a whole and we like to think of it as a region to play rather than just one area. From Byron all the way up to Sunny Coast live music is alive and well and this is the heartland of Australian music with some of the greatest Aussie acts residing from this region.

What's one thing you'd like for listeners (both new and old) to take from the new album and the band's direction forward?

To put our music on and switch off to your problems and just help them forget about things for a bit and release some energy.

We like the idea of people finding solace in our music. We like the idea of our music Inspiring the next generation of kids coming through the ranks.

Sometimes when music hits someone in the sweet spot your hair stands on end and it's a real human connection that person can have with us or even create a connection with another person through our music. We want people to get human face to face connection from our music. If our music can make someone feel good or a feeling of euphoria just for a split second, then that is a great thing that we are super chuffed and proud of to create.

Any final thoughts?

Good things come to those who work hard and never give up. This album has been in the works for a long time, and we couldn't be happier with the final product, to finally see our work out in the wild being enjoyed by so many people is such a great thing to be a part of.

Thanks to our mates at Beefys Pies and Black Flag Brewery.

Interview by Simon Valentine @SimonValentineAU

Stream Dead Set here.

Fake News -  Dead Set tracklisting

1. Destination
2. Break a Leg
3. Southbound
4. Therapy
5. Complicated
6. Face of Death
7. Running Out Of Time
8. Beer
9. Not So Tough
10. Fortunate Son
11. Hit the Ground
12. Rewind (Remixed)