Interview with the Melodic Punk Rock Band Fake News

March 17, 2023

Interview with the Melodic Punk Rock Band Fake News

By Mick Michaels

The Cosmick View: Hello, and welcome to The Cosmick View/MBM Ten
Pounder! Thanks for taking some time to chat with us!

CV: Describe your definition of the band’s sound and style and how does that definition uniquely describe the music?
Fake News: I call our music melodic punk rock. It is punk music with fast drums & guitars mixed in with catchy vocals & harmonies & guitar lead riffs & solos. Something that gets you moving & you can sing along to.

CV: Today, everyone talks about artist and audience connection. Is such a level of connection actually achievable for an artist and if so, how have you made the connection to your fans?
Fake News: Yeah for sure especially with live shows.... We make it a point to engage the crowd when we play live shows because that’s the reason we’re doing it you know. Many times at shows we have complete strangers that didn’t know us before & weren’t there to see us come up after the show & talk to us & buy merch and say how much they loved it & wonder how they didn’t know about us already. A lot of the time this will end up with them contacting us through social media & becoming a part of our network. We love this stuff. These guys are true fans. They aren’t friends or family coming to support because we ask them & telling us what we want to hear to be nice. They are genuine reactions from new fans. It’s not always easy to make the connection to fans but it certainly does happen.

CV: Is fan interaction an important part of the band’s inner culture?
Fake News: 100% why would we continue to pour all our time & effort into this if no one cared. Every time we release new music or play a live show we gain new fans. That says to us we’re doing something right & this drives the band further knowing that we are touching people with our music.

CV: Can a band truly interact with its fans and still maintain a level of personal privacy without crossing the line and giving up their “personal space” in your opinion?
Fake News: Yes to a certain extent. I like getting messages from random people saying they have just found out about us or saw us play last night & loved our music & want to know more. I try to personally engage with people like this. I figure they have taken the time to reach out & send us a personal message telling us about their experience & that deserves some kind of response or recognition. There is obviously a point when a band gets too big where it becomes impossible to personally reply to every message that comes through but we certainly do try.

CV: Is music, and its value, viewed differently around the world in your opinion? If so, what do you see as the biggest difference in such multiple views among various cultures?
Fake News: I would say so. Music is a huge part of many different cultures around the world. It can be tribal, spiritual or just recreational. It is something personal that everyone will interpret & feel differently about. I don’t think I’m equipped to answer this question any more in depth than that.

CV: Do you feel that a band that has an international appeal, will tend to
connect more so to American audiences? Would they be more enticed or intrigued to see the band over indigenous acts because of the foreign flavor?
Fake News: A good band is a good band. They should be popular anywhere for the reason their music is good. America is probably the biggest market that bands want to crack into for that very reason, it is so big. There is normally a notion that if a band is touring internationally then they must be pretty good. A lot of times here an international band will draw more attention than local bands. So I would say yes people probably would be more likely to see an international band than a local band. Even if just for the fact that you can see a local band anytime but a touring band only comes around every so often.

CV: Has modern-day digital technology made everyone an artist on some level in your opinion? Have the actual lines of what really is an artist been blurred?
Fake News: Yeah it is so easy for anyone to make music and release it onto the world now and that is not a bad thing. Anyone that is creating music or any artform is technically an artist but the old style definition or view of what a musical artist is wouldn’t necessarily ring true nowadays.

CV: How would you describe the difference between an artist who follows trends and one who sets them?
Fake News: Anyone can follow along. That is what you see everyday on social media. Its basically people copying someone else or jumping on the wave of the latest trend in the hope they can bathe in some of the false glory that goes with it. They aren’t doing anything new they’re just jumping on the bandwagon. Someone that sets the trends however isn’t concerned at what is popular or trending at the moment they are doing what they want to do because they want to do it. If they do it well enough & people like what they are doing they can in turn become a trendsetter. Normally it’s because these people are going against the mold or don’t give a fuck that makes others pay attention.

CV: Has music overall been splintered into too many sub-genres in an effort to appease fan tastes in your opinion? And has such fan appeasements, in actuality, weakened music’s impact as a whole by dividing audiences?
Fake News: Don’t get me started on sub genres. There are so many now who can keep up with that shit. I don’t even know what sub-genre we would sit in. Music has evolved so much over the years & has to become more varied to be able to be called something new & different so it’s only logical that new styles will emerge. As far as classifying these things in sub-genres, who gives a shit what basket they want to put you in. We just play the music that we want to play, the music we love. Call it what you will at the end of the day it doesn’t change what the music is.

CV: What can fans expect to see coming next from you?
Fake News: Our EP “Take Me Away” is released on March 16 everywhere. There are some ball-tearing tracks on there. We are aiming to get back in the studio ASAP to record our next single which we hope to release later this year. Further down the track we plan to release another full length album next year. Other than that, we will be playing a few shows around the place. We are playing with A Wilhelm Scream in 2 weeks time. Can’t wait for that show! We have Unwritten Law support in the pipeline & also a few others coming up. Rest assured this won’t be the last you hear of Fake News!

CV: Thanks again for taking some time and talking. It is greatly appreciated.

Check out Fake News at:

www.fakenewspunk.com

https://www.youtube.com/@fakenewspunk

https://instagram.com/fakenews.punk?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

https://www.facebook.com/fakenewspunk?mibextid=LQQJ4d

https://music.apple.com/au/artist/fake-news/1405943669

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6fuS02IOVHCkRc3byaRiDu?si=ecYPi0nVTyOVDhUww1dt4Q

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My name is Mick Michaels...I'm an artist, music fan, songwriter, producer, show host, dreamer and guitarist for the traditional Heavy Metal band Corners of Sanctuary. Writing has always been a creative outlet for me; what I couldn't say in speech, I was able to do with the written word. Writing has given me a voice and a way for me to create on a multitude of platforms including music and song, articles, independent screenplays, books and now, artist interviews. The Cosmick View is an opportunity to raise the bar and showcase artists in a positive and inspirational light. For me, it's another out-of-this-world adventure.