Preview
AFI
Thursday, October 16
MacEwan Hall
If you ever end up having to make pleasant dinner conversation with AFI, be sure not to saddle them with the term "goth-punk." That would be a major gaffe, no matter how accurate it seems to be.
This is an issue the band has addressed in more than one interview and 28-year old guitarist Jade Puget is quick to explain that most folks are merely reacting to singer Davey Havok‘s image. Havok’s stage garb is usually head-to-toe black with fishnet shirts and black lipstick to match his jet-black hair. Basically, he looks like he’s auditioning for another instalment of The Crow. This, says Puget, provokes knee-jerk descriptions like "goth punk" from the media – something he really dislikes.
"It’s kind of a made-up term," says Puget. "It’s not really a style of music. I think people came up with that based on Dave’s image and calling a band a certain name based on the way one member dresses is... well, you know."
OK. So forget about Havok’s appearance and demeanour. Ignore lyrics that make Emily Dickinson seem like a bundle of sunny optimism. Never mind that their fan club is called "The Despair Faction" and fans are known to chant "Through our bleeding, we are one" before shows. The word "goth" is not to be applied to AFI. Even if it fits.…
So are they just a punk band, then? Well, no, they’re not really that either. They definitely were – but they’ve evolved gracefully into something more epic sounding over the last 10 years. The days of short, full-tilt songs found on skateboard and snowboard videos, like the infectious "I Want a Mohawk (But Mom Won’t Let Me Get One)," are now only recalled periodically on AFI’s latest disc, Sing the Sorrow. And that, says Puget, is exactly how things should be.
"It’s three years between records, and in three years how you’re writing and where you are is going to be a lot different. Plus, we always try and write a different record than last time."
Indeed, they do. Since they first emerged from a garage in Ukiah, California and released their debut, Very Proud Of Ya, AFI have steadily progressed both in sound and in stature. So much so that The Offspring’s Dexter Holland, owner of Nitro Records – their home for their five previous full-lengths, advised the band not to worry that they owed him one more record and to seek major labels that could offer more support. Moving over to Dreamworks, they hit the studio and worked on Sing the Sorrow with Jerry Finn (Rancid, Green Day) and Butch Vig (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins).
When the album was released, it debuted on Soundscan’s charts at #5, buoyed by the single "Girl’s Not Grey." The song, as we Canucks are always desperate to find in anything, has a Canadian connection – the new album was finished, but Puget decided he should visit Toronto and write one more song there. It became the standout track on the album and, from now on, life will be very different for AFI.
Signs that the band has "arrived" are beginning to appear. Vans recently released an AFI shoe. Despite a relentless tour schedule throughout their existence, they’re finding themselves on continents they’ve never visited before. Recently, at the MTV video awards, they won the viewers choice award, a particular achievement that has been one of the more prominent signs that times have assuredly changed for AFI.
"That was definitely weird," laughs Puget. "It’s not something we’re around every day, being on the red carpet. Being around all those stars is not something that happens very often. Or ever." |
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