Damian Gardiner - 28 Days
Questions: Karen Lowe
Hailing from Frankston, 28 Days first exploded into the scene way back in 1997. Since then, it's been almost impossible to escape them, despite them promising to 'fuck off' in 2007... not that anyone actually wanted them to go. But for their long term fans, that's a well known story as to why. Tours around the world, shows with rock n roll elite are all part of their history. These days, they’re playing the odd show every now and then, including the famous Street Machine Summernats in Canberra next January.
Damian Gardiner put in a call to Caught in the Mosh to talk about the upcoming Summernats Festival, touring with Pennywise and BMX
You guys will be playing at the Summernats Festival in January along with Wolfmother and Thundamentals. What draws you to this festival and are you excited to be on this line up?
I'm just surprised that we haven't played there before, with us being kind of an... ocker, pretty much bogan band, I suppose you could say. So yeah, it's a bit of a shock that it's taken us 20 years to actually get on the line up. But yeah it'll be good. It'll be fun!
What Summernats event are you looking forward to the most and what's your favourite car?
I don't really know much of what goes on there. I've never been to one but I suppose they do burnouts, that'll be all right. But I'm a bit of a 4WD-head so I doubt that there will be too many F150s floating around Summernats. There may be a few but there certainly won't be any off road driving!
28 Days have been around for 20 years now. Apart from when you guys 'fucked off', did you ever think that you would still be around all these years later?
Ahh, no. We kinda knew that we'd be around as mates but that's what it really is at the moment. It's just an excuse to get out and hang out with your mates, play a few tunes and such. But yeah, we're very lucky to still, well, number 1 - still get offered shows and 2 - actually playing them 20 years later for a band that really... well it's not that we don't care but we don't really go out and say “oh, we are going to do this; we've gotta play this show; we've gotta get this gig”. We just kinda wait til people offer us gigs these days which people are still doing. So yeah, it's cool!
You would have seen a lot of crazy things happening on tour. What are some of the crazier things that you have seen? Or indeed, done?
Oh there's been heaps. I remember once we went to the Corona Awards in London and yeah, that was just absolutely crazy. Our DJ set off a fire alarm at the hotel that we were staying at, tried to pick a fight with some death metal band, some really, really, really famous death metal band from Sweden or Norway or something. I forget the name of them now. But so many, so many things. I get asked this question all the time but obviously it all goes a million miles an hour. So many things have happened, so it's hard to nail one down.
But we've been on tour with Pennywise so yeah...
Ha - say no more
Yeah (laughs)
If you could collaborate with anyone in the music world, who would you want to work with?
Probably... I would say Jesse from Brand New because they're like... the ultimate band. It would be awesome just to see what we came up with. It'd be awesome.
You guys would have seen many changes within the music industry. What are some of the negative changes and what are some of the most positive that you have seen?
Well, that's one and the same - social media. It's negative AND positive in the same way. So that's the biggest change. And also, no one's buying CDs any more. When our album went Number One, we sold 38,000 in one week and now you only have to sell like, 2,000 or something to get Number One. So that's one of the biggest changes.
You guys have played on some absolutely killer line ups over the years. What festivals have been the best and what are some of your favourite memories from them?
The most fun was when we did the Vans Warped Tour in the US. It was just three months of craziness and it was awesome! Just travelling around in a bus just playing one night, getting on the bus, going to the next place and setting up in a little town each day and just the whole communal vibe of it was just amazing.
Also, getting to play with some of the bands that we loved when we started our band so yeah, definitely the Vans Warped Tour. Bad Religion was on it, NoFX, Pennywise and bands like Thursday and Hot Water Music. So that was awesome and an amazing experience.
I can imagine. Just going to that festival would have been an experience in itself.
Yeah doing the whole thing was amazing. We were pretty lucky - very lucky.
What have been some of the worst festivals?
Back in the day, Triple J did these little regional things and some of them were just like... I don't know why they did them. These towns were... I mean it was good for the country town but it was literally a population of like, 50 people. Why would you put on a music festival?
So some of those pokey, little regional Triple J ones. They weren't bad but it's kinda strange playing on a big stage when there's no one there.
Damian Gardiner put in a call to Caught in the Mosh to talk about the upcoming Summernats Festival, touring with Pennywise and BMX
You guys will be playing at the Summernats Festival in January along with Wolfmother and Thundamentals. What draws you to this festival and are you excited to be on this line up?
I'm just surprised that we haven't played there before, with us being kind of an... ocker, pretty much bogan band, I suppose you could say. So yeah, it's a bit of a shock that it's taken us 20 years to actually get on the line up. But yeah it'll be good. It'll be fun!
What Summernats event are you looking forward to the most and what's your favourite car?
I don't really know much of what goes on there. I've never been to one but I suppose they do burnouts, that'll be all right. But I'm a bit of a 4WD-head so I doubt that there will be too many F150s floating around Summernats. There may be a few but there certainly won't be any off road driving!
28 Days have been around for 20 years now. Apart from when you guys 'fucked off', did you ever think that you would still be around all these years later?
Ahh, no. We kinda knew that we'd be around as mates but that's what it really is at the moment. It's just an excuse to get out and hang out with your mates, play a few tunes and such. But yeah, we're very lucky to still, well, number 1 - still get offered shows and 2 - actually playing them 20 years later for a band that really... well it's not that we don't care but we don't really go out and say “oh, we are going to do this; we've gotta play this show; we've gotta get this gig”. We just kinda wait til people offer us gigs these days which people are still doing. So yeah, it's cool!
You would have seen a lot of crazy things happening on tour. What are some of the crazier things that you have seen? Or indeed, done?
Oh there's been heaps. I remember once we went to the Corona Awards in London and yeah, that was just absolutely crazy. Our DJ set off a fire alarm at the hotel that we were staying at, tried to pick a fight with some death metal band, some really, really, really famous death metal band from Sweden or Norway or something. I forget the name of them now. But so many, so many things. I get asked this question all the time but obviously it all goes a million miles an hour. So many things have happened, so it's hard to nail one down.
But we've been on tour with Pennywise so yeah...
Ha - say no more
Yeah (laughs)
If you could collaborate with anyone in the music world, who would you want to work with?
Probably... I would say Jesse from Brand New because they're like... the ultimate band. It would be awesome just to see what we came up with. It'd be awesome.
You guys would have seen many changes within the music industry. What are some of the negative changes and what are some of the most positive that you have seen?
Well, that's one and the same - social media. It's negative AND positive in the same way. So that's the biggest change. And also, no one's buying CDs any more. When our album went Number One, we sold 38,000 in one week and now you only have to sell like, 2,000 or something to get Number One. So that's one of the biggest changes.
You guys have played on some absolutely killer line ups over the years. What festivals have been the best and what are some of your favourite memories from them?
The most fun was when we did the Vans Warped Tour in the US. It was just three months of craziness and it was awesome! Just travelling around in a bus just playing one night, getting on the bus, going to the next place and setting up in a little town each day and just the whole communal vibe of it was just amazing.
Also, getting to play with some of the bands that we loved when we started our band so yeah, definitely the Vans Warped Tour. Bad Religion was on it, NoFX, Pennywise and bands like Thursday and Hot Water Music. So that was awesome and an amazing experience.
I can imagine. Just going to that festival would have been an experience in itself.
Yeah doing the whole thing was amazing. We were pretty lucky - very lucky.
What have been some of the worst festivals?
Back in the day, Triple J did these little regional things and some of them were just like... I don't know why they did them. These towns were... I mean it was good for the country town but it was literally a population of like, 50 people. Why would you put on a music festival?
So some of those pokey, little regional Triple J ones. They weren't bad but it's kinda strange playing on a big stage when there's no one there.
How is the writing going on the new songs? Have you started recording yet and will we see a new album out some time this year?
Very slowly (laughs). We haven't recorded yet and I doubt it will happen this year. Next year's like, our 21st birthday, so I suppose we might do something for that - celebrate our 21st. It won't be anything big, maybe an EP or something, play a few shows here and there. But it'll be more of a subdued 21st.
What are some of the worst things that you have seen in a mosh pit while on stage? And what are some of the better things that you have seen?
Some of the worst things I've seen are those so-called hardcore dudes doing their so-called hardcore dancing and smashing people, especially girls that are just there to watch the band. You know, the selfish idiots that just think that they own the music. That's definitely some of the worst things I've seen.
Some of the good things I've seen are people helping people that get hurt whilst in a mosh and people standing up to these so-called hardcore idiots that are just doing the windmill stuff and telling them to take it to the boxing ring or wherever they should be doing it and don't be a dick.
You just gotta love people like that...
Ugh, I don't know... They're just entitled and think that the band is theirs and they own it and they can do whatever and anyone else there to just enjoy the music is just irrelevant.
While bands have come and gone, the main staples from the 90's are still around (Regugitator, The Living End, Shihad, Grinspoon and Spiderbait). Why do you think you guys have all lasted where so many have faded away?
Um, I don't know. Just maybe because a lot of these bands are friends and have been for so long so they have a close bond as friends. And also, we've all got so many loyal fans.
Our fans from back then are a lot more loyal than these days and plus, all these bands have stuck around so people know what they're gonna get too.
Also, a lot of people that were into that kind of music from those times, now we've grown up a bit and it'd be a big thing like, if four of those bands play in a year, it may be the only time that they go out so I'd say the fans are the main reason why a lot of those bands are still around.
I've seen in previous interviews that you have spoken about BMX. Do you still ride? And who was/is your favourite BMXer?
Yeah I've still got a 26 inch FE Bike and I've got a cool Haro from the old days. My favourite rider, like everyone, was probably Bob Haro - he was revolutionary. But yeah I still love BMX.
Being at the Summernats is like a thing for the generation before us, the old guys that fix up cars and now I think, a lot of my generation when we get mid-40s, everyone will be fixing up their fist BMX (laughs) but yeah, I love it, loving it. Still love it.
You guys have toured with some pretty massive bands. Which bands were the best to tour with? And who were the worst?
Probably the best to tour with - we did a tour in the UK with Sick of It All. It was just awesome. They were amazing guys and sharing a bus with them. Yeah they were cool!
Probably the worst was (not band wise) but probably The Offspring. They were just very... stand-offish. Noodles was cool but Dexter was a bit...yeah and the crew just...yeah.
If you could program Rage, what videos would you pick and why?
We did program Rage years ago and I forget what they all were but it's probably changed now from what we did back then. I'd probably definitely but some Brand New in there, some Air, some Portishead some Motion City Soundtrack, Get Up Kids.
I don't know what the rest of the guys would do but you get about six or seven songs each when you do it so that's probably what I'd do these days.
It's been awhile since you guys played in Perth. Any plans to come back here? Preferably sooner rather than later.
We'd love to. Probably the 21st birthday thing would be on the cards but probably a bit late this year to do anything but yeah it'd be cool!
Very slowly (laughs). We haven't recorded yet and I doubt it will happen this year. Next year's like, our 21st birthday, so I suppose we might do something for that - celebrate our 21st. It won't be anything big, maybe an EP or something, play a few shows here and there. But it'll be more of a subdued 21st.
What are some of the worst things that you have seen in a mosh pit while on stage? And what are some of the better things that you have seen?
Some of the worst things I've seen are those so-called hardcore dudes doing their so-called hardcore dancing and smashing people, especially girls that are just there to watch the band. You know, the selfish idiots that just think that they own the music. That's definitely some of the worst things I've seen.
Some of the good things I've seen are people helping people that get hurt whilst in a mosh and people standing up to these so-called hardcore idiots that are just doing the windmill stuff and telling them to take it to the boxing ring or wherever they should be doing it and don't be a dick.
You just gotta love people like that...
Ugh, I don't know... They're just entitled and think that the band is theirs and they own it and they can do whatever and anyone else there to just enjoy the music is just irrelevant.
While bands have come and gone, the main staples from the 90's are still around (Regugitator, The Living End, Shihad, Grinspoon and Spiderbait). Why do you think you guys have all lasted where so many have faded away?
Um, I don't know. Just maybe because a lot of these bands are friends and have been for so long so they have a close bond as friends. And also, we've all got so many loyal fans.
Our fans from back then are a lot more loyal than these days and plus, all these bands have stuck around so people know what they're gonna get too.
Also, a lot of people that were into that kind of music from those times, now we've grown up a bit and it'd be a big thing like, if four of those bands play in a year, it may be the only time that they go out so I'd say the fans are the main reason why a lot of those bands are still around.
I've seen in previous interviews that you have spoken about BMX. Do you still ride? And who was/is your favourite BMXer?
Yeah I've still got a 26 inch FE Bike and I've got a cool Haro from the old days. My favourite rider, like everyone, was probably Bob Haro - he was revolutionary. But yeah I still love BMX.
Being at the Summernats is like a thing for the generation before us, the old guys that fix up cars and now I think, a lot of my generation when we get mid-40s, everyone will be fixing up their fist BMX (laughs) but yeah, I love it, loving it. Still love it.
You guys have toured with some pretty massive bands. Which bands were the best to tour with? And who were the worst?
Probably the best to tour with - we did a tour in the UK with Sick of It All. It was just awesome. They were amazing guys and sharing a bus with them. Yeah they were cool!
Probably the worst was (not band wise) but probably The Offspring. They were just very... stand-offish. Noodles was cool but Dexter was a bit...yeah and the crew just...yeah.
If you could program Rage, what videos would you pick and why?
We did program Rage years ago and I forget what they all were but it's probably changed now from what we did back then. I'd probably definitely but some Brand New in there, some Air, some Portishead some Motion City Soundtrack, Get Up Kids.
I don't know what the rest of the guys would do but you get about six or seven songs each when you do it so that's probably what I'd do these days.
It's been awhile since you guys played in Perth. Any plans to come back here? Preferably sooner rather than later.
We'd love to. Probably the 21st birthday thing would be on the cards but probably a bit late this year to do anything but yeah it'd be cool!
28 Days play the Street Machine Summernats next January 2018
Fri 5th Jan - Canberra, Exhibition Park - tickets from Summernats
Fri 5th Jan - Canberra, Exhibition Park - tickets from Summernats
