interview with WONK UNIT
Have any of you played in other bands? Before Wonk unit, i playing in a semi legendary band in the early 1990's called The Flying Medallions. Mark (Pwosion) was in the pioneering UK ska punk band Loophole.
How is it that you started playing music? As a teenager i worked in the postroom of a major record label. When bands would come in i would be sent out to buy beer and pizza for them. I wanted beer and pizza for myself! That was the main reason we started the Flying Medallions.
What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you?
Alex Wonk - i write the stuff and sing.
MArk Pwosion - Bass
Tommy - Drums
Benny - guitar.
Then we have a bunch of other Wonkers who stand in from time to time.
We have Duncan Redmonds from Snuff who sometimes drums.We have Oli Stewart (also from Snuff) who play trombone. We have Gav Kinch (original guitarist and engineer on Nervous Racehorse) who plays keys, Mystified Jess plays second guitar, Simon Short sometimes play keys, Chris Hugal (drummer of Mouthwash) sometimes plays drums.
Have you had other previous members? Too many to mention.We have a very revolving line up. We gig so often that your average musician isn't able to keep up with our relentless touring shedule. Being in Wonk is a huge commitment. We love everyone that has ever been involved.
Did you make music even when you were young? No. As mentioned earlier, i started making music for free beer and pizza (and to get guest list at trendy London clubs hahah) rather than for the love of music.
Where are you from? South London.
What year did the band form? 2005/6
What's your style of genre? creative writing, creative punk rock.
What inspires you? Sadly not much. When i do hear something that inspires me though i want to share it with the world. Most notably the band Slaves. When they first came on the scene 4 years ago i was blown away by their completeness.They were the full package.Everything about them as a band was perfect. I instantly loved them.They were a band that made music exciting again!
How often and where do you reherse? Hahaha hardly ever but when we do it is at Unit 9 Rehearsal Studios in Balham SW London.We don't really have time because of our constant gigging.It's a shame because when we do fit a few rehearsals in, it's always apparent how much we need to rehearse. We may be tour tight but rehearsals highlight sloppiness in our playing and the short cuts we may take live.
How have you developed since you started with the music? We started as a 3 piece with me playing bass and singing. I then went to guitar (with Pwos taking bass duties) and now days i just sing and fuck around. We have extra musicians join us for gigs as and when they are available. Our song writing style changed too. For the first 2 albums (Flying the Japanese Flag and Trolleys Thankyou) the songs were written the traditional way ,ie have words, have music, make song. From Muffy the songwriting approach changed. I like creative writing and i kept a blog of poems and short stories (Cement You Cunt). one evening i decided to write music for one of my poems and it changed everything! Writing suddenly became really fun because the poems were already important works for me creatively. Adding music to them was the most fun process ever! I wrote most of Muffy on Christmas eve 2011. Like 8 songs in about 2 hours! Muffy is a very important record for Wonk Unit!
Do you have other interests of work outside the band? I love skateboarding. I love the fashion that goes with skate culture. I love designing T shirts. The name Wonk Unit was originally intended for a skateboard company. The first Wonk Unit T shirt was made before the band even existed! I love creative writing.
Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? I have mixed feelings about booking agents. We don't really need a punk rock booking agent in the UK because we can do that ourselves. We have always been champions of the DIY scene and as soon as bands get an agent, it's usually game over for the DIY scene regards that band. Booking agents want to make money out of you. So they will do what they can to stretch the promoters pockets as far as they can go. The UK punk scene has been really good to us.They are our brothers and we treat the promoters as fellow musicians (because they are). If the opportunity came our way to go with a mainstream booking agent then we would jump at the chance.To play to a different audience is crazy fun.Watching crowds new to Wonk get their heads round us for the first time is wicked! There aint no bands like Wonk in the mainstream! (hahah their aint no bands like Wonk anywhere! hahah)
Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? That side of the music scene has never been important to us. We have always done everything ourselves (released our own records, booked our own tours) and i make music for myself. I'm not looking for the approval of others. 2 years ago, TNS Records offered to release Nervous Racehorse for us! Has been an amazing relationship. They totally have the same ethos as Wonk - DIY. Since working with TNS and having essentially a Northern office (TNS are MAnchester based), Wonk have gone from strength to strength. They've helped us reach a wider audience, they are good good people. I love them! We've also recently worked with Drunken Sailor records who offered to release a Wonk greatest hits record (Pwosion Idea) with America in mind. They've been great, introducing us to bands in America to tour with and getting some great U.S reviews. We are currently recording our latest album Mr Splashy. There's been some interest Stateside regards this. Very early days though.
What made you decide to make this music? After i got the free beer and pizza, i discovered that music gives me the same buzz as skateboarding. I started with BMX, then Skateboards, then music. Same buzz. New trick - new song, good skate- good gig! x
What are your songs about? My life. the mundane, my loves, my hates.
Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? Me
Do you start with the music or the lyrics? Since Muffy, the lyrics (as poems)
Do you compose in a certain inviroment? Most of my lyrics get written on my mobile phone on public transport. On buses, trains, tubes and mostly between the hours of 6-8am when i'm on my way to work on building sites. Building kills me but pays the bills. Pain and tiredness and misery always get the creative juices flowing. My brains is on fire in the early hours.
Have you done any covers live? no
What language do you sing in? English
What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? Like everyone, we've played to empty rooms with a few people in but the UK DIY punk scene is usually pretty good at putting on a party. We've got a grass roots following. We've played every town and village and crazy place in the UK.We've been touring solid for 10 years. A lot of the Wonk fanbase have grown up with us. We haven't had a quiet gig for a couple of years now. A lot of our shows sell out to capacity. It's amazing. The biggest headline crowd (700-800) we ever played was Wonkfest last year. That was mental. at the moment we are playing to 2000 people a night with the Slaves boys. They haven't forgotten their roots.
What ages are most of your concert attendants? Our audience is insanely diverse. 14 - 60. We love our Wonk Fam. We celebrate love and acceptance amongst our brothers and sisters.
Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? We gotta play the songs the people wanna hear - the Wonk hits etc but we have a stock of about 40 songs that we can choose from at any time. Our back catalogue is massive. It's quite hard choosing a 30 min set.
Do you have a regular place you play live often? No. We try not to overplay areas. Our hometown London 2-3 times a year, the rest of the country we try to play the cities no more than once a year to make the gigs special.
What was your first gig like? It was average, to be expected really. We were lucky enough to be supporting Duncan's side project Billy No Mates though. Was at the Brixton Windmill.
What was your latest gig? I played an acoustic gig with Pwosion at the Birds Nest in Deptford to raise money and collect essentials for the refugees over the Channel in Calais. It was an amazing night.
Where have you played live this year? Everywhere. All over the UK numerous times (a notable tour with our friends Teenage Bottlerocket and Slaves ), all over America (we played Fest), the South of France with Roughneck Riot.
Where do you plan to gig the comming year? About to start touring early Jan (again with Slaves) then we continue into mainland Europe playing France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and the Nederlands. Then back to England for our usual weekenders and festivals.
When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? I was selling Wonk merch before the band started. We sell mad volumes of T shirts, Cd's and vinyl. Also finally got round to making skateboards! We have Dinosaurs are Wankers boards!
Where can people buy your merchandise? At gigs, on Facebook and from our shop wonkunit.com
What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? I think it's great. As long as people are getting their music.That is a good thing.
How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? Fuck the music industry. The internet changed everything. Made it a level playing field and gave all us small fry a chance.We don't need the music industry anymore. Sure, it would be great if the majors came sniffing but we got our own thing going.We don't need them. Back in the day pre internet, the only way you could make it was through the NME. Those poncey fucking journalists had ULTIMATE POWER. It was the only way to tour, the only way anyone was ever gonna hear about you. We used to buy off the journalists for Single of the Week with grams of cocaine. Same today, it's all about who you know and who you're schmoozing but those big boys have been brought down a peg or 2. We control our scene.Our way, our punk rock.
What do you think of my work? Hahaha Sorry, I have no idea what you do. I always do interviews. It's great that people are interested in Wonk Unit. I love fanzines! Back in the day when the NME and Melody MAker were was all powerful, we (The Flying Medallions) were always stoked to get fanzine interviews.
How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? Are you in Sweden? Maybe it will help us get gigs in Sweden. That would be nice!
Do you have any role models or idols? Not really. I'm always amazed how writers can produce amazing stories.Catch 22 is just fucking INSANELY AMAZING. C.S Lewis and the Chronicles of Narnia, Terry Pratchet. When i first discovered Post Office by Charles Bukowski that completely changed my life. He wrote like a normal person.A drunk, a failure, an alcoholic. He didn't dress his words up. I've purposely avoided his poetry so as not to be influenced.
What have been your biggest obstacles? My biggest obstacle in life has also been my biggest point of creation.Addiction. I am an ex alcoholic/addict. I've been sober for 16 years and songwriting and my creation of music and art has been my AA for me.
What advice would you give other bands or artists? Never copy, never follow a scene, never chase. Be true to yourself. Do it because you enjoy it, not to be a pop star. Write about stuff you love and know, not what you think you should be writing about. Also, if you are serious, like really serious, then do everything 100 percent!!! Live it, live your band, live your music. Don't wear awful jeans or have groomed facial hair! hahahaha
How do you get psyched for a gig? I don't have to get psyched, i am psyched. I'm like a spring under tension the day before a gig. Afterwards i am released. It is my alcohol.
Do you have any new material? Yes loads. I write about 30 songs per album and choose the 14 or so that are working.
What are your plans for the future? Continue creating music. I hope to skate more. I've had a permanent back injury for the last 8 years so my skating is dictated by my mobility and by the medication i use to control the pain.Again, addiction to the opiate based painkillers is a problem i am always fighting again. It's a vicious circle.
Do you have something to add? Love everyone. x
