Save Ferris will be playing this year’s Fireball tour, so we spoke to Monique Powell about all things Fireball and playing live.
Legendary ska punk band Save Ferris have joined this year’s Fireball: Fuelling The Fire Tour as the special guests. Once again showing their commitment to providing a most excellent night out, Fireball in association with Academy Events, brings you the heavyweights of pop-punk, ska and rock to the Fireball: Fuelling The Fire tour. Save Ferris will join ska-punk legends Less Than Jake and Goldfinger (co-headliners), and the winners of last years Fireball Hottest Band competition, Thieves Of Liberty. DJ Matt Stocks will keep the party vibe going between sets.
We had a chat to lead vocalist Monique Powell about what fans can expect and what they love about playing in the UK.
How excited are you to be playing this year’s Fireball tour with Less Than Jake and Goldfinger?
So excited! So very very excited. It’s been a long time since Save Ferris toured with gold finger. Maybe 20 years?
Any fun plans for the tour you can let us know about?
Well, every show is different, filled with surprises, I am putting the set together now, and there are is a cover song or two in there that the European audience maybe hasn’t heard yet. More to come…
You have previously toured the UK with Less Than Jake and Goldfinger before – how does it feel to go back on the road with them?
I saw Feldy this morning, and we were both saying how excited we are to tour together again. I’m really looking forward to getting to know the Less Than Jake guys finally, after all of these years. It’s nice to be able to do shows with your friends. It adds a whole new level of fun!
The Fireball tour has a tradition of running the hottest band competition that supports up and coming local bands – how important is it to you to have that as part of the tour?
Well, Save Ferris got our start because of a battle of the bands put on by the NARAS foundation on Los Angeles many moons ago. The reward: we were flown to New York City to play in front of record executives. One of the judges, David Massey, ended up signing us to Epic records. That was the start of our careers. I am so supportive of giving new bands a chance, as others were supportive of us in the beginning.
Which bands that you’ve toured with influenced you the most when you had just started as a band?
All of the bands from our scene were of great influence to us. Goldfinger, Reel big fish, the Aquabats… and of course, other bands that I would’ve loved to tour with, but it just never happened: Hepcat, Dancehall Crashers, there are just too many to list.
What did you learn from them?
I learned a lot from Goldfinger. At the time when we toured together, they were awarded a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for playing the most shows in one year of any band on record. Their work ethic was unmatched and still is.
Playing in the UK as often as you can, what do you love about the British crowds?
There is so much support and encouragement from the British fans. They have always supported my role as a woman in our scene when there weren’t many women to speak of. Additionally, at the age, I am now, and this time of a new kind of feminism, they are extremely progressive. When playing the UK, I feel so excepted as an outspoken woman as well as a musician among so many musicians of incredible talent. They believe in us! What an honour, as I’ve always been a huge fan of UK music…
Speaking of touring – what are your absolute, must-have tour essentials especially when touring abroad?
Hand sanitizer for the plane ride. My Mokcao waterproof speaker from my sister, which has a great sound and seems to be virtually indestructible. I use this in my hotel room and backstage to get the mood going. Scented candles in lidded cans. My “booty spray”, for lack of a better title, which is a fabric spray I created years ago. It serves as a natural costume freshener that keeps things under control when you have to wear the same thing a few times and cannot stop for a dry cleaner. The guys in the band lovingly gave it that title, as they became addicted to it for its ability to get rid of the “booty” smell in clothes, shoes, bus bunks, Fred Perry polos, etc.
What else have you got planned for the rest of 2019?
To finish this damn full-length record!!
High Fives & Stage Dives 