Forklift Assassins x Wake Up

With all the impersonal distance of the type experienced during the pandemic, we send a series of questions to Michael, 1/3rd of Melbourne’s Forklift Assassins. However, despite the distance of geography and the otherwise cold indifference of a one-sided conversation, we manage to feel…familiar with these guys. They tour harder than most and if you haven’t had a chance to see them; and certainly on the Australian East Coast, you’re as lazy as you are unfortunate. Here’s why…

Michael, how is it possible to tour and play as often as you guys do? Do you think you could manage it as often with a larger band?

Well, it helps that we love what we do. My favourite part of being in a band is playing live. Nothing beats that feeling when the whole band is in sync and the audience is going nuts. Occasionally we get someone singing some of our words back at us and that is the ultimate for me.

How we’re able to play so often? It’s a good team that loves to rock out together. I put together a lot of shows, so it helps that I’m very motivated to do this. If the band was bigger but full of people with the same attitude as the guys currently in the band then yes, we could play heaps no problem. Unfortunately, it only takes one weak link to bring it to a halt and with more people involved there’s more chance of having the weak link appear.

Would there be any benefits to having more members?

We’re looking at potentially getting a second guitarist in. That would help fill out the sound well and give the boys more opportunities to push themselves with lead breaks and different melodies and harmonies. 

Another advantage would be cost. Everything split 4 ways is cheaper for everyone than split 3 ways. Being a small independent band, cost is a significant factor in all we do so that’d help. 

Finally, more drivers when we’re touring helps when you’re doing the Melbourne to Sydney run and you got to play that night.

The downside is trying to organise more people. I’m lucky that I’ve got some keen members in the band who are easy to organise, but it can get messy and with more people equals more mess.

Does the release of a single so late in a year mean a massive run planned in 2024?

We’ve got a huge year lined up. This is our first single off our upcoming EP. There will be two more singles coming out before the EP gets released in mid-2024. 

The single is called Wake Up and seems to reference New Beginnings via a fresh perspective, is that the reason its release is so timely?...to mark a fresh year so-to-speak.

Ha!, if only we were that clever. The reason we’re putting Wake Up out now is simply because we felt it was time. We’ve had these songs recorded for almost six months and have been sitting on them all this time due to factors beyond our control. We finally had a sit-down and decided what are we waiting for. Better the songs are out than hiding on our computers. Dec 29th was the earliest feasible date we could release and so here it is.

It’s clear that there’s no dead weight in the Forkies, but it’s also clear that you’re the engine, do you think you’d have as much gumption and persuasive energy if you played a different instrument? Like…is the fact that –as the drummer- you smack things for attention, emblematic of your drive in general? And! Does the instrument choose the artist in your opinion?

Wow, interesting question there. I’ve always been ridiculously stubborn, and my stubbornness comes out in this. At the end of the day, someone needs to take the lead, even in a democratic setting such as Forkies so that’s what I did. I even had to learn to hold a tune because when this band was put together, no one wanted to sing, so I put my hand up. Helps that I’m a real attention hog too!

I think it’s not the drumming but the combination of drumming and singing that gives me the fortitude to put myself out there every time. People notice me. The reality as a drummer is that you barely register in people’s heads as being part of the band. You know…oh they’re just the drummer kinda attitude, hidden in the back, barely acknowledged. But when you sing as well, then people go wow, not fucking bad that guy. 

I never chose the drums, they chose me. A mate had a shitty old kit in his garage and asked me to come over to lay some grooves so he could practise bass. I’d never touched a drumstick before. He showed me a basic beat, I sat down, hit the bloody thing and that was it, I was hooked. 

There’s something raw and primal about drums that I love. Also, it’s the only instrument where you are physically part of the music. You use your whole body to play it. You move and sweat and sometimes even bleed for your art. It just works for me. You don’t just play the music; you are the music.

The band existed pre-pandemic but has really made up for lost time since the world started grinding back, how did the downtime inform your sound? Did you keep busy during the lockdowns?

During lockdown here, and it was a long lockdown, we did what we could. We’d catch up and jam every opportunity we could. As soon as lockdown was called off, we’d be getting into the studio for a jam. We’d play every gig we were fortunate enough to get onto, even ones where there were no people except the other bands and we wrote heaps because the reality was that there wasn’t a lot else we could do. Most of the songs on this EP were written during lockdown or soon after it finally ended.

We also took plenty of time out, which made us hungrier for more when the time came.

What are you looking forward to in 2024?

Getting all the new songs out there. I honestly believe these songs are some of our best works and I’m so proud of the result. I want everyone to hear them and I’m excited to see how they travel. We’ve been playing these songs for a while now and people seem to really enjoy them live, I hope they enjoy the recordings also.

I’m also very excited to play with The Owen Guns when they come to Melbourne in March and hopefully, we’ll get to go back to NSW, QLD and TAS again. I’m also really keen to get over to SA as we haven’t played there yet but maybe this year will be the year, who knows.

Forklift Assassins single ‘Wake Up’ out now!
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