It’s been a huge year for Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes. Having released their critically acclaimed debut album, ‘Blossom’, back in the summer of 2015, the band have toured pretty much solidly since. As far as live acts go you’d be hard pressed to find a better one out there, which is more than evident in the huge crowds the band have pulled in across tours, and at festivals such as Download and their Main Stage slot at this year’s Reading & Leeds festivals.

They’ve just departed on a huge European tour, which includes more than 27 dates between now and mid-November and we catch Frank having just arrived at the venue of his second stop in Amsterdam, The Melkweg. “It’s a beautiful venue that I’ve played a few times before but if you’ve not been then definitely check it out,” he explains, ahead of the show this evening. “And tonight is sold out, too! Not really sure how we’re doing that to be honest,” clearly humble in the band’s continuing success. “Last night we played in Paris and the crowd went nuts,” he continues. It’s obvious from the excitement in his voices that he absolutely thrives from these live shows.

The band recently played a rather intimate gig for the finale of Sailor Jerry’s ‘The Ride’, which involved a two week road trip where three bike building teams from across the country competed for the chance to win a brand new Harley. We ask Frank what prompted him to get involved with the event. “Well I’ve always been interested in motorbikes since I was a kid,” he says. “Obviously my interest in tattoos is well documented but as it turns out, I’m now also quite interested in rum.” He goes on to explain that “there’s not many brands we feel like we tie in with, but Sailor Jerry is one of those. Both Harley Davidson and Sailor Jerry are classic brands known for being the best at what they do and that’s something I’ve always tried to achieve with my music, being the best in my field of performance and punk rock.” Anyone who’s seen the guys live will surely agree.

Talking about the finale itself, Frank notes it was wonderful to meet the guys on ‘The Ride’ and it was a pleasure making new friends that he’ll be keeping in touch with. The guys also seemed to enjoy some of the challenges they had to complete in order to win that Harley – including a chili eating challenge that he himself curated. As well as playing for the teams on the evening, Frank and the band also created a road trip playlist of tracks that have inspired him and that will hopefully have inspired the riders during the event. “It’s a great playlist,” he says. “It’s got some classics on there and also some new classics. Bands like White Denim are one of my favourite at the moment so definitely check them out.”

With the band currently being on tour, we asked if they also had a tour playlist. “We have a Van playlist that goes on when we know we’re getting close to a venue, something to get us pumped,” he explains, adding “what’s funny is that this playlist also doubles up as our “leaving the venue playlist” if we’re not quite ready to relax or having a few drinks.”

We move on to talking briefly about the highly anticipated second album, ‘Modern Ruin’, due out in January next year. We note that he’s picked the Arctic Monkeys track, ‘R U Mine?’, in his playlist and ask what he thinks about some fans comparing the band’s apparent direction to that of Alex Turner and co. “Well I know that Alex takes a lot of influence from Queens of The Stone Age and I certainly do, too,” but that’s seemingly where the similarities end for him. “I wouldn’t say we were overly similar, I’ve obviously found my singing voice and I’m enjoying flexing it, which is also something that Alex is best at, but when people hear the album they’ll know it’s a Frank Carter record. It’s a record that’s very personal to me.”

So after Europe what’s up next for Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes? “Well then we come back home to the UK,” says Frank. “Most of the UK tour is sold out and if it isn’t it will be by the time we get there.” With the bands army of fans only growing surely the only way is up? “The fans are incredible,” he enthuses. “They’re really getting behind the band and we seem to be connecting. That’s all you could ever really ask for when you play music, you just want your music to connect with people.”

One way he maintains that connection is his use of social media, particularly Instagram and Snapchat. He regularly posts on the platforms whilst on stage, and even threw a GoPro into the crowd during the band’s set at Leeds Festival. “It’s the most nauseating thing to watch, it’s like instant motion sickness,” he says, describing watching the footage back. “I was hoping for some good footage, but in reality it’s just some fans screaming into the camera and not being able to hold it still. I wouldn’t do it again though as the camera got smashed when being thrown back to the stage.”

What’s most interesting, though, is Frank’s take on his crowd filming during gigs. He describes one instance from the gig last night in Paris. “There was this guy last night in the second row just filming me right in my face. So I took his phone and filmed the band from the stage and then filmed him in the pit and then returned his phone to him.”

The philosophy here may be very different from gigs of old, as he admits. “I used to be against it. If you’re coming to a gig be involved, be here now,” but times have changed since then. This is a fact that Frank is embracing. “We live in a digital age, and to be honest, who am I to tell people how to live their lives!”

And that’s the great thing about a Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes show. “Ultimately that’s what I preach. Come and do whatever the fuck you want, be whatever you want to be. There are no rules in punk rock!”

Bringing the chat to a close, wary that Frank has a show to prepare for this evening, we touch very briefly on what he misses most when the band are on tour. “Well my wife and child obviously, they’re my world. Everything else is pretty constant in my life. I tattoo in my down time and I always take my paints with me on tour so that I can do that on the road, but family is the most important.”

Frank was involved in The Ride 2016 with Sailor Jerry. Follow the action at www.sailorjerry.com, Insta: @sailorjerry, Twitter : @SailorJerryUK, FB: www.facebook/sailorjerryuk or using #TheRideSJUK.

Frank Carter and The Rattlesnakes will head out across the UK next month, which you can see the dates for below, and will release ‘Modern Ruin’ on January 27th 2017.

November
02 MANCHESTER Gorilla
03 EDINBURGH Bongo Club
04 ABERDEEN Tunnels
06 NOTTINGHAM Rescure Rooms
07 LEEDS Key Club
08 BRISTOL Fleece
10 LONDON Electric Ballroom
11 BOURNEMOUTH The Winchester
13 OXFORD The Bullingdon
14 BRIGHTON Concorde 2
15 WOLVERHAMPTON Slade Rooms