“It started with a song called ‘Rum and Burgers at 8 in the Morning’,” muses Allister Gall, Damerels’ vocalist, when we asked him how they formed.
“Tom (Richardson, their guitarist) and I had been drinking wine in some late night dive. It closed so we decided to keep on going back at home. We were both pretty hungry, so we decided to get some food. Instead of buying a four pound burger from a van, we decided to make it ourselves.”
They bought all the ingredients, but that wasn’t all. “We also bought some really disgusting rum. Later, bellies full and throat burned, Tom started playing guitar and I started yelling. That’s how Damerels started.”
When you’ve talked to as many bands as we have, you realise that this recap isn’t that far out the ordinary. People have bonded over food for generations, and alcohol is a worthy method of getting those creative juices flowing. But Allister and Tom would never have guessed how far this burger was going to take them.
To experience them fully, go see Damerels live. They are a force to behold. Completed by Ben Turner on drums, the trio blast out enough frantic noise to compete with any punk ensemble. This year’s Great Escape Festival saw them move their backline into the crowd for full effect – it wasn’t so much a gimmick as part of the Damerels experience – while performances in small venues across the country have literally left blood and sweat dripping off the ceiling.
To date, Damerels have existed in two incarnations. “The first started as a mixture of a backlash against the acoustic scene in Plymouth at the time,” recalls Tom, thinking back to 2005, “and as a way for Allister and me to indulge our musical desires. Version 2, with Ben on drums, has been a supercharged version of that.”
These guys have successfully challenged the acoustic scene. Although Plymouth is now dishing out a handful of quality bands, Damerels are delivering a unique sound though their distorted, no-thrills punk and roll.
Gall’s vocals growl and spit, while the guitars and drums build a doom-laden groove that underpin it all. Not only does it differ from the norm, but it immediately captivates an audience.
“We’re of the mindset that genres are limiting, so we don’t think in those terms,” Tom explains. “Instead, I personally draw influences from certain sounds, regardless of thematic origin or how the sounds make me feel.”
For Tom, it’s all about the live sound. “As our live show is our real craft, we draw a fair amount of influence from live bands we’ve seen, taking and modifying elements we’ve liked and think we could add to our sound. We’d never steal another band’s style, but no band is an island, and to claim you can be un-influenced/un-influenceable is nonsense. Listen, adapt, destroy!”
Allister sums it up. “We tinker on our sound and discuss ideas and techniques, but basically we want to make music that hits you in the balls whilst you nod your head and do a little dance.” Consider that mission accomplished.
In terms of getting out and about, Damerels are very much a DIY band. Without as much as a press agent, a booking agent or a manager, the band takes things as they come. Tellingly, Tom even jokes about the minimal equipment – part of the reason for their floorshow repertoire.
“My guitar is rarely mic’d up,” he admits, “and Allister likes the freedom to get in the crowd and ruffle some feathers.” Anyone fortunate enough to have witnessed these sorts of performances can testify.
“It’s better to make a connection with the audience on the floor than it is to be on stage singing to forty-seven people and thinking you’re Little Richard,” Allister adds.
The immediate future for Damerels is still up in the air. “We’re all busy guys in our lives outside the band, so I think immortalising what we have achieved so far is important to us,” says Tom decisively. “We’re generally pretty relaxed 90% of the time. Although having only toured once, that could all change.”
A new record could be in the pipeline this year for Damerels, depending on time off work and space to do it as Allister concedes. Still, with a serious live presence and some enthralling tracks, and even at this early stage, Damerels are a sight to behold.
“We’ll keep playing wherever and whenever we can,” Tom promises.
And until then? Well… “I predict it will just keep getting louder.”
BEN TIPPLE