The Rumjacks interview at Summer Rain Radio

Greek version here.

Created the autumn of 2008 in Sydney with irish - scottish blood in the veins and the fire of punk rock burning in them, the Rumjacks following the outburst of celtic punk make their own rebellion, with lyrics and tunes.

First (live) contact with the greek audience was made at the 5th Los Almiros Festival, were a mutual... loving relationship started. As expected, they return to Greece this year, this time for two shows, Friday 1st of September in Gagarin 205 in Athens, and Saturday 2nd of September in Thessaloniki, to participate to the 9th Street Mode Festival, which due to high demand of tickets is moving to Fix Open Air.

In connection to these shows, we couldn't let the chance be lost, so we had a great conversation with Frankie McLaughlin, singer, guitarist and... tin whistle specialist, and Johnny McKelvey, bass player and vocalist of the band.

Enjoy responsibly:

It seems like your first time in Greece -last year- convinced not only you, but also the greek audience, that we want to see you more often in our country. How does it feel returning here, this time for two shows in the big cities, Thessaloniki and Athens?

Johnny: It feels amazing! We only had such a short stay last time and knew we wanted to get back and play as soon as possible. When we played at Los Almiros Fest, the crowd was so energetic and positive, we knew we needed to come back and play to the Greek people again.

Frankie: We are so very happy to be returning to Greece! Last year was amazing, and everybody was brilliant. We are looking g forward to seeing some familiar friends and meeting a whole lot of new ones.

Johnny: We met some amazing characters last year and hopefully we can see them again and meet some new people aswell.

The show in Thessaloniki will be part of the 9th Street Mode Festival, which tends to be the only festival in Greece resembling well-known international festivals with lots of side events, simultaneous stages and crossing genres. Do you think Street Mode is on a right path to this direction? If you could stay throughout the festival, which acts would you most like to see perform?

Frankie: The lineup looks awesome... I'd love to be able to stay around the festival and see bands like Dub Pistols or The Skints, but we're real happy to be playing right alongside The King Blues & Asian Dub Foundation. Festivals like this are a great experience for music lovers, and they are just as important as any smaller festivals or intimate club shows, so congratulations for making it happen.

What's the greatest, worst and "strangest" gig you ever had?

Johnny: Playing at Woodstock Poland last year to 450 thousand people was pretty mind blowing! Every gig has their own strange little things that happen, but I guess all the strangest things happen after the shows.

Are your songs based on true stories? Where does inspiration come from?

Frankie: Absolutely, everyday life is by far my greatest inspiration. Everything in the world as we know it already exists, so all we need to do is look around us. Its important to me though, in writing lyrics, to not make it so entirely personal, but leave room for the listener to step in and engage with the story on their own terms.

During the last few years celtic punk has done a significant outburst, with commercial success, which is though boosted by the great work being done by the bands. You made your first steps as a band just before this outburst and you 'participated' to it with your own great music. Do you feel that you played a part in this growth of celtic punk? How did your interest in traditional/ folk music begin and how did you decide to follow this music path?

Frankie: I'd like to think we have helped the popularity of this type of music, along with many other great bands around the world. More Celt/folk/punk bands are being featured at big festivals and running great extensive tours of their own. For us, the Celtic folk influence has been part of life all along. A few of us grew up in Scottish and Irish households, so our love for the old tunes and artists was already in place. In our own time we all played in various punk rock & heavier bands, and all these influences eventually came together and gave us our own particular sound to throw into the mix.

Would you say that your music follows the legacy of great punk rock bands? Any musical idols?

Johnny: Joe Strummer. Anyone apart from that is pure coincidence (laughs).

As said before, you have two following shows in Thessaloniki and Athens and many fans may travel to both cities to watch your gigs. What's the longest travel you have done to watch a band playing live?

Frankie: Australia is so damned big that almost every time you want to see a band, there is a substantial journey involved (laughs). But I did fly from Milan to Hamburg once to see Bad Religion.

Lastly, is there anything you'd like to say to your greek fans to 'prepare' them for your shows?

Johnny: Cheers for all the suppprt and thank you for making it possible to return and play for you. See you at the bar.

Find here all details about the Rumjacks show in Athens, and here the full line up/ program and all details about the 9th Street Mode Festival.

*Live photos are Lambros Loco Papaefthimiou's taken at the Rumjacks' show at Los Almiros Festival. See more here.

Lambros Loco Papaefthimiou