Formed close to 30 years ago, Stiff Little Fingers frontman, Jake Burns, elaborates on the group’s evolution.
“Every band is a ‘musical magpie' to some degree. Obviously you’re influenced by your favourite artists. Early on we were hugely influenced by The Clash, but we found our own voice quickly; coming from Northern Ireland, there was a lot of civil unrest, different perspectives at the table.”
Line-up changes brought diversity as well. “Absolutely, that's been important to us; people like to pigeonhole you as a punk band. We just got better as players. We could either carry on playing three chords, or be honest and say, ‘Yeah, this is what we sound like now’. We’re recording at the moment ... Apart from one guitar solo, it’s all acoustic. Ian McCallum (guitar) asked me; ‘How the hell did we do that? It’s folk, but it sounds like Stiff Little Fingers?!?’
“Early on Henry Cluney wrote the more punk songs, which suited us at the time. But Ian came from a folk background; Dylan etc. He brought a different sensibility and the songs reflected that. I said, ‘Wow, where did that come from?' and Ian would say, ‘That's what I would've done; Does it sound okay?’ I said ‘It sounds fucking great, I don't think anyone else is doing that’.”
There’s lyrical ammo, too. “Something has to offend my sense of justice, on the larger scale. Songs about the GFC, the banking system versus ordinary folk; personal stuff is actually harder to write,” he laughs. “You know, you're supposed to be able to write a love song, for fuck’s sake! I tried, but it sounds like bad Year 12 poetry.”
The group’s new album was also a vehicle for Jake to tackle the subject of depression. “I was writing about it [depression], more as an act of catharsis; it made me feel better to write about it. I was like, ‘Well... not too comfortable singing this piece, I might put that one in the bin’. Ali (McMordie, bass) flew from New York to Chicago just to say, ‘You're not throwing that song away, it's the best damn song on the record... it’s from the heart, it's gonna mean a lot to people’.”
Stiff Little Fingers play Soundwave Festival:
Sat Feb 22 - RNA showgrounds (Brisbane)
Sun Feb 23 - Olympic park (Sydney)
Fri Feb 28 - Flemington racecourse (Melbourne)
Sat Mar 1 - Bonythin park (Adelaide)
Mon Mar 3 - Claremont showgrounds (Perth)
