The group, who only performed their first live gig in 2014, is the brainchild of guitarist and vocalist Dave Ferguson, who started the band by recruiting three of the best musicians he knew to come and jam out music in drop C tuning. Having formed in February of 2013, FTFDS took almost an entire year until they played their first show, which only came about at short notice.
“I would say for a whole year we rehearsed at Bakehouse, whenever we could get together and we kept building it up,” Ferguson says. “It pretty much all happened in rehearsal. There were no songs of each other’s brought to rehearsal, it just all happened between the four of us jamming.”
It comes as a surprise that Fuck The Fitzroy Doom Scene’s first live gig was just last year, but since their maiden onstage debut, things continue to skyrocket. “Our first gig was last year at The Tote and since then it hasn’t stopped,” Ferguson says.
“We had sent The Tote our film clip for our first song Dream, and they had a cancellation that weekend. After seeing the clip they rang us and said, ‘Hey, we have a cancellation, do you guys want to play?’ I don’t think we’ve had to look for a gig since then, and in some cases, we have to turn them down because there are so many offers.”
In December last year, FTFDS released their debut album Facing The Ruin;an ominous shard of stoner rock and metal. The aforementioned Dreams is the opening track but for many, including Ferguson, the highlight of the album is the epic 9.45-minute title track.
According to Ferguson, one thing that FTFDS share is an innate synergy between each band member: Alejandro Adams on drums, Luke Bolton on bass, and Jake Hills on guitar (all share vocal duties). “Besides the quality of the other guys as musicians, we are all really good mates who enjoy each other’s company and have a ball,” he states. “There’s a connection between all four of us, we all love making music together.”
The band’s musical excellence is what resonates the most with punters, resulting in the band’s early success. However, another memorable aspect of the band is that name: Fuck The Fitzroy Doom Scene.
“A friend of a friend, who is in a doom metal band, had said, ‘Why don’t they like doom?’ And we do like doom, it was a silly comment that stuck. We were all out pre-being in a band together and I don’t even know how it arose, but I remember saying, ‘Ah, fuck the Fitzroy doom scene,’ and Ali always remembered it. When we got together and started jamming, he said, ‘Remember that? Let’s call the band that’.”
BY DAN WATT
