Fallujah
Just Dreaming

20.11.2016

Fallujah is the not only the ill fated city in Iraq – the site of the bloody massacre of 2003 and the battleground in the current war on terrorism, but also a band from San Francisco, CA, who manage to combine brutal abrasive riffing with soaring sensitive melodies and unearthly atmosphere. Their third full-length, “Dreamless”, came out in April, and very soon the band will head towards Russia to play here for the first time in nearly 10 years of their existence. In the run-up to the gigs in Moscow (Nov. 27) and St. Petersburg (Nov 28) we offer you this interview with vocalist Alex Hofmann, who found a minute to type a couple of words (no more, alas) while the tour bus was taking him across Europe and approaching the Russian border more and more with every second…

Greetings from Russia and welcome to Headbanger.ru! What is the latest news from the Fallujah camp?

We are currently in Prague, approaching the half-way point of the “Never Say Die” tour! Excited for our Russian shows!

How the touring has been going on? How did you like it in Europe, “Hellfest” and what not? Was touring Europe different for you from touring the States?

We have been over to Europe 5 times now and there are some serious differences but the truth is, a show is a show. The hospitality and treatment of bands is way better in Europe than in the U.S.

I heard that being signed by Nuclear Blast feels like having a full time job. Is it really the case? What do you do to get your hard earned buck? Do you feel a lot of support from the label?

Being signed to the label doesn't really change anything. You still have to tour and work hard on your own accord. The only thing that changes is the amount of weight that gets put behind you to make your album succeed. Having a team of professionals is very exciting.

How did you get to mix brutality with sensuality in your creative work? Is it something intuitive, or did you have to work hard to achieve it?

We simply write songs we want to hear. There really isn't some secret ingredient or tactic we employ to make our songs sound a certain way. We just use our ears and our brains!

What was the last dream you remember, by the way?

There were a few nights on the bus during this tour where everyone had really fucked up dreams. If I remember correctly it involved my mother telling me a friend of mine was going to die but wouldn't do anything about it. It was really fucked up and dramatic.

What / who is it we see on the cover of “Dreamless”?

That is a question you should ask yourself!

What comes first to you – words or music? What are the lyrics about? Are they trying to tell a story?

For me words come first and then slowly develop as the songs are written. Lots of time simple phrases or little paragraphs can be really interesting or evocative to me. Then when the songs are written I try to see if those emotions match up or compliment one another.

You will be doing a Russian tour soon. What do you expect from it? Is there anything in the Russian culture that had any influence on you?

Everyone says the shows are great and the fans are enthusiastic. The issue I hear is making sure your paperwork is all correct and to not have any issues at the border! It’s hard for me to speak about a country I have not yet visited but I’m really excited to go!

Your thoughts on substances: do you use/abuse tobacco, alcohol, weed or any harder stuff? Legalize or ban?

We all party for sure, we drink, some of us dabble in other things. As far as legalization, we support it 100%. Weed can potentially become one of the most lucrative tax initiatives ever, and even though I don't smoke weed I think it can be beneficial for the economy.

What are your favorite sports / books / TV-shows? In general, what do you enjoy doing outside the metal world?

Doing design work for bands and making electronic music is my biggest hobby outside of this world. We all like to work as well even though we don't get much time off. We all follow certain TV shows; “Game of Thrones”, “Westworld”, “House of Cards”, “Breaking Bad”, ”The Office”, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”.

Anything to add? Your closing words, please.

We’re very excited to come play our shows in Moscow and St. Petersburg, we hope the show is as crazy as people say!

Fallujah on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/fallujahofficial

Special thanks to Olga Ovsyannikova (Spika Concert Agency) for arranging this interview

Richter
October 14, 2016
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