Rocking It Out With Your Favorite Enemies
OCTOBER 28, 2013 1:26 PM
At 8:15pm on the 21st of October, Your Favorite Enemies performed at The Water Rats in Kings Cross, London. The show started with originality when Jeff, the guitarist kicked it off by using a violin bow to play his guitar, you knew then that this band was unique. Alex was then seen to stand on the equipment and on the drums whilst singing away, this was a man who didn’t fall short of enthusiasm and passion for his music.
The closely knitted band performed fantastically with their rock and roll sound, you wouldn’t think that back in 2006 when they all met, they were in completely different bands but it was music that fused them together. Even though, the band members have their own musical influences; Jeff’s being Nirvana and Alex’s being Minor Threat, everyone shared an interest and aspired Sonic Youth. Alex said that Sonic Youth had “The coolest vibe” which has helped them to gel as a band.
Despite the band’s performance undoubtedly showing their rock style, from Alex’s musical shouting and vocals plus the work of the guitarists, there were also elements of electronic sounds from Miss Isabel on the keyboard. The gig didn’t fall short of catchy vocals, fast guitar riffs (melodic sounding ones too) and the epic guitar solos, Alex found it difficult to underpin what genre the band fits into. He described the band to be an infusion of punk, rock, noise, rock and soul. This was clearly evident in their performance at The Water Rats, showing a reckless image, connoting the punk genre and fast drumming plus the guitar riffs for rock and noise rock.
Despite the band receiving the best reception from performing Open Your Eyes, with the audience jumping up and down and head banging too, showing their support and enjoyment for their music, this song wasn’t actually their favourite song to play. Alex and Jeff both claimed that their favourite song to play was From The City To The Ocean. This song is usually played for 12 minutes but for special shows it will be played for 25 minutes. From The City To The Ocean is such a lengthy piece as it allows the band to go completely wild and feel the music whilst being able to capture the moment, It isn’t surprising then, that they left this song to be the final piece of their performance at The Water Rats. so they could fully interact with the audience and leave them with a long lasting impression.
Your Favorite Enemies are so impressive that they are the first rock band to be able to perform in a Japanese temple, resulting in it being their favourite venue to play, it was a crazy and unique experience for them; “even the monk was jumping”- Alex Foster.
Their passion for music has even meant getting recognised by Kerrang Magazine and even having a photo shoot. This led to one of the band members having to go topless, rip his shirt making a headband and crosses across his chest with it and having tape across his mouth. “It was very crazy and cool” said Alex. This also reinforced the unity, togetherness and family feeling within the band. The family feeling and unity within the band is also shown when they perform through how supportive they are on stage, which is particularly evident when Alex puts his arm around Jeff and starts swaying along with the music on stage with him.
Your Favorite Enemies are also bringing out their new album Between Illness And Migration in February 2014 (already released in the USA and Japan) and are following the new release with a UK performance in March 2014. Alex and Jeff have said that their album is all about capturing the moment of making music together, having fun and getting back to what they started, whilst rehearsing their material in their own church studio.
For anyone wanting to start their own band, here is some advice from Alex: Remain who you are since you started, stay committed to music and each other, allow mistakes to happen, take chances and appreciate other bands, Also remember that it’s all about the art and sharing who you are through music. This is everything that Your Favorite Enemies stand for.