With Download Festival just a couple of weeks away, up and coming rockers Fizzy Blood are getting set to return to the stage for only their second time at Donnington Park. We caught up with guitarist Paul Howells ahead of their summer slamming set to talk all things Download festival…
This isn’t your first time at Download. You played way down the bill on the “acoustic stage” (we hear you played a full band set) in 2014. What are your memories from that year?
I remember very vividly a man in the bar backstage stripping completely naked then throwing up on the tarp and body sliding through it. I remember watching as the security tried to ‘herd’ him out of the bar, too scared to touch his sick covered body as he waved his cock in one hand and danced about. Good times.
Now you’re back for the second time. For those who have yet to see Fizzy Blood live, what can they expect?
We’re very loud and we like to have a lot of fun on stage. We always encourage people to join in and have fun with us, so hopefully there will be a lot of fun.
Download is just one of several festival appearances you have this summer. For an up-and-coming band, how vital is in the festival season to growing your reputation?
We’re told a lot that it is very vital, and I have no trouble believing that it absolutely is, but this will be our first hardcore summer of non-stop festivals so I suppose I won’t be able to answer that properly till afterwards. We’ve got a new EP called Summer of Luv coming out around August time though and a lot of our appearances lead up to that, the idea is that these shows will help direct people’s attention to that.
You recently finished touring with While She Sleeps. How was the experience of touring with them? What advice did they give you (if any) about Download Festival?
It was amazing. They really do do it all themselves and to see them at a time when they are starting to reap the rewards of their own handwork and enter the broader public consciousness was phenomenal and inspirational to watch. They gave us lots of advice on stagecraft in general and just watching them every night was also a lesson in itself.
You’re set to play on the Dogtooth stage on Sunday. Will you be spending the whole weekend there? If so, who will you be making an effort to go and watch?
I will be yeah cos my mum’s coming down and we don’t get to see each other very often so we’re gonna go watch Aerosmith. I’m also excited to see a bit of Good Charlotte, SOAD, Steel Panther our friends in Dead!, Dinosaur Pile Up and Yonaka and Blackwaters who we’re doing a show in London with a couple of weeks after Download.
Check out Fizzy Blood’s new video for ‘PAWN’ here:
You can catch Fizzy Blood live over the festival season on the following dates:
rd Jun – Camden Rocks, London
11th Jun – Download Festival
5th Jul – Rock For People, (CZ)
7th Jul – 2000 Trees Festival
21st Jul – Tramlines Festival
11th Jun – Download Festival
5th Jul – Rock For People, (CZ)
7th Jul – 2000 Trees Festival
21st Jul – Tramlines Festival
Fizzy Blood will be playing the Dogtooth Stage at Download Festival on Sunday among some other rad bands, be sure not to miss them!
