9:52am Thursday 26th August 2010
By Bethany Abbit
FRANK Turner is a rural boy at heart and is looking forward to returning to the Lake District at a special gig tonight (August 26).
The folk-punk raconteur looks set to tear up the Brewery Arts Centre when he plays the sold Kendal Calling aftershow party.
“I always have a great time up in Cumbria and I’m looking forward to coming back,” he said.
Having played to a packed out Kayleid Tent at Kendal Calling last year, Turner has amassed a dedicated horde of fans with his punk rock anthems.
The Hampshire-born musician said he would love to return to the grassroots festival next year.
“Last year was my first time at that festival and it was really cool. There’s a great atmosphere,” he said.
“Everyone I know who organises shows in the North West always has a great attitude to it and that’s why it’s such a great festival - because those guys decided they wanted to do something interesting with their lives and just did it.”
Since releasing his fourth album Poetry of the Deed last September, Turner has garnered a strong reputation for his highly politicised songs. But he decries the writing process.
“I find writing to be a torturous and awful experience,” he said. “I struggle in a Baudelaire type way to write, but I end up with some good songs so it’s worth it.
“I don’t enjoy writing and recording at all but I love playing.”
The musician will continue to blaze through cities and towns on a hectic touring schedule this autumn, taking in Germany and America along the way.
“I’m quite protestant in my work ethic,” he said. “I don’t feel like a musician unless I’m playing music constantly.
“I’m looking forward to being in America again. It takes a long time to turn around fans there but we’ll keep trying and I’m getting there.”
Turner’s latest single Try This At Home is a raucous call to arms promoting the DIY ethos of punk rock.
“I grew up in a small town in Hampshire,” he said. “For me Winchester was the big city so I know what it’s like to be a rural kid.”
“Of course a DIY ethos in these towns is important but it’s not just about what part of the world you’re from. You can be the band you want to be and I think that is the true ethos of punk rock.”
Tonight’s gig starts at 7.30pm.
For more visit: www.frank-turner.com or: www.myspace.com/frankturner.
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