I’ve often thought that inebriation is as much a state of mind as it is a physical affliction. Of course there is undeniable evidence that excess consumption of alcohol directly affects movement, speech, memory and common sense, but how often do you find yourself sobering up when another one of your drunken companions falls into trouble?
Or what about those among us who can pretend to be sober even though we’re 8 pints gone? (Thus tricking your parents, who are giving you a lift home, that all you drank was coke all evening). It’s all about channeling the excess into something else, mind over matter and all that. Like David Blaine freezing himself in a block of ice for three days, he channeled all that excess cold into, um, not feeling cold.

But anyway, I hope you understand my point - and none more so is all of this evident than in the music industry. There are some really, really drunk bands out there, but who also make really great music and perform unforgettable (for all the right reasons) live shows. They channel all that overindulgence into making something really amazing. Iggy Pop, off the top of my head, was probably really drunk when he performed with The Stooges that first time he decided to roll around in broken glass and stage dive. Amy Winehouse, although having as many bad drunk performances as she has good ones, is also someone who has channeled excess into genius. The Gallagher brothers have probably performed gigs they don’t even remember doing and have had them heralded a triumph.

And so it was on the weekend of 29-31 May that I witnessed this phenomenon in all its beery, sweaty, foul-mouthed glory. Unsigned Manchester band Frazer King were playing a set on the Doghouse Promotions stage at Wychwood Festival, and it was like nothing I’d ever seen or heard before. The band consists of six members, all of whom sing and contribute a vocal part in some form or another. Singer/guitarist Nathan McIlroy has the most distinctive Mancurian vocal - a sort of fine gravelly wail that is contrasted dramatically with other front-man Jack Mahoney’s dirty blues growl - the dirtiest in fact this side of what would be created if Northern England relocated to New Orleans. Co-front man Tony Boardman and backing vocalist/drummer Jack Hardiker complete the main harmonic lineup, accompanied by a frenzied array of noise that is manipulated into a skippy mix of folk, country, skiffle, blues and rock n’ roll indie. Followed by a large vodka chaser.

Today’s performance was no exception - mercilessly driven by what seemed like four nights worth of consumption, they shuffled around the stage producing the most amazing musical spectacle. Singer Nathan, between songs, was warbling incoherently at the audience in a broad Manchester dialect, while during, threw himself at the front row, attempted some sort of pole-dance with part of the tent rigging, and at the end fell off the back of the stage in a most spectacular arrangement of limbs. He returned a few minutes later, apparently unhurt, to rapturous applause from the crowd – only to thank us by mooning.
But this was no one off – in an interview with the Manchester Evening News, journalist David Sue describes them as having “a natural mindset of 3am inebriation, about to sink their twelfth Guinness… and an appetite for self-destructive alcoholism”.

But today, instead of sounding like an absolute shambles, vomiting and passing out on stage, it was actually a very well put together, cogent sounding set – despite the big mish-mash of influences, it all came together remarkably well.

At the end of their gig I managed to grab a few words with who I thought looked one of the most sober out of the band, but according to this, apparently not. Jack Mahoney (the one with the dirty bluesy vocal) was standing at the side of stage having what looked like a very sensible conversation with two others. However, as I got closer, his words began to be more audibly slurred and his standing position not so stable. This was going to be interesting…

Noize: So tell me a bit about your band, where are you from and how did you get together?

Jack: Unfortunately we’re from Manchester, the desolate musical landscape that that is. It’s full of people who either want to be Tom Waits or… err… Oasis. Thing is, the Tom Waits people really believe that they are!

Noize: And what do you want to be?

Jack: What do I wanna be? (There’s a long pause as he looks up to wonder, his eyes noticeable rolling to the back of his head.) Happy mostly… I don’t care much.

Noize: Are you playing any more festivals or gigs over the summer?

Jack: I don’t know anything (long pause)… I don’t know why I’m here! They lured me into the band with a can of Stella. Apparently that’s the way I was born. The doctor lured me out of my mother’s vagina with some chocolates.

Noize: … So not beer?

Jack: (Ignores what I’ve just said) Apparently I just popped right out!

Noize: Wow (stunned silence).

Jack: … I burnt my thumb with a cigarette (shows me his thumb and looks forlorn). It wasn’t my fault though, it was that knobhead who fell off the back of the stage!

Noize: He spilt his beer over you as well.

Jack: I know… I spilt my beer all over the DI box, but ssshhh…!

At this point I thought it was time to say our goodbyes and leave it at that. He shook my hand and looked at me as though I’d just walked up to him. “We’re usually better and less pissed!” he finally slurred out as his departing comment.

In short, I cannot recommend this band enough - if you ever get the chance to see them live please do. Their myspace is www.myspace.com/frazerking where you can listen to their tracks. There’s not much talk of a demo or EP at the moment because their agent left them for another artist (or so I could decipher from part of the above interview), so they really need a strong fan base to lift them into the exposure they deserve. And if beer be the fuel of greatness, then drink on.*

*NB not applicable in all cases.

By Josie Allchin