Ducking Punches Interview [February 2018]

We caught up with Dan Allen from Ducking Punches to char about their new album, their upcoming appearance at Manchester Punk Festival and why they’ve decided not to have a tour support on their upcoming headline run…

Hey Dan! How is everything in the world of Ducking Punches right now?

Hey Craig, everything is great thanks. We’re all super excited for this year.

You’ve just released a new album, the third with a full band. The response has been excellent – how happy with it are you?

Unbelievably happy. I’ve never been as proud of something I’ve created as I am with Alamort. We put a hell of a lot of ourselves into this one.

You also played a couple of release shows. How were they?

They were amazing, both of them were my favourite shows we’ve played in either city. It may be because we had 8 foot skeletons and confetti, or maybe it was the crowd? It was the crowd.

Manchester Punk Festival is coming up. What are you expecting from that?

MPF is the best organised festival we’ve ever played and the lineup is absolutely killer this year, as always. It’s going to be the most fun. I’m gonna see if I can last more than 15 minutes after arrival before someone throws up on my back this year.

MPF falls as part of your extensive UK tour. You’ve made a point of having no tour support, instead having a full line-up of local bands each night. Could you expand on why you decided to do that?

Absolutely, this is something I’ve noticed over recent years and it’s not a dig at promoters because it’s beyond their control. It’s that few local bands ever seem to get the chance to grace a stage supporting touring bands anymore, this was never the case. Your local venue is where you hone your craft, it’s where you get really fucking good. Plus, I love seeing new bands and we have such a wealth of talent on this little island that I think it needs to be showcased. I’m not saying playing with us is a cool or fun thing, it’s just the most we could do to help the situation.

Touring like that means you get to play alongside a lot of great bands that are very much ‘under the radar’. Is there anyone that’s caught your eye recently that we should be checking out?

Tons, here are a few: ME REX, Elm Tree Circle, We Bless This Mess, Harker, Northern Captives, Grieving.

We like to keep a keen focus on what’s happening where we’re based in York. You played here towards the end of last year, and before that it was around 5 years ago. Do you have any stand out memories of playing here?

Every time I’ve played York it’s been a ton of fun and it’s a beautiful city. What I’ve always noticed is how attentive and respectful the crowd seems to be, it makes my job 100 times easier.

Hollywood calls, they’re making ‘Ducking Punches: The Movie’ and you’re in charge of casting. Who stars as the band?

Nicholas Cage as every single member.

Finally, is there anything else you’d like to add?

We’ve got a special EP that we’re going to start working on soon and it’s really exciting but it’s going to be a lot of work so that’s on the back burner for now. Yes, I KNOW we’ve only just released an album!