Let's Talk Punk with Forklift Assassins
Interview By Lisa-PunkrPrincess
Punk Globe: Hi and thanks for chatting with us. Can you give us a little band history including current members?
Forklift Assassins: Sure Lisa. Thank you for chatting with us. Forklift started as a two-piece studio project about 8 years ago and kind of blew out from there. We’ve had multiple line up changes over that time but myself, Sanjin (guitar) and Alex (bass) have been together since 2019 or so. Adam (guitar) joined us in January this year when we decided to go from a three piece to four piece.
Punk Globe: How many albums have you released?
Forklift Assassins: We’ve got 2 EP’s out as well as a bunch of singles. We’re currently sitting on a new 6 song EP but it looks like we might add some more songs to this and create our first LP. We have at least 4 new songs in various stages of completion.
Punk Globe: How often do you play shows?
Forklift Assassins:
Mike-Probably about once a fortnight on average. We all love playing live and can’t seem to get enough of it.
Adam– : as often as we can. At least 2 a month.
Punk Globe: Do you all tour?
Forklift Assassins:
Mike-We have in the past but as of this year, we’ll be touring as a three piece as Sanjin has other commitments and unfortunately can no longer do it.
Adam– we tour as a 3 piece. Sanjin doesn’t tour.
Punk Globe: Who are some of your favorite bands to play shows with?
Forklift Assassins: Mike-Wow, this might be a long list lol. I’ll try to shorten it a bit. Some favorites include Rawtism, Trash and the Treasures, In The Esky, The Half Pints, Scarn-On, All Hope Remains, Judo Chop. The list goes on. From New South Wales we’ve got I Hate People, The Owen Guns, Rawrus Tongue, Litter, The Strike Outs. We’ve also like KTO- Kathleen Turner Overdrive and Square Tugs from Queensland and we’ve even been down to Tasmania and played with Woolworths//Flushot, A Fistful of Fiscal and True Champions of Breakfast. Phew!
Adam– The Owen Guns are the best band in the country. The Thorazines are amazing too. And Select All are awesome.
Punk Globe: Strangest venue or gig you’ve ever played?
Forklift Assassins:
Mike-One of the shows in Tasmania (from here on called Tassie) was a birthday party in an old disused train station that had been converted to a train storage facility and museum. It was so weird playing surrounded by these cool old trains. Strange times indeed.
Adam- I once did a Halloween gig with some very inebriated people and a pizza eating comp. Someone threw up all over the pizzas.
Punk Globe: Describe your local music scene.
Forklift Assassins:
Mike– Punk rock and metal in Melbourne is on the up and up. People seem to be wanting to hear more organic music and are coming out to shows more and more. It’s still a pretty small scene and there are some old school gatekeepers that need to piss off but overall, it’s strong and growing stronger.
Adam– Loud
Punk Globe: Describe a memorable stage moment.
Forklift Assassins:
Mike– The last gig we played was a wonderfully messy gig. People were loose and having fun. At one point I looked up and there was this girl in the front row. She lifted her top up and flashed us. What a night…
Adam– I broke 2 strings and a guitar lead in a 45 min show.
Punk Globe: Describe your music making process.
Forklift Assassins:
Mike– We don’t have a system to be honest. Some songs came about organically while we were just jamming. Wheel Man, our latest single is a perfect example of this. Other songs have been fully written by someone and everyone just learns the parts. Our previous single Wake Up (Rapid Eye Movement) is a perfect example of that. Sometimes, someone comes in with a riff or an idea and we all work that up together into a full song. Some songs come together in minutes, others have taken months, even years to get right.
Michael is the main lyricist but Sanjin also writes a fair chunk of the lyrics as well.
Adam– someone comes in with an idea or a riff or a lyric and we jam it over and over until it starts to form a mind of its own.
Punk Globe: What’s the biggest challenge you face as a band?
Forklift Assassins:
Mike– There’s so many challenges. Firstly, it’s time. Working full time and having a family leaves very little time to be able to do this stuff.
Next up, money is always an issue. We don’t have thousands to spend on recording, on promotion, travel and on pressing vinyl, CD’s and doing merch so we just do what we can.
Adam– Not being actual assassins with forklifts.
Punk Globe: Describe your show, visual and musically
Forklift Assassins:
Mike Four guys get up on stage, turn it up LOUD and pummel you with songs that are fast, aggressive and have something to say. We sweat for you and we just hope you all sweat back.
Adam– I’m a big fat dude jumping all over the stage, Alex is headbanging, Michaels giving it so much he’s red and sweating and on the verge of a heart attack, and Sanjin’s the one keeping it cool.
Punk Globe: Tell us about your next shows and why we should be there
Forklift Assassins: Mike- For this interview, our next show will be the 10th May. This is the first time Forklift Assassins will be playing the iconic Cherry Bar. This is a big deal as this venue isn’t easy to get into so we’re very excited to be able to rock out there.
Adam- We’re a band that gives out absolutely everything, every single time, no matter the audience or attendance or venue or anything.
Punk Globe: How do you describe your music to people?
Forklift Assassins:
Mike– Punk’n’roll, if you like Motorhead, you’ll like us.
Adam– Girlypop Punk Rock
Punk Globe: Where can we find your music?
Forklift Assassins:
Mike- All streaming services carry us. Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Tidal and everything else. We have a youtube channel for a lot of live videos as well as a Bandcamp page and a Reverbnation page.
Adam- Spotify, Bandcamp, Facebook, YouTube.
Punk Globe: Any Shout outs?
Forklift Assassins:
Mike– Rachel, Molly and Angus for being the best family a guy could hope for. The boys in the band for putting up with me. Goatsound for the great recordings. Indie Masters for the brilliant mastering. Sean from Owen Guns for his support. Craig from I Hate People for his help in the early days when we really needed it. Pat Trash because he’s ace and Kirk from Rawtism for all the gigs. Big shout out to all the bands and venues that have supported us, given us gigs and jumped on our line-ups
Adam– To my fiancé, Finley.
Punk Globe: Thanks for chatting with us and thanks to all the readers.
Forklift Assassins:
Mike- Thank you Lisa, it has been a real pleasure.
Adam- thank you for having us.
