AFI

Fri 12th Feb, 2010 in Features

If press shots and internet forums were to be believed, Davey Havok is, essentially, a mythical beast. The man is adored by thousands, and yet few seem to know him intimately. AFI is the band with the most rabid, dedicated fan-base in the world, known as the ‘Despair Faction’, but I go in search of the man behind the eyeliner, and discover a few fascinating things along the way. And yes, he does wear tracksuit pants.

AFI’s history is deeply rooted in the punk movement – the band started when Havok was just 15 (he’s now 34), and they played songs about cereal wars and Mohawks. Havok’s voice now soars as he sings of love and loss, but his pre-2000 sound was more of an agitated bark. Each song of the band’s early albums was two minutes or less, and sounded roughly the same as every other song on the record. Do past albums make Havok cringe?

“I don’t cringe when I hear it, I cringe when I have to play it,” the frontman muses. “I’m certainly not embarrassed of our old stuff, and I’m proud of what we’ve done. Everything from our past went into creating who we are now, and without that past we’d be a completely different band. That said, I definitely cringe if we play them now. I have no interest in playing the majority of those old songs, if only for the fact we played them for five, 10, almost 20 years, amongst many other reasons.

“I’m not embarrassed of them; I just have no interest in playing them. And don’t think we don’t, coz we do, I just don’t want to.” The man laughs heartily, but his apathetic tone about the past shows that he’s well and truly settled in the present.

The band has been on the rise since 2003 major label breakthrough Sing the Sorrow, which Havok describes as a “turning point, both artistically and in terms of how many people we could reach with our music, thanks to being on a major label.”

2009’s Crash Love shares sonic similarities with Sing the Sorrow, but is altogether a vastly different, more confident, beast. “I’ve never been proud of an AFI album,” Havok announces. “And I’ve never enjoyed singing AFI songs as much as I have these. I think that we change so much because we have a burning need to do something that’s exciting for us and the fans, and record after record, that’s really the challenge that we need to meet. We did with Crash Love. I think we succeeded.”

The band’s fan-club the Despair Faction is made up of thousands of diehard AFI devotees, each of which pay a one-time membership fee and receive, among other things, a membership pack with a card. The fans’ appreciation for AFI delves much deeper than a petty card, though. What makes the fans so damn passionate?

“On one hand, I think that we grew up being and still are such great fans of music that we like to do what we can to keep connections with the fans, with the people who appreciate what we do. We would play shows and I would get off stage and go sell a few t-shirts and go hang out with people. That’s just how we grew up. So there’s that aspect to what we do that I think engages people, as well hopefully I believe it’s the music.

“I’m not sure, I like to think that what people are reacting to, whether it’s consciously or subconsciously, is the honesty in the music. Whether it’s the lyrics or the melodies, what we do and what we have always done is what we love, and the honesty really comes through in the music. People connect with that.”

Despite his general frank and down-to-earth nature, there remain a few topics about which Havok remains guarded. I get a straight “no” when asking if he will reveal all about the ‘337/Clandestine’ mystery that surrounded Sing the Sorrow (the band released an intriguing short film and many abstruse clues including phone numbers and code words). Havok also remains clearly affected when I ask if there is there a particularly extreme thing a fan has done.

“Oh, yes,” he groans. “Honestly I’d rather not talk about them though. I’d really not like to encourage any sort of copycats, but yeah, some fans have done some very extreme things, some of which are unsettling and some of which are very positive. The tattoos, for instance, are very flattering. I have band tattoos all over my body, and to have people appreciate what we do and dedicate themselves very permanently to who we are is such an honour, and I’m always flattered when I see band tattoos or portraits of me. It’s become not uncommon for people to get my autograph tattooed on them; I think I’ve done hundreds of those.

“Recently I put one on someone’s neck; he had no other tattoos. Luckily I didn’t screw it up, I was very careful, but it was only after I wrote it on his neck that he said it would be his first tattoo. I have yet to see him since, so I don’t know if he actually went through with it.”

The band is in town this month for Soundwave and shows with Gallows and Faith No More. I’m told fans can expect a “mix of new and old”, and, despite my pleads, “No cannons or puppets or Frankenstein monsters or anything. Just rock music.”

The final and decisive question remains, though. Does Davey Havok, purveyor of tight leather pants, make-up and jewellery, ever wear tracksuit pants?

“Yeah, every day! I go to the gym every day; in fact I was just there before. It’s not a good look. I try to make sure they’re Marc Jacobs, but what can you do, you’re at the gym. The results are worth it.”

AFI headlines Soundwave Festival around the country, as well as a pair of Sidewaves in Sydney and Melbourne.

Saturday 20 Feb – Soundwave Festival Brisbane
Sunday 21 Feb – Soundwave Festival Sydney
Tuesday 23 Feb – Luna Park Big Top, Sydney
Wednesday 24 Feb – Festival Hall, Melbourne
Friday 26 Feb – Soundwave Festival Melbourne
Saturday 27 Feb – Soundwave Festival Adelaide
Monday 1 March – Soundwave Festival Perth