Photo: Splash
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Don't for a second presume that Fucked Up think of this as a day job, though. You can see from the way that Abraham invades the crowd and clambers into the sprawl of loving arms of their fans, as well as the infectious grin that spreads across his face when he recalls meeting fans with Fucked Up tattoos ("They're the reason I'll never sell out") that Damian is intent on rinsing this experience for every drop of pleasure. This passion comes despite being on medical marijuana to tackle his anxiety issues, due to being away from home.
"I’m sitting here, looking at Sean Lennon and Thurston Moore, Wayne Coyne, and I’m just like ‘What a fucking dream’," he chuckles. "I’ve met Thurston a couple of times, but I’m still just like a weird music nerd, watching all of this shit happen around me, then I have these kids that I miss all of the time and have these freakouts on tour too. I never thought that living out my wildest fantasy, and this level of being a band is my wildest fantasy, that it was going to be this conflicted. ‘Once you get what you want, it’s easy!’ – but actually no, it’s fucking impossible!"
He continues: "I’m a miserable wreck a lot of times on tour, but when you play those shows it all seems to click. You’re meeting people who are responding to what you’ve created. If those two things ever stop being validating and self-fulfilling then that’s when you call it an end. So yeah, longevity does concern me a little bit!"
So with a dream job in one hand and your beautiful family in the other, what does Damian find to get angry about?
"That’s the thing, right?" he beams, wide-eyed. "Obviously there’s a lot of shit in the world that I’m still angry about, but this puts a lot of that emotional strife into perspective. Where would I be without it? I wouldn’t be writing these songs. If it wasn’t for every fucking asshole that I dealt with, every perceived slight against me, or these mental health issues. I had to medicate myself a lot with pills and now weed is better, but without them I don’t think I would have been able to write stuff that people are able to relate to. I guess I’m kinda grateful for that in a weird way too? I haven’t hit a point where I have nothing left to write about."
It's that openness and honesty from Abraham that inspires such a solid connection with Fucked Up fans. There's a palpable understanding and sense of togetherness - not that everyone has the right idea, all the time.
"I’ve heard tonnes of misconceptions about me," he chuckles. "One of the prevailing ones is that I work for Fox News, and I’m some sort of right-wing pundit! I was just one a show on Fox News for two episodes! I really tried to say as much funny shit as possible! I was not towing a line, I was not under contract. Beyond that, I don’t know. I’m always intrigued by how people perceive the band anyway.
"Misconceptions aside, I always do wonder. I still struggle looking at the band from the inside out. I’m like ‘What are we?’ I’ve been in bands that have played to genre. I’ve been in straight-edge bands, I’ve been in stoner bands, it’s easier then – because you’re like ‘I’m this’."
"With Fucked Up, we’ve always called ourselves a punk band or a hardcore band because there were people in punk or hardcore who would say ‘No! You are not a punk or hardcore band’ or ‘Oh, you are definitely just a punk or hardcore band’. It’s fine either way, but to me it’s always just been trying to be this band. From my perspective, I don’t think we ever go in with an agenda writing a song. However it comes out, for better or for worse, is just how it comes out. Maybe we should add dubstep? Is that over? Post-trap-stap? God, what a nightmare!"
No, their agenda remains 100% Fucked Up - not even a stadium tour with Foo Fighters shifted their ambitions in any way - although he does describe that Australian tour as his 'wildest dream', purely because Dave Grohl seemed so much fun in the movie '1991: The Year That Punk Broke'. Despite his admiration, did any part of Fucked Up look at Foo Fighters and think ‘We could do that, if only we had more hooks’?
"Oh god no! I wouldn’t want to do that," yells Damian, almost bursting. "Don’t get me wrong, I would love the security that it brings – being Dave Grohl, and having been in Dain Bramage and all of those awesome old bands, but I don’t like music like Foos. I like Foo Fighters a lot and they have songs that I like and they are one of the best stadium bands I’ve ever seen. I don’t really go for stadium shows, like ever. That’s not to say we are ever going to be Foo Fighters by any stretch, but I never wanted to be that.
"The band I always wanted to be was The Melvins. They were the key band that people always loved and respected. Money and all of that stuff is ultimately temporary, the idea of being part of tapestry of records, that’s the goal – that’s the fantasy."
Fucked Up may well have already achieved that fantasy. There's never been more life and vim in their music - especially in 2014's acclaimed and affirming Glass Boys. "That became Glass Boys came through not 'regret', but ‘At what cost was this achieved?’" says Damian. "What did we do to ourselves, the people around us, and our community to be able to have this? It’s that cliché from that Saving Private Ryan movie...‘WAS IT WORTH IT? WAS IT WORTH IT? HAVE I EARNED THIS?’ Are we being the band that you wanted to be, or would have wanted to be? I still ask myself that a lot. I think I feel that more now than a couple of years ago. I think I’d be happier with it now."
Earned it they have - not least through their unforgettable live shows - a feral celebration of the union between band and fan. Unadulterated menacing brilliance and a reminder of what it is to be alive. With such palpable joy on display, some might be surprised to learn that Damian has recently had sincere doubts about whether he can even continue to tour.
"Yeah," he happily sighs, "because you live an hour and a half a day, and it’s amazing the stress it puts on everyone else. My wife Lauren, the strain it puts on her. It’s not like she’s telling me ‘You can’t do this’. She wants me to do this forever, but I just know the strain it puts on her. My mom was a flight attendant and my dad travelled a lot for work and [although] they were definitely ‘around’ and engaged parents, it really fucked with me as a kid. I don’t think it fucks with my kids as much as it fucked with me, but just knowing that it could be fucking with them fucks with me and I have freak-outs and breakdowns every second day. ‘Why am I doing this?’"
He shrugs: "It’s not to be ungrateful, but there’s a fear that it’s eventually going to seep in to what we do. There have shows where I’ve had breakdowns on stage and they’ve been disastrous and not fun for anyone. There’s that kinda fear too. I would love to be able to quit, but there’s so many addictions involved and so many dependencies involved. It’s still fun. Last night I was dreading going away and I just had an amazing time. I just talked to people afterwards and it’s just like ‘Oh shit’. You feel so guilty afterwards for having ever taken it for granted."
We step outside into the Liverpool sun, avoiding eye-contact with Wayne Coyne for a quick photo and a hug, and then they take to the stage - all anxieties washed aside by the waves of love reserved for Fucked Up, with every moment volatile in the most positive kind of way, not a second taken for granted. The plan is to retreat again after this tour and hibernate as Damian is expecting another child. But rest assured, the ethos and attitude of Fucked Up as you know it will remain intact, frozen in amber. They're never going to sell out, and they're never going to hurt you.
