SLAM DUNK NORTH 2013 - The Interviews // CHUNK! NO, CAPTAIN CHUNK!

French pop-punkers Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! are back in the UK for the first time in two years and it’s there first time playing Slam Dunk Festival. If you’re curious, yes there name does come from 80s cult movie “The Goonies”. We’d heard great things about their live show and couldn’t wait to witness their power party sound.

We caught up with the band ahead of the show to chat about the lack of rock scene in their native France, live shows and “Pardon My French”

Hi, or should I say Bonjour! How’s it going guys? This is your first time at Slam Dunk- what do you think of it so far?

BERT [Poncet, vocals]- Yes, our first time. We met all the bands and it’s great so far; sold out, great weather, it’s definitely going to be a good day.

You’re playing the Tiger Stage later, are you looking forward to it? And what can we expect?

PAUL [Wilson, guitar]- We don’t know, we really don’t know. We haven’t played the UK for two years, but I heard a lot of people asking for us over here so I think there will be a good crowd. It’s a small room so it should be packed and we like that.

BERT- It’s going to be a lot of fun, for sure.

There isn’t much of a rock scene in France, no? Is it nice coming over to countries like this and playing to fans and audiences that are so willing and open to this kind of music?

BERT- Exactly. This is basically the reason why we’re here, because this type of music isn’t as popular in France. We’re a French band signed on an American label; it’s not very common, but this is why we don’t play in our own country. I mean it’s fun when we play over there, but it’s rare. Maybe one day rock will happen in France but not at the moment; there’s not the same scene as over here and in America. So we like coming over here and America and touring.

Your second album “Pardon My French” came out last month. The title points towards the fact that you’re French and it’s a also a famous saying...

BERT- So yeah, “pardon my French” is a thing you would say; we don’t really use it in France though. It’s funny, there’s no translation in French. I like the meaning behind it though, the situation in which you would use the phrase. People will say “pardon my French” when you’re going to say something very rude and this is like us as a band. There is the French reference which is almost classy but also the fact that it means you’re about to say something rude and I like the contrast of them together. It’s like us as a band; classy and rude [laughing].

There was a bit of a break between albums- do you feel like you needed that time to make the album diverse and develop your sound?

PAUL- Yeah, definitely. We toured a lot all around the world and met a lot of bands and learnt a lot from that experience. That’s pretty much what helped make the album what it is. Everything that we learnt on the road allowed us to grow up.

BERT- Yeah, this one is more mature than the first one.

Bertrand and Eric, you’re brothers- any sibling rivalry or arguments?

BERT- No, none at all. It’s nice actually him being here. We don’t really argue so it’s nice that I have family out on the road with me.

You must get questioned about your name and the Goonies reference all the time. Was it your favourite movie as a child?

BERT- The Goonies makes sense to every member in the band and it’s the thing that links us all. It’s a childhood reference too and we are all grown up children [laughing]. It does sounds weird and the punctuation too is a bit confusing, but it’s unique. We wanted something that looks original.

If you were going to be any character in the Goonies who would it be?

PAUL- Chunk! It has to be.

BERT- I like Sloth, he’s such a good character.

And what’s next for you guys?

BERT- We’re going to do a few shows during the summer and our next big tour is going to be in the States in the fall. Hopefully we’re going to be back over here too. I hope that with this new record it will be a brand new step for us in terms of touring over here more.

https://www.facebook.com/cnccband

For a full review of Slam Dunk North [including Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!'s live set] CLICK HERE