I had just taken what seemed like my sixth Gravol in as many hours when my phone rang. “Blake?” the voice asked. “It’s Frank Turner. How are yah?” Typically, that’s not a difficult question to answer. But when you’re battling the flu two hours before a scheduled coffee date with one of the decade’s most iconic musicians, it’s a different story. Still, I managed a lie. “I’m good,” I said. “How are you?” Turns out, Frank Turner and I were in the same predicament.
“I’m ill, man,” he said. “I’m ill.” He explained that he, too, was fending off a flu bug, hoping to get well before his first big Canadian tour. I told him that I was actually under the weather as well, and, before I knew it, I was comparing puke stories with him. Needless to say, we called off the rendezvous and settled for a phone chat.
The call quickly went from uncomfortable to natural—a transition that Turner is no stranger to. See, after playing the role of frontman for Million Dead, a used-to-be UK punk band, for almost five years, Frank Turner did what he was put on this Earth to do—he began making music on an acoustic guitar.
“There are a whole bunch of different reasons that inspired me to go acoustic,” he explained. “But when it comes down to it, I was through being in a band. All of the personal politics, the tension, and the stress—it drove me away.”
Million Dead broke up due to what he considers “irreconcilable differences” between band members. Quite frankly, though, it’s the best thing that ever happened to him.
“It’s a bit surreal now, what’s happened since then,” he said. “Retrospectively, I don’t think we got along all that well anyway. In some ways, it’s kind of a vindicating feeling.”
While Turner may strum an acoustic guitar and coo the lady-wooing notes of modern-day folk music, he insists that he’s not all that removed from his roots, and that the spirit of punk rock is alive and well in his solo stuff.
“Punk is the bedrock of everything I do,” he said. “I want to be as diverse as possible. But, at the end of the day, if people are going to associate me with punk rock, then I’ve got no problem with that.”
For what it’s worth, Turner also cites Neil Young, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen as major influences when it comes to writing, saying they’ve all had “the biggest impact” on his life as a musician.
Like the big three, Turner is pounding the pavement in city after city, just multiplying his fanbase. At the time of the interview, he’d been touring extensively with bands like Flogging Molly, Gaslight Anthem, The Offspring, and Green Day, but mostly in a supporting role. In just three short years, though, Turner has come a long way. He played three songs in the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics, he performed on the Late Show with David Letterman in 2013, and he’s played music in over 35 different countries.
“It’s pretty fucking cool,” he said. “The best part of my job, it’s seeing new places and meeting new people everyday.”
He’s genuine when he says that. Even though we’re both fevered and exhausted at this point, it’s easy to see that the guy loves what he does. And he hopes that everybody reading this will follow his lead and drop what they’re doing for something they love, too.
“Love what you do and work really hard at it,” he said. “It will be extremely rewarding—no matter the level of success you achieve.”
And, with that, it was time for another Gravol.
