Talking to: Joe and The Shitboys

The bisexual vegan shitpunks, Joe & The Shitboys, formed with the intention of ‘calling out shitty behaviour in the conservative Faroe Islands’, where, they say, the rock scene is filled with ‘boneless homophobes and meat-eating misogynists’ are a force to be reckoned with.

Since the release of their first album The Reson for Hardcore Vibes in 2020 proved their very original flavour of in-your-face, barrage-of-noise punk is completely on point, and due to the reputation of the raw joy and energy of their live sets spreading like wildfire, they’ve gained the attention of Iggy Pop, BBC Radio 6 Music, NME, DIY, The Line of Best Fit, Brooklyn Vegan and more.

But not only that, their music and tongue in cheek calling out of the issues and people that make modern life shitty is completely infectious. After seeing them perform one of the best live sets we’ve seen in a long time, and then spending some time chatting with them back in September at Dot to Dot festival in Bristol, we basically fell hard for the lot of them. Their second album Reson for Hardcore Vibes (again), which like their first, is full of punchy, straight to the point tracks that fit neatly onto one 7” record, has just been released - and sees Joe and The Shitboys continuing to take aim at general vibe killers everywhere.

We caught up with frontman Joe recently, and talked about what exactly it’s like being a vegan, bisexual, punk band in The Faroes, why it’s small yet perfectly formed music scene is a thing of all-embracing diversity, and what it’s like now they are gathering honorary shitheads from all over the world.

How are the shitboys doing right now? What are you up to?

We’re doing great! We’re really happy with finally being able to leave the Faroes and do proper shows (not live sessions) for new people. It’s not that we don’t love the local shitheads who’ve been supporting us by coming to our shows for the past three years, but it’s nice to experience something different.

You’re from the Faroe Islands, tell us about what it was like growing up there and what it’s like now.

There really wasn’t a lot to do here. I grew up in a village with a population less than 400 people, there wasn’t a store there, but there were two tiny churches. If you wanted to belong somewhere you could either hang out with the church people, play sports, or do something destructive. I’m not into churches or sports, and being destructive gets boring, so I eventually left that village and moved out of the country and did some soul searching and then went back. Now I live in the big city of Tórshavn (about 20,000 people) and there’s a lot more stuff going on, and I really appreciate how small everything is, because it means that everybody is making a difference all the time - they’re all your friends or family.

What’s the music scene like there? Do you fit in?

Everybody fits in. It’s a very appreciative community, again, because of how small everything is. We all love what the others in the scene are doing, because nobody else is doing it. If you want an electronic soul singer, you have to see Jasmin; if you want a death metal band, you have to see Goresquad; if you want punk, you have to see Joe & The Shitboys. In any given show you can expect to see a bit of everything, because everybody does shows together. I think that’s beautiful. If you booked a show with four punk bands here, people would think that you’re a very bland booker.

Have you always been into music and performing?

I’ve always been into music. Some of my earliest memories are from 1999 when my older cousins let me listen to “the clown CD” (which was Slipknot’s self-titled album, but I couldn’t speak English). I still remember the warmth in my tummy I got from listening to it, and it’s an emotion that I’ve only experienced in music, and I just love it. As for performing, that didn’t start until I was 18. I had done some school plays and had absolutely hated it, because they made me really nervous. I haven’t been nervous about performing music for years, even when I was really bad at it and was standing completely still while reading lyrics off a note stand.

You say you formed as a band “with the intention of calling out shitty behaviour in the conservative Faroe Islands, where the rock scene is filled with boneless homophobes and meat-eating misogynists” - how has your message gone down? Both at home and internationally?

The message has gone down surprisingly well. There are definitely some people who have gotten offended, but the Faroese people are generally very afraid of conflict, so it’s mostly behind my back, but I honestly don’t care about those people because the positives far outweigh the negatives. There have been multiple people who’ve come up to me and said that we helped them get out of the closet, or we made them feel like they too can belong in the Faroes, or they have stopped eating meat, or at the very least minimised their intake of animal products. I never expected our very obvious messages to make an impact outside of the Faroes, because we figured you guys would be better than us. Turns out, the rest of the world sucks too.

Joe and The Shitboys performing at The Thekla, Bristol in September 2021 at Dot to Dot Festtival. © Vonalina Cake Photography

You’ve toured abroad loads recently - where do you most feel at home? What countries do you feel you have a natural affinity with?

Touring is weird. We start the day by driving, then we load-in, do a soundcheck, get something to eat, hang out with the crew and opening bands, check out the opening bands, do a show, hang out for an hour afterwards, then we either head to a bar with the people from the show or head back to our hotel room. The bar is cool if the people who happen to be there at that time are cool, which they’ve been 100% of the time, but I feel like I have to do all the stops a few more times before I can say where’s the best. I know this answer is far less edgy than you hoped for sorry, haha - they’re all great!

Who are your heroes and other influences - politically, culturally and in the musical sphere of punk and rock?

I’m not sure how to answer the heroes part - I don’t think I have any. In regards to influences, sometimes when I’m not sure if I’m pushing too many buttons or not, I think about the Stonewall riots and how much of a difference they made, and realise I’ll never get close to that level of button pushing, so I’m probably good. Culturally, I’m very inspired by the art of pro wrestling, and the level of emotions they can bring out in people and their audience connection without saying a single word, and also when they are using their words. Watching Stone Cold go out, flip a bird, do a Stone Cold Stunner, pour some beer on his head, and go out, while 20,000 people’s jaws drop, is absolutely beautiful. Musically, I’m inspired by David Yow of The Jesus Lizard, Alexis S.F. Marshall of Daughters, and Keith Morris era Black Flag, amongst others.

Tell us about your latest album - what subjects are you tackling?

The Reson For Hardcore Vibes (again) is like the first album, just a second time.

Can we all be Shitboys? What qualities does a Shitboy need?

No, you fucking can’t. We make very little money, and splitting that money into four parts is heart wrenching enough as it is, and I’m not about to split it into even smaller parts. But you can be an honorary Shitboy; a shithead, if you will. You just have to buy a lot of our merch and get bumped to the honorary Shitboy tier. But this is of course only possible if you are a for real, true fan.

What is next for the band?

I don’t know when I’m allowed to spill the beans on the things we’re doing, or when this is getting out. Let’s just say we have some EU and non EU shows booked, and 2022 is gonna be real shitty.

Since our chat Joe and The Shitboys have announced they will be back touring in the UK in February 2022 as part of Independent Venue Week. Find out more and get tickets here.

The Reson for Hardcore Vibes (again) came out on Tuesday 16th November. Buy it on 7” pink vinyl or stream the album (and back catalogue) here.

Find Joe and The Shitboys on Instagram and Twitter.

Check out their latest single on our new releases playlist.