IN CONCERT
What: Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls with Bad Cop/Bad Cop and Northcote
When: Sunday, Sept. 9, 7:30 p.m. (doors at 6:30)
Where: Alix Goolden Performance Hall, 900 Pandora St.
Tickets: $39.50 at livenation.com or by phone at 1-888-732-1682
Frank Turner pulled the plug on a new record in 2016, which resulted in the first three-year break of his career. And it was all because of Donald Trump.
The singer-songwriter from London, England, was in the U.S. at the time the now-U.S. president became the Republican party鈥檚 presidential nominee, and had written a new album that was on the path to being recorded. Then, a revelation for the rock 鈥榥鈥� roller. 鈥淭here was a little electoral battle going on, which you may remember,鈥� Turner, 36, said with a laugh, during a tour stop in Portland, Oregon.
鈥淚t was a really odd time to be in the U.S. 鈥� a depressing and disconcerting time.鈥�
A new record was written, with the actions of a certain you-know-who as its molten core.
Turner is a heart-on-his-sleeve artist who writes first and worries later. His songs have been lightning rods for criticism in the past (Turner, who once wrote Thatcher F**ked the Kids, about Britain鈥檚 former prime minister, told the Guardian he once received 100 death threats and pieces of hate mail in a day), which is why he didn鈥檛 think twice about setting his sights on U.S. politics for his seventh studio album, Be More Kind.
Then he discovered pro-Trump fans were coming to his concerts.
鈥淚 try very hard to be ecumenical and not be monocultural, but it seemed to me that there was a fundamental clash of ethics there. I tried to get my head around it, and in the middle of all this, songs started arriving.
鈥淚鈥檝e studiously avoided [U.S.] politics as a subject for a while, prior to this. But at that moment in time, material started arriving that was more pointed, shall we say, in addressing the current situation. It seemed important to write about it.鈥�
Turner said Trump and the movement that supports him 鈥渋s pretty unintelligible to an English outsider.鈥�
鈥淎nd I like to think of myself as somebody who has a strong read on the American character and culture, having spent a little bit of time here. But it seemed bizarre to me.鈥�
Though it pained him to stop work on his concept album about women from history who have been ignored, he was compelled to switch gears for Be More Kind, to make way for the world tour that brings him to Victoria for the first time Sunday.
The suite of songs that began in 2016 will now arrive in 2019, according to Turner. 鈥淚t was a little bit esoteric and left field to release an album of songs about historical women in the face of Donald Trump and Brexit.鈥�
The songs on Be More Kind flowed freely from pen to page. They aren鈥檛 all outwardly political, Turner said 鈥� There She Is concerns a romantic relationship 鈥� but there鈥檚 no mistaking the intent of a song titled Make America Great Again on Be More Kind.
鈥淭he thing about the idea of being more kind is that everyone is in favour of that, when it means people are being nice to you. The hard part is when you have to be more considerate to your opponent.
鈥淯nless we鈥檙e actually talking about Civil War or the apocalypse, we all have to live in this society once the argument is all over. And I really think people lose sight of that. It鈥檚 a bad thing. It鈥檚 a dangerous thing.鈥�
Be More Kind is America-centric, in terms of its inspiration, but the songs speak to a growing problem that affects his home country as well. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 consider it to be a record just about America. For me, it鈥檚 much easier to write about American culture because I have the benefit of arm鈥檚-length distancing from the subject matter. Many of the same things are happening in the U.K. 鈥� there鈥檚 a lot of tension and division, and people being really, really unpleasant to each other.鈥�
Turner got engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Jessica Guise, last month, while the couple was on vacation. He sounded calm and collected 鈥� and charming 鈥� on the phone Wednesday. His good mood wasn鈥檛 altogether surprising. The tour for Be More Kind is expected to have reached 200,000 fans by the time it wraps.
Now that he has exorcised his U.S. political demons, could a more gentle Frank Turner arise in the future? Predictions aren鈥檛 something Turner fancies, it would appear.
鈥淚 do feel that there鈥檚 a tendency for people to go: 鈥榃here鈥檚 the new Bob Dylan?鈥� As if the only place that political commentary could come from is a white guy with an acoustic guitar,鈥� he said.
鈥淭here are other genres of music and corners of culture that we can look to for comments on politics. An intellectual immovable point for me is that I don鈥檛 think anyone gets to tell artists what to do with their art.
鈥淭he whole definition of being an artist is doing whatever the f**k you want. 鈥楽hould artists be more political?鈥�
Artists should do whatever the f**k they choose to do. That鈥檚 the definition I鈥檓 working with.鈥�
