https://www.facebook.com/forkliftassasssins
From: Australia
Sounds like: Punk Rock
1. How did you get started with music and how did you develop your sound?
Mike: I started playing drums in the early 90’s. It was nothing more than to help out my neighbour who’d recently started playing bass and needed a beat to practise to. I hit my first drum and I kinda forgot to stop. Now it’s 2026 and I’m still going. I didn’t realise until now just how damn long I’ve been playing. Thanks for making me feel old ya bastards lol
Adam: I got my start with piano lessons when I was 7. My mum had a U2 concert DVD and I thought Adam Clayton was the coolest guy ever and I wanted to be him. It took me a while to realise I wanted to be a guitarist and not a bass player.
DK: I've loved music since I was a little kid. My parents always had music playing and it has always been a part of my life. My sound is still a work in progress. Fiddling with electronics and knobs factors in but it comes down to what sound is looking to come out from within and how my fingers play it. At the moment I use a Tech 21 Sansamp and Big Muff as a pedal foundation.
2. What do you want people to take away from your music?
Mike: We want their blood to boil. We want them to get angry, start a fight, yell and scream and curse. We want them to think for themselves and not take any shit from anyone. We’re a punk band and we’re political but not overtly so and not with every song but every song has a message (yes even Brown Note). We want people to fuck the system and have a good time doing it.
Adam: I want people to enjoy our songs, relate to, laugh at, or pick apart and try to understand our lyrics, and enjoy the tones of the guitars, the bass and the drums.
DK: I want them to feel moved by the music in some way.
3. How would you describe your sound to the average listener?
Mike: If Motorhead had a baby with Dead Kennedy’s and it was raised on a diet of Ramones, Misfits and Turbonegro, you’d have Forklift Assassins. Loud, direct, uncompromising but every song is different and melodic.
Adam: We’re a punk band pretending to be a metal band that’s pretending to be a punk band.
4. Who are three bands you’d like to tour with?
Mike: I’ll only talk about bands that are still going so for me it’d be Cosmic Psychos, Clutch and The Melvins.
Adam: Cosmic Psychos, Helmet, and Descendants.
5. What's your thoughts on AI generated music?
Mike: We spent the entirety of human history writing music without the help of AI, why the fuck do we need it now. It does nothing but cheapen and degrade the art of songwriting. No good can come from this I tells ya.
Adam: I think it was inevitable that AI was going to create things like this. It’ll never replace genuine human touch and emotion. You know the saying “they don’t make them like they used to?”.
DK: meh.
6. What’s your take on the current state of Punk Rock?
Mike: Punk is on the up and up, especially in the last 3-4 years. Bands like Amyl and the Sniffers (Melb legends), The Chats, IDLES, Turnstile and Fontaines DC are all making some serious waves. The list of great bands coming up behind these is phenomenal. I see only good things for the future of punk.
Adam: In the mainstream, there’s a lot of strange gatekeeping going on. Lots of “this isn’t punk” or “this isn’t hardcore”. People should just have more fun and let people enjoy things more. Who cares if it’s not heavy enough for you personally? Having a Mohawk and being a drunk asshole with a dirty jacket doesn’t make you a punk.
7. What’s the current music scene like there in Australia?
Mike: Melbourne is the rock’n’roll capital of Australia, arguably the world. We have a thriving local scene now but only if you’re part of the “in-crowd” unfortunately. We wrote a song about it lol. Having said that bands like The Stripp, Scarn-On, Relays, In The Esky and Alarms are putting out great tunes and putting on great shows. Honestly though, I think the best scene currently is in New South Wales and Queensland. Bands like The Owen Guns, The Pingers, Radio Rejects, I Hate People, The Dark Clouds and The Limited in NSW and in QLD you got Square Tugs, Used Goods, 7Ft Sooks, Kombi Killers and One More Billy. You just can’t go wrong. There’s an honourable mention that I’d like to put out as well. From Tasmania, there’s an amazing band called Woolworths//Flushot. It’s hard to do this from a place like Tasmania as it’s so small but these guys are making it happen.
Adam: There’s a lot of cliques. There’s some absolutely amazing bands around, like Owen Guns, Square Tugs, Hzed, The Limited, Hail Mary Jane, I could go on. But there’s very much a thing of only the cooler bands play the cool shows. And we’re not particularly “cool” to a lot of people.
8. What’s your take on the royalties that streaming services pay out to artists?
Mike: Wait, what? They pay royalties? To who? How do we get our hands on some of that money? We get nothing so their system sucks dogs balls. They’re to busy paying themselves for all the AI slop they put out to pay real artists.
Adam: I’ve come to terms with the fact that we won’t make any money that way. We’re a bunch of mostly working class dudes trying to tell billionaires to take less money? Never happening. I’m thankful to the people that buy our records and merch from our shows and on our website and Bandcamp.
DK: Fucking Bullshit.
9. What’s next for Forklift Assassins?
Mike: We’ve just recently updated the line up so right now it’s all about getting some gigs under our belt. Later in the year, we’re looking to release a single and hopefully another LP at the end of the year but we’re still in the writing stage so we shall see about that. We had a massive year last year so things will slow down a bit with respect to gigs and travel but I’m still hoping we hit NSW and QLD later in the year. I really think that this year is more about a stronger social media presence and more selective gigging.
Adam: We just had DK join the band, and things are going really well. My focus is now back on our 2nd album. We have a lot of completed demos and a lot of written songs.
10. Any shoutouts?
Mike: My partner Rachel. She’s put up with a lot and rarely complains. The girl is a rock. Adam and Dave for being in on this and doing so much good work. Ray Lonsdale and Rick Cheshire for all the great art. Big love to these people that have helped so much in progressing this band forward, Sean St. Leone, Josh Smyth, Waigo Jivenstein, Alex Wardell, Sanjin Geljic, Robby Wood, Paul Hanlon, Martin Booker. To all the bands we’ve played with, it’s always an honour to share the stage with you all.
Adam: I will always shoutout my wonderful fiance, Finley.
