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 JUSTIN BURFORD, lead singer and songwriter for END OF FASHION, talks with HEIDI LEIGH AXTON about the rock life and new album Book Of Lies.
If you’re checking into a Backpacker’s Hostel and management brags End Of Fashion stayed there, don’t assume this means service was good. Even rock stars make mistakes. "I remember in the early days … actually it wasn’t that long ago. We were doing pretty well and the album was out, but we never had a lot of money," explains Burford, recalling the highs and lows of life on the road with the group. "We stayed at this backpacker’s place. I won’t say where it was, because I don’t want to badmouth them, but we basically woke in the morning, with what we thought was measles. We’d been attacked by bed bugs! Checked out of there quick smart and I remember getting up on stage that night and all of us were spotty. It was pretty funny."
End Of Fashion was conceived years ago by Burford, whilst still in his teens. He particularly liked the name, which to him represented a non-adherence to convention. "There’s quite a lot of them now, like Bullet For My Valentine and stuff like that, where your band name is a bit weird or left of centre. I thought, ‘this is quite compelling.’ We’ve never tried to be particularly super cool or play to any particular trend. We just do what we do."
Their self-titled debut was a huge success, with the single Oh Yeah, picking up two ARIA awards, and the album itself going gold. Did they dread writing the follow-up? "None of us expected it to go as well as it did. We were just a band in Perth writing songs that we hoped people would like. They reacted really well. Ultimately that meant we spent a good two years on the road, touring and touring. Then we got to the end of it and thought, ‘Oh shit! What do we do now? We’ve got to write another record.’ We never felt any pressure, until we stopped."
Their latest album, Book Of Lies, reportedly written by Burford during a time of emotional upheaval, is darker than the first. He sees this as a sign of evolvement in the band’s maturity. "I think the first record had more a sense of naivety. Spending a couple of years on the road teaches you to grow up. You get to see the world and to learn about yourself. There’s as much to say about the bad in life, like being screwed over by the bank or not being able to trust anyone. Yet we didn’t want to make a record that was morbid. We had to find a balance that dealt with these issues and still had fun."
Besides the music, have their been any other changes? "We have a new member in the band. His name’s Simon. He’s taken over from Tom King on the base. Really great guy. Been one of my closest friends for at least the last couple of years. We’re really excited to get him out there and get him part of the spirit."
END OF FASHION play Globe on Friday Mar 13; Runaway Bay Tavern, Gold Coast, Saturday Mar 14; and the Woombye Pub, Noosa, Sunday Mar 15. BOOK OF LIES is out now through EMI. Check out www.myspace.com/endoffashion for more information.
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