On tour with Matthew Davies

Of Funeral For a Friend

Friday 06 February 2009 20:01 EST
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(From right) Darran Smith, Gavin Burrough, Matthew Davies, Ryan Richards and Kris Coombs-Roberts
(From right) Darran Smith, Gavin Burrough, Matthew Davies, Ryan Richards and Kris Coombs-Roberts

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Favourite city: Munich because of its stunning location, amazing old architecture and its proximity to the Alps. It's just a beautiful town with loads of cool things to see and do.

Favourite venue: I really like the Tivoli in Brisbane, Australia. Good vibe and great sound.

Favourite hotel: For me, it's the K West in London.

Favourite restaurant: Café Kopfeck in Munich, best punk rock vegan and veggie restaurant in the world... ever!

Best gig: Hmm, tough one. But I would say that what stands out is when we played Singapore and Thailand for the first time in 2007. Those were major highlights and are currently tied for first place. Throwing up red cabbage on stage in Munster and somebody handing me a Fisherman's Friend to get over the aftertaste was another highlight.

Worst gig: I think that would be a show we played in Vienna in Austria on our recent trip to the mainland. I wasn't feeling very well, I had a nasty case of the flu and my voice was hardly able to make a tuneful sound so the last thing I wanted to do was to run around on stage for an hour sounding like a cement mixer. But we played, and I suffered through it – but it wasn't a great experience. The vegetarian sandwich option on our rider at a show in France was also low point: ham sandwiches.

Most rock'n'roll moment: Getting the entire front row of one of our gigs to make the metal horns with their collective hands. Probably the least rock'n'roll moment was acting like a geek when I met Brian Baker from Bad Religion at a Kerrang! awards ceremony.

Favourite musical discovery: A band called 50 Lions from Australia, very awesome and aggressive hardcore punk.

Where next? Currently touring North America (until 13 February). They will then play Japan and Australia (16 February-2 March). For dates, go to www.ffaf.co.uk

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