Fair play

Dublin trio Fairuza may have only been in existence for the guts of two years, but judging by the wealth of gig horror stories they possess, you’d think they’d been around for quite a while longer…

“I once did a gig in The Funnel,” recalls singer/guitarist Kryz Reid. “It was an AC/DC night, with a bunch of bands doing their own versions of AC/DC songs and I was asked to play guitar in the covers band proper at the end of the night. I told the band that I’d dress up in school gear, but I turned up in a full drag schoolgirl outfit. At one point, I remember lifting my shades up and looking down and there was a guy lying down on the ground trying to look up my skirt.”

And that’s not the half of it. Having worked the proverbial toilet tour of Ireland over four months last summer, the band were forced to adopt a thick skin in order to fend off local hostility, including a verbally abusive woman and her “tank of a boyfriend” who threatened to beat them up.

“We played every shithole in the country,” he spits. “Some of the places were insane. Just a bar – a tiny little hole. The regulars were looking at us going, ‘What are you doing here?’”

Although not the most enjoyable way to hone your live act, the Get On With It attitude such a work ethic displays has stood by the band right up to the recording of their debut mini album, Beautiful.

“Initially, it was supposed to be a single,” says Kryz, “but it manifested itself into a mini album. We recorded some of it in March, and then worked on it solidly until about two weeks ago in my own studio at home. We really pushed everything to the limit with this record. I think it was John Lennon who said that you should be able to write a song on Monday, record it on Tuesday, master it on Wednesday and release it by Friday. Well, we mastered it on the Wednesday, duplicated it on the Thursday and released it on the Friday, so it was a very quick turnaround for us.”

Musically, Fairuza strike a chord between chugging rock riffs, seething breathy vocals, considered lyrics and melodic choruses – territory oft frequented by alt-rockers Placebo, albeit with a less bass-heavy edge.

“As a guitar player, Tom Morello is a god to me,” swoons Kryz, making hosanna motions. “But there’s Prince as well – I got into him when I was about eight and I listened to him all the time. After Prince, I really got into Jimi Hendrix and a lot of guitarists’ stuff; John Frusciante would be another big one. Vocally, people often compare me to Jeff Buckley, but anyone who hits a high note is invariably compared to him – I’d consider Prince to be a greater vocal influence.”

Kryz’s Prince obsession translates to both the band’s live performances (“We do try to put on a show and not just stare at our toes”) as well as their image.

“Our image is just an extension of who we are. Well, certainly for myself anyway. This was not my idea by the way!” he exclaims, pointing to a press photo in which he pulls a particularly tortured artiste pose. “Our look is not contrived, but we do want to portray a certain image. I’ve always been into androgynous characters like Prince, David Bowie and Brian Molko. It wasn’t a difficult step for me to be forthright with my image because I’ve been putting on nail varnish since I was 14 and wearing my mum’s high heels – it’s something I’m happy to play with.”