Fucked Up Gets Friendly

Fucked Up were never supposed to last. A band created out of a love for destruction and non-functionality, the assault on the audience’s senses has come to represent one of Canada’s biggest up and coming bands. Fucked Up, whose name almost never appears in printed media, are coming down off a whirlwind year with no intent of stopping.

After their last full-length release, The Chemistry of Common Life took home the 2009 Polaris Music Prize, the band have been busy using the $20,000 prize money to help the less fortunate. Their re-recording of Christmas-charity-classic, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” has been used to raise funds for a number of Aboriginal women’s charities across the country.

We spoke with Sandy Miranda, the quiet, often-overlooked, vintage-dress clad lady behind Fucked Up. She shed light on some aspects of the band that are sometimes forgotten amidst all the crazy, not to mention her unique sense of style. In her own words, “it’s nice that people want to talk to me. Damien is great with interviews, but I think I can present a unique perspective on the band, not to mention my interests as a woman and issues stemming from that.”

Pink Mafia: The charities that were chosen for your single are all very unique, and incredibly important, (the groups are: Justice For Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women, DTES Power Of Women Group and Sisters In Spirit). How did you go about choosing who you were going to donate the money to?

Sandy Miranda:  It’s not the first time we’ve benefited Canadian charities. We had done a live benefit show in 2007 to raise money for SPOC (Sex Professionals of Canada) to protect the rights of sex workers in Canada. The second we did, the proceeds went to the George Herman House, a shelter for mentally-ill women. We try to support causes that don’t really get support from other people, that fall under the radar and often need the most help. We know that they will use the money properly, unlike some of the larger ones who spend a lot of their donations on overhead and administrative costs. A lot of the cost goes to keeping their system in place. We pressed 2,500 records, paid all the recording, producing and pressing costs with the prize money. We just picked them up and every penny is going to go to those charities. We’re hoping to raise $20,000, plus the money from iTunes, which should be another $10,000, not to mention the awareness, which is priceless.

A few months ago you said something in an interview with Hearty Magazine that has really stuck with me. You said, “you don’t want others to see the making of you, you just sort of want to appear.” How has being in Fucked Up influenced your views on the aesthetic rituals we as women often put ourselves through?

I’d say the change has come more from me getting older, rather than who I’m surrounded by. I turned 30 this year and I guess I might take a little more care with my appearance than I did when I was younger, but not much. I wanted to appear natural. My mom and sister never wore make-up, and I never fussed with my hair–I don’t want to focus too much time on my appearance. Sure, some girls enjoy it, but I don’t feel like I should have to do that to feel beautiful. I know it’s cheesy, but I am really into women just taking pride in their natural appearance, and not feeling like they need to try and draw attention to themselves, and to feel like they need to paint their faces up to do that. I’d rather use my inside than my outside to feel beautiful.

Fucked Up is a band that assaults the senses when you’re on stage. There’s so much going on, and yet there is always you standing out in the back. How did you arrive at the vintage dress aesthetic?

Well, they’re just easier to shop for when you’re a bigger girl. I like pieces that are one-of-a-kindish, and I think they are a lot more interesting visually. I hate seeing multiples of items. They’re also a lot cheaper to buy, and I try to be conscious of what I spend and not buy throwaway items. I want them to last. I do look different from the guys, aside that I’m a different sex. One thing that we pride ourselves on is that each member is so different from the next. We each have our own look. I really appreciate that we can all be ourselves and not lose that in the band. Like, I, as the Brooklyn Vegan once said in a review, “look like she just got back from her grandmother’s birthday party” and Damien is all screaming all the time. I think people identify us because we’re all so different from each other. We all have nicknames because it’s an old punk thing–it added to our mystique. Who I am on stage is who I am in person–quiet and shy.

Fucked Up are playing in Toronto tonight (Friday, February 26th) at the Opera House with The D’Urbervilles and Kurt Vile.