Artist Interview: Punk Rock Factory

By Resonate | May 2, 2023

Words by Cameron Bishop

Photos by Rebecca Johnson

It feels like, more than ever, we’re in a time of disconnection and polarisation. Enter Punk Rock Factory, a one-stop answer to our concerns whose blend of Disney and punk is exactly the accessible tonic we may have been looking for. Their massive presence on social media tells us those from different fandoms can connect in a way we haven’t seen before. Blending new and old, the band take up a fresh musical perspective by connecting parents and children together alike.

Members Peej, Benj, Ryan and Kob formed Punk Rock Factory in 2014 in South Wales. It was then that they started to release a few covers of songs that were popular at the time, such as FourFiveSeconds and Blank Space. “It was just a bit of fun, really,” said drummer Kob. I caught up with him at the Cardiff University Students Union for their hometown gig promoting their new album It’s Just a Stage We’re Going Through. “We never really thought of it as this serious thing. So sometimes we’d get a video out… and sometimes we’d have a month off… it was just a bit of a hobby.”

They went on a hiatus for a couple of years after releasing a few covers on YouTube back in 2015, when asked about this, he simply said: “..life got in the way,” but just before lockdown in 2019, they got back in the studio and started releasing short snippets of new material on TikTok and quickly gathered a global and loyal fanbase. They followed this up with their debut album The Wurst Is Yet to Come at the end of 2019. The debut was primarily these punk-infused  Disney covers, the turning point for the band, according to Kob was the release of their second record called How Far I’ll Go at the end of 2020. “That’s what it was in the early days, just little snippets of Disney songs.”  

At this point, we talked about the various collaborators on their tracks. Originally, Steve Rawles of the band Belvedere had wanted to sing on a cover of Hero by Enrique Iglesias. However, when they started putting the song together, they realised “this doesn’t work as well.” After the success of a short snippet of their cover of How Far I’ll Go on TikTok, they asked if Rawles would help out with that – and it blew up quite substantially. 

One of the keys to their success was their ability to connect with so many fans on social media. Kob describes social media as “the fifth member of the band,” so it’s not surprising to hear they put so much time into it as they all collectively make an effort to engage with their fanbase. Kob is in charge of the socials, which is nothing new for independent musicians, but the approach is unique. He describes the band as a “circle” that does not stray beyond anything – every required duty is completed in-house to avoid any sort of complacency or reliance on others. Kob’s partner is in charge of the photos and the videos, and Benj (bassist and vocalist) does their production in the studio. The band contributes a lot of their success to the group dynamic and their approach to the band as a business. “We treat it like a 9-5 job”, said Kob when asked. 

When asked about the importance of staying independent as a band, Kob said: “Bands can be a little bit lazy sometimes. They have somebody running the socials, they have the manager doing everything for them. There are also agents and promoters and all these things you don’t need to do. If you need these people, learn the skills to do that instead, learn how to market yourself, learn how to do socials, learn how to use Photoshop, learn how to use Premiere Pro, learn how to book shows, promote shows… because you don’t need those people.”

In the music industry, there are many preconceived notions about how to engage to succeed. It feels like these ideas are being challenged by bands like Punk Rock Factory.

Kob cites the band’s recording process: “..when bands work in a studio, they’re like ‘We’re going to do a month in the studio away from our families and work through the nights.’ We don’t do that, we just have a nice relaxing day, we treat it like a job, we go home in the evenings, and everything’s fine.”

I was also curious about the music video recording for their track from the new record called Defying Gravity, as it’s recorded upside down and the right way up, seemingly “defying gravity”, as the title would suggest. “There’s a house in Croydon… it’s upside down basically, and we were looking for places to [film the video], and Bec, my partner, found this location… [we said] this is perfect. As cool as it was, it was horrible to film because not only is it upside down, it’s also on a slant.” So a note to all the budding video producers, record your bands on a level surface.

When asked where things are going in the future, Kob had a very positive outlook, with “up and up ” being the main response I got. With a new album and a new theme song for an American TV show in the pipeline, it does indeed seem like things are looking “up and up” for Punk Rock Factory. When asked what he was looking forward to, the response I got was “..going to Japan.” I was also curious about any wishes for future collaborators, and this was Kob’s said: “Obviously you want to say Green Day or Blink and stuff like that…Fat Mike from NOFX or something like that, Gabe Saporta from Midtown would be my dream!” 

Punk Rock Factory’s new album, It’s Just a Stage I’m Going Through, is set for release alongside another British tour coming in October. Things are looking exciting, and I, for one, can’t wait to see the big things awaiting this Welsh treasure.

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