I first came across the Whops, a young duo from the UK, on my Instagram Reels feed, and thought to myself, “These kids are way cooler than I will ever be!” As someone who is also in a punk band and has loved the genre since childhood, I can whole heartedly say the future is in good hands.
We got to ask them a few questions ahead of their Vegas debut at the Punk Rock Museum’s 3rd Anniversary on April 4th! Check it out:
1. What was the first punk song or band you heard that made you feel like this was the music you wanted to pursue?
The first time we walked into the stadium of our team. The sun was setting over West London and the smell of the pitch mixed with that strange stadium cocktail of beer, grass and… things you’d probably rather not identify.
Then the players came out to “London Calling” blasting through the speakers.
We asked our dad, “Who is that?”
He said, “The only band that matters.”
We asked what kind of music it was.
He said, “Everything.”
That was the moment we discovered punk.
2. What song do you wish you had written?
If we say “London Calling”, that might sound a little too predictable.
So we’ll go with something different. Besides punk we also love American folk and roots music, so we’ll pick “Bad Moon Rising” by John Fogerty.
It’s one of those songs that never gets old, and somehow it feels like it fits the political mood of the times we’re living in surprisingly well. Some songs age, but the really great ones slowly start to sound like prophecies.
3. Are there any Vegas based bands that have caught your ear?
We recently discovered a band called The Dollheads and they’re really cool.
They’re siblings like us, and we started chatting online.
Hopefully we’ll get to meet them when we come to Las Vegas, but if not we’ll definitely see each other this summer since we’re both playing at the Rebellion Festival in Blackpool.
4. What is your favorite artifact in the museum? If you had to donate a piece of your collection, what do you think the museum needs?
We haven’t visited the museum yet, so we’re really excited to explore it.
As musicians, the first things that will probably steal our attention are the instruments. We’ve heard that some of them can even be played. Honestly, is there anything cooler than touching a guitar that once belonged to a legend?
One day we’d love to donate one of our guitars to the museum. That would probably mean we’ve done enough for the cause to deserve a little space in there.
For now though… guitars are expensive and we’re still way too broke to give one away. Maybe soon.
5. What’s next up your sleeve after this celebration?
From our very first busking sessions we’ve always mixed original songs with covers, and we’ve been bringing those originals to festivals across Europe.
It was important for us to express our own ideas and bring our own music to the stage, whether it was good, bad, or somewhere in between.
Over time that catalogue of songs has grown, and now it feels like the right moment to step into a studio and record them properly.
The next chapter is already being written.
Photo Credit: Photo of The Whops provided by Melanie Kaye PR – Used with Permission