Bam Margera: Fuckface Unstoppable

Bam Margera is a man of many talents and has done plenty in his 35 years, from his pro-skateboarding career to his TV shows and movies including Jackass, Viva La Bam, Haggard and Minghags, to name just a few. His current musical project, Fuckface Unstoppable lands in Australia next month and will play nine shows all around the county.
I spoke with Bam just as he arrived home to Westchester, Pennsylvania after a trip to what is arguably his second home in Finland, where he had been securing a very special new band member.
“I’ve just been in Finland, practising some new songs with legendary guitar player Andy McCoy from Iggy Pop and Hanoi Rocks. He’s going to be doing the Australian shows with us, so we’re pretty excited,” Bam says.
Many would know Andy McCoy as the famed lead guitarist and songwriter of ’80s rock band, Hanoi Rocks. A long time friend of Bam, he will be joining the band for this very special tour. McCoy has worked with many other big name rocks acts of the ’80s and ’90s and is very well respected by the likes of Dave Grohl. He has had to remain in Europe for the past few decades following a ban on re-entering the US for trying to use manufactured money in the ’90s. This August however, he will finally be allowed to return.
“We’re actually going to be filming a movie the whole time we’re in Australia called Earth Rocker. It’s about how Andy’s been banned from the US for 20 years for having counterfeit money during the Guns and Roses tour and what not, but now he’s finally allowed back. I’ve been dealing with the lawyers to get him back there, so that’s what the movie is going to be about,” Bam says.
The last time Fuckface Unstoppable were over here things got pretty out of hand, with reports of extensive hotel damage and Bam even punched a fan while on stage, but he tells me things may have to go a little differently this time.
“I had a $40,000 bill at the end of it all because I like to paint in my spare time. Me and painting – especially oil painting – it can get everywhere and every fucking hotel room cost me like $5,000 to clean it. So I promised my Dad I would not bring paint on this trip! I’ve got to find something else to do with my time this trip, not painting that’s for sure!” he laughs.
New Zealand will miss out on seeing FFU this time around and contrary to what Bam’s brother Jess posted to their fans on Twitter, Bam insists they aren’t banned from the country, rather just not welcome at the airport.
“I’m allowed to get in there, I’m just banned from the Auckland airport. What happened was, somebody fucking roofied me at a CKY show. I had to get on a flight right after that and I couldn’t move. So I was on this bench and the police are telling me to get up but I kept getting sleepier and I couldn’t get up! Somebody seriously spiked my drink and I just couldn’t get up, it was really weird!” he says, laughing.
The band are really excited to be coming out and between the shows and filming the movie will have little time for themselves. “I love coming out and playing the shows, people always ask, ‘Man, don’t you get sick of the touring?’ but the only part I get sick of is the waiting around before the show happens – that’s the hard part. The shows are the fun part,” he says.
“We kind of just play it by ear, because when you’re in such a big group, it’s hard to do much really. This time we have a camera crew and a plot, so we’ll have lots of interviews and scenes to be filming during any spare time we have.”
The band are about to hit the studio and get recording on some new material. In terms of their setlist for the tour though Bam says that they won’t pull out too much of the new stuff and will be sure to play the old favourites along with some covers.
“We’re in the studio right now, so hopefully we’ll get everything done before we get to Australia. There’ll probably be two or three new songs, I don’t wanna overkill it with stuff people haven’t heard yet because even the covers that we do, no one ever knows them! We want to play good music that no one’s heard of, you know usually when bands do a cover they do like, ‘Enter Sandman’ that everyone fucking knows.”
It’s been two years since the band have toured Australia and with its new members it will be interesting to see how they have progressed. Bam will be kept busy following the tour, between producing his movie and new music, the star will also be bringing out his own clothing label, named Irve Rocker, with a line also for women called Princess Paranoia.
When & Where: Barwon Club Hotel, Geelong – May 14 & Corner Hotel, Melbourne – May 15
Written by Abbey King