WUPT are gonna whoop your ass

• 28th Jun 2003

After ‘harassing’ the Glasswerk forum constantly with his fat bitch thong picture I thought it was about time we took a bit of notice of WUPT singer James Davies, and his inimitable trip from the sunny clime of Deeside (are you sure? – ed) to the cold (I assume) US state of Alaska to form punk rock band WUPT. Catching up with James via the wonderful medium that is the internet I managed to quiz him on past and present.

First things first, and most obviously, how did WUPT form?
WUPT was formed after a drunken bar room conversation between two Welshmen, Guitarist and harmonica prodigy Dylan Thomas (no not the poet, I hope although there are rumours that he is his cousin bastard son), a native of New Zealand who happens to be the son a Welsh lay preacher and myself James Davies, vocalist and Celtic yarn spinner born in St Asaph North Wales.

You certainly can spin a yarn, so how did the two of you end up in band together? And even more interestingly how did you end up in a band, in Alaska?
I was brought up in Deeside and enjoyed a adolecent shot a rock n roll immortality, in the north west music scene.The peak of that attempt was my band ABSTRACT, opening for the Happy Mondays at the Fire House in Bootle at a time when the Mondays took 70 quid for their labours. Feeling I had a fair old go it was time to get a job, car, nice threads,etc.

So how did it work out? Did the succes follow?
My time in ABSTRACT had me rubbing shoulders with some of the top talent of the time, The Charlatans, Boo Radleys and ABSTRACT's guitarist Howard King, later of Dr Phibes to name a sample.

Sounds like a good education for even the best of bands, but still doesn't explain how you ended up in WUPT.
A brief period in the workplace convinced me I had jumped the gun, the first chance I got I was off to make my fortune. I settled in Anchorage Alaska after a couple of years of globe trotting By then I had spent time in the Med, middle east and the West coast of the USA. I met my wife, who is Alaskan born and bred, on the Island of Crete.

So the fortune soon followed?
About the fortune, Dylan and I are fortunate to be living in one of the most scenic places on earth, with great family and friends. WUPT is icing on the cake, the shows and invitations to record keep coming.

WUPT have a mini LP/CD entitled ‘Yes, Dear’ available now on their Glasswerk page so check it out. link

Not wanting to lose contact with his musical roots WUPT have recently been featured on link with the following review of their mini LP:

“WUPT hail from Alaska & singer James Davies ended up there having left the homelands of North Wales & taking a wrong turn a few years ago. He met up with Dylan Thomas from New Zealand who is the cousin bastard son of his Welsh namesake (I think). WUPT dish up some Anchorage mid-paced punk with tinges of The Fall, Grant Lee Buffalo & Nick Cave (!!). A favourite is Stoned Rabbi a song I’m already familiar with from the video on their website, followed quickly by Beaver Pilot with truly clever sexist lyrics, yeah!. Check it out.”

For some funny pictures and a video of WUPT check out the following links:

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