Trunkshot: Meet The Bands Taking Part In This Weekend's Punks 4 Mental Health Mini Fest.

Day 2 of the Punks 4 Mental Health Minifest is being held at The Masons Arms, Llanelli on Saturday 13th May. Performing for the 2nd year running is the brilliant West Wales band 'Trunkshot'. Find out about the band here and what smashing the stigma of mental ill health means to them!!

Can you tell me a bit about Trunkshot ?

We're a three-piece. Dave on the bass and backing vocals, Tommy on the drums, and occasional backing vocals and me (Al) on guitar and main vocals. Trunkshot is basically the band that we'd be fans of if we weren't in it. There seems to be so many bands coming out today that have forgotten the chorus. We love bands that you can sing along with. Rancid, Bad Religion, The Wildhearts, Therapy?, Motorhead and The Ramones you know? They all had these big fuck off choruses, and harmonies coming out of every orifice. More hooks than a fisherman's basket! That's what we want to do. Heavy riffs with big punk verses and then shouty choruses. We love that stuff.

You are playing at the Punks 4 Mental Health Mini Fest this weekend, what can people expect from the band on the night? We haven't played as Trunkshot for a while so people can expect a nervous start, with the occasional mistake thrown in for good measure! We'll probably have a laugh and take the piss out of each other a fair bit. We're like a family. Me and Dave have played together for over twenty years, and even though Tommy is the youngest, he's been playing drums with us for about 6 years now. They keep me on the straight and narrow, which is a good thing!

What does it mean to the band to be playing an event aimed at challenging stigma around mental health? It's important to all of us to be playing a gig to raise awareness and challenging stigma about peoples perception of mental health, especially as it's mental health awareness week, but maybe more so for me. I've struggled with social anxiety for a long time and it's only really being in a band that gets me out and about. I'm getting better though as I'm getting older. Our government has let us all down so badly concerning help with mental problems, and an overall lack of education on mental health for people in our country. It sickens me that there are drugs available that would really help people but are only available to people with money, and it sickens me that there is still a stigma about any mental illness. We have to do all we can to de-stigmatise mental health problems and change people's opinions and that has to start now.