New York’s World/Inferno Friendship Society is touring the world, bringing their cultish circus entertaining to cities all over North America and Europe. World/Inferno is a nine-piece punk/soul collective whose live performances combine musical styles, from cabaret and vaudville to punk rock. On Oct. 12, World/Inferno will play at D.C.’s Black Cat as part of a three-month international tour representing Chunksaah Records. The Voice got a hold of the ringleader of World/Inferno, Jack Terricloth, to speak about their upcoming tour, vibrant fan base and their favorite holiday season—Halloween.
World/Inferno Friendship Society is such a catchy, attention-grabbing band name. Where does it come from?
It’s of course the clincher—we aren’t like a normal rock band. We’re more of like a community that is constantly recording and in the studio. We’re more of a commune than a business, when you think about it.
You guys consider yourself an orchestra rather than a band. Could you elaborate on this?
We’re not like four guys sitting around, which is what everyone thinks of when they think of a band. We take time to write our own pieces, like old big bands. We don’t really do albums—we mostly do singles. Bands are more like four long-haired guys who sit around and are angry and just write about their feelings. We don’t do that.
I talked to Benji Kotch (one of the two drummers), and he was telling me how you guys have been together for 10 years and that a huge fan base of really dedicated kids has formed. How would you describe your fan base?
Surprisingly, they’re actually wildly younger than me. Our fans are the aggressive, creative kids, whose ages range from 17 to 22. It’s sometimes like a dating circus. These kids will come to our concerts to meet people like them and to make friends. They always get on our guest lists. So, if people make fun of you and you’re kind of weird, come to our show.
For those who haven’t been to a World/Inferno Friendship Society concert, they are a mix of vaudeville, cabaret, circus and punk rock orchestra. Which aspect of your performing style is your favorite?
I like the interaction between the crowd and us, which is where it came from. It’s exactly like a cabaret performance, where the performers interact and communicate with their audience. I’m a punk rocker, so I like to get interactive with the audience and do more than just play music.
What are the band’s plans for Halloween?
It is a very special holiday and performance for us. We’re flying back to New York and renting a cruise boat—not a yacht. It’s a big ship that goes around Manhattan. We’ll play on that all night long. Maybe we’ll even parachute onto the boat or something. The next day we’re flying to Europe. We travel a lot and we consistently get yelled at by stewardesses.
D.C. is the kick-off point for Chunksaah Records’ Gold Tour. What can we expect from World/Inferno, Street Dogs, Whole Wheat Bread and The Bouncing Souls?
I don’t really know the other bands yet, and I haven’t even met them. I imagine it will be a lot of jockeying for position, each band trying to prove themselves to each other. I think we will all be at our best because we’ll be trying to show off. It won’t be that bad for us—we have three girls in our band who are pretty tough and could take on the other guys.
