As if trying to define the word Xtruppaw wasn’t difficult enough, Malta’s most notorious band has teamed up with the island’s other most popular fun band Fakawi, and given us Xtruppakawi to deal with.
Long as it may be, there’s little to no chance of the word ever scoring you any points on the Scrabble board – if , and when, a Maltese version of the game is ever produced.
But in terms of entertainment, their combined forces are a rock solid guarantee that this is a gig not to be missed. Three hours of live music, great entertainment and, in the words of Fakawi frontman Pawlu Borg Bonaci, “the usual stinky guy in the mosh pit, trying to hook up with the girl in the mini skirt”.
Borg Bonaci and Xtruppaw’s Jeffrey Galea answer a few questions in their own colourful way, ahead of the much-anticipated concert.
What is your band mostly famous for?
Borg Bonaci: I’d say it’s for our fun live gigs. From our first gig, we established a reputation for being funny, witty and usually really crazy on stage. There’s also the element of surprise linked to our annual Beer Festival performance, along with our spontaneity, tongue-in-cheek attitude and that special way we manage to destroy a song and rewrite it Fakawi style.
Galea: Not to blow our own trumpets, but I’m sure everyone remembers our accomplishments, such as the time we brought down a wall in Berlin, or when we captured Saddam Hussein during an after-party on one of our international tours. But in the musical world, we’re probably best known for singing explicit Maltese songs and our sophisticated shows.
To the untrained eye, they may seem like crude toilet humour and inebriated rambling acts, but we are, of course, above this erroneous perception, and leave judgment to the wise.
What is it you like about each other’s band?
BB: Xtruppaw have produced two albums of great music with a humorous twist and their shows are really good fun too, which I love, particularly some of the ideas they’ve come up with, which were really hilarious. Both our bands tend to do more than just play songs when we get onstage. We prefer to put on a show, with props, gags, costumes, and so forth to make the show a full theatrical, musical and comical experience.
A lot of people have been hoping we would perform together – myself included – and since we’ve been friends for years, this gig was really bound to happen one day or another, and here we are.
G: Apart from being very talented musicians, Fakawi are a hell of a live act. They’re great entertainers, and the large crowds they draw are proof of this. We’ve known them for years and the idea of performing together has been there for years, so this marriage was really inevitable. We are still arguing about our marital roles and who’s washing the dishes, but we’re finally giving birth to our little monster – say hello to Xtruppakawi.
Your favourite song by the other band is…
BB: Glorja Tonna is an absolute favourite but I also like Ġenerazzjoni ta’ Meqrudin, Iċ-Ċawl Iċul and L-Avventuri Meraviljużi ta’ Żaren Elvis Ciappara u Ħrejjef Simili.
G: Fakawi often perform this seemingly never-ending medley, a cool mishmash of songs of different genres and styles peppered with their unmistakable humour and theatrical antics. I think they call it 30 songs in 30 minutes or something like that. I’m in awe of how Pawlu manages to remember all those lyrics... then again, he probably doesn’t!
Three hours of great music, fun, good vibes, entertainment, and surprises
Having dabbled in many genres, are there any you don’t see yourself playing?
BB: Hmm, so far we’ve done rock, reggae, ska, punk, pop, Britpop, funk, soul, techno, rap, RnB, opera, classical, world, country, Blues, rock ’n’ roll, folk, doom, grind, progressive, gospel and għana, so I’m not sure if we’ve left much out.
With Fakawi there is no style – any style could fit, and even worse, we try to squeeze more than just one style into a song. Our medleys can go from world music to funk, RnB and soul, then to metal and kanzunetti Maltin. This might put some people off, but there are a lot who love us for it.
G: We do like experimenting with different styles of music and we’ll probably fiddle with more genres when writing the next album, but don’t hold your breath for that. We never rule anything out, but we probably stop at jazz because it’s difficult. You have to play chords and scales and stuff, and the drummer holds one stick in a funny way, playing strange time signatures that no-one else seems to understand. Jazz is hard, very hard.
Pick a few common factors that connect both bands.
BB: I think it’s the fact that both of us are not afraid of exploring different ideas and to sing about anything, always giving it a comical/ satirical twist to be taken with a pinch of salt. We both love costumes and themes too, and both bands are pretty laid-back – extremely so in Fakawi’s case – happy doing what we do without the need or urge to become big on the local scene.
G: Well, we’re all teenagers and rehearse in tiny garages; we both have five band members, we all like music and above all, we all love titties!
How difficult is it to come up with new ideas for each concert, and has this double-bill made it any easier?
BB: It’s different every time; sometimes it takes time to find inspiration or for an idea to develop, sometimes it’s immediate. Our ideas usually come while we’re together in the garage, talking away and then one of us gets suddenly struck by a divine white light and that gets us all started. This concert had to be tackled differently, but things are looking really good.
G: The difficulty is not to come up with ideas, as we often have a problem keeping our imagination from running wild.
A simple idea very quickly drifts off on a tangent, picks up momentum and grows into an untamable monster.
Unfortunately, by then it becomes too far out and way beyond our resources to actually realise. So trim it back down into something more feasible and practical.
Having Fakawi’s resources on board has come in handy, as we can now let them do all the hard work.
So what should we expect from this concert?
BB: I think the poster reflects the concert very well. Both bands are playing, and both are keeping their usual style, but we’ll be getting together on stage at points…enough said.
G: Three hours of great music, fun, good vibes, entertainment, and surprises. But we all know that what the fans will really enjoy are the reasonably priced drinks...
Xtruppakawi takes place on Saturday at The City Theatre, Valletta. Tickets for cost €12 and are available online.
www.ticketline.com.mt