DOES IT OFFEND YOU, YEAH? bassist Chloe Duveaux has a fantastic, endearing laugh. Which is not exactly what you’d expect given the band’s fierce grunge-club sound. What’s more, when I call her for a chat she’s at her grandad’s house in London’s South End, taking a break from the band’s rigorous touring schedule to catch up with family and old friends. “Not very rock and roll,” she laughs.
But while she might not seem like your run-of-the-mill rock star, it’s clear that Chloe has always had both the talent and the ambition. After playing in numerous grunge and indie bands from the age of 15, Chloe joined Does It Offend You, Yeah? after the release of their first album, You Have No Idea What You’re Getting Yourself Into.
“I’ve been lucky, and I’m still kind of surprising myself that I’m here,” Chloe confesses. “It’s funny, I was talking to my friends who I knew when I was much younger, and all of us have turned out to be exactly what we said we’d always be. When we were about 13 I’d always say ‘I’m going to be a rockstar!’ and people would always be laughing at me, but I somehow managed to make it. I don’t quite know how that happened!”
So will she ever be able to go back to a normal life? “That’s a nightmare I have every Tuesday actually!” Chloe responds. “I hope I never have to go back; this is it forever now! We’ll be like The Rolling Stones. I’d be very depressed if I had to go back to the real world.”
That seems unlikely to happen any time soon, with the band’s latest album, Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You, proving to be an exhilarating fusion of rock and dance music, with a heavy, aggressive edge. Vocalist and guitarist James Rushent doubled as the producer for the album, after working with The Prodigy on Invaders Must Die.
“Having James as a producer meant we could get the sound and have it our way, instead of compromising with labels or with other people,” Chloe tells me. “The first album never felt quite right, so with this album it had to be from the heart. It turned out perfect in the end.”
The band will be offering one of their new songs as a free download for subscribers to their website, to reward fans for patiently awaiting the release of Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You, and the album tour is set to bring them to Canberra this October for Stonefest. So what can Canberrans expect from a DIOYY gig? “Head banging, but not in a bad way!” Chloe laughs. “Loads of energy, probably lots of swearing as well; people should watch out for the audience more than us ‘cause they tend to get pretty mental.” Consider yourself warned!
Does It Offend You, Yeah? will be playing at Stonefest on Saturday October 30 alongside Pendulum, Clare Bowditch, Bluejuice and more. Tickets available through Ticketek.
