A spotlight interview with Faye Decay of No Sugar, ahead of their appearance at LOUD WOMEN Fest Hamburg on 28 February.
How did you chose your band name?
No Sugar – chose it for being metaphorically synonymous with ‘No Shit’
Who’s in the band, and what do you all play?
Willer – Guitar, Faye – Guitar, Nina – Bass and Tim – Drums
Where do you call home (geographically and musically)?
Hamburg and Leipzig, Germany – musically: Punk, Garage, Rock, Country
Describe your sound in three words.
Rock And Roll
Tell us about your music
Last Call (our 2nd album) – an album title hinting not only at the well-known, colloquial situation many of us witness every other weekend, at our local watering hole of choice, but at the urgency of our current social and environmental crises. An urgency that can make us go numb and leave us feeling helpless, but that hopefully can also fan the flames of solidarity, when we come together, despite our differences and focus our energy on speaking up against the smallest occurrences of marginalization, discrimination, obliviousness to climate change, the surge of conservatism and rightwing parties in Europe and the normalization of hate – in our everyday lives. Reflecting our privileges and becoming aware of our own internalized -isms is just a small but essential start. No Sugar’s sophomore LP explores the different perspectives we encounter and the process of self-reflection we need to practice. Their debut album Rock’n’Roll Isn’t Boring, It’s you was released 2019 and their upcoming sophomore effort Last Call released 2025 on Sabotage Records, Ladies & Ladys Label and La Agonía de Vivir.
Both our first and second album have a ‘hidden track’ which has lyrics inspired by / ripped off from Bon Jovi.
Our song ‘Pizza Girl’ was all about reclaiming love for pizza from the fangs of lame pop-punk cis-boys/men and being as wild and obnoxious as you want, while speaking/singing/loving from a female*/FLINTA-/Queer perspective.
If you could rip up the rulebook of the music industry, what’s the first thing you’d rewrite?
Expensive practice spaces! Everyone should be able to afford to play music and practice and not have to pay crazy rent.
What’s the biggest hurdle you’ve faced and how did you overcome it?
Living in three different cities for a few years of being a band and not being able to see each other / practice regularly. We made a point of always putting our friendship and getting along with each other first and trying to be patient with each other.
What’s the proudest moment you’ve had so far as a band?
Finally releasing our second album, after writing / recording it over the course of two years.
Dream lineup: you + three other acts (alive, dead, or imaginary). Who’s on the bill?
The Runaways, Upchuck, The Slits
What’s next for you?
After 2 broken elbows in the band in 2025 and postponing release-shows for our 2nd album twice, we’re looking forward to be able to play shows again this year!