The former Biters frontman and self-described “rock‘n’roll punk maverick from rural Georgia”, Tuk Smith, is returning to the UK with his backing band, the Restless Hearts, for six dates this month, including a spot at the Maid Of Stone Festival in Kent.
With a tour supporting Danko Jones and a slot at Planet Rockstock you’re a regular visitor to the UK, but, incredibly, this is your first headline tour as a solo artist since the demise of your last band, Biters.
I love playing in the UK. I’ve always said that I would move there if I could. This tour is something that I’ve been trying to do for years, but, I’m not going to lie, as an independent artist it’s hard. There are more bands and less venues than before. But I’m excited to be coming back. It’s going to be great.
Biters seemed to be doing well. What caused the break-up?
Look, dude, sometimes it’s really hard to be in a rock band. Money was tight and there were issues with the business side of things. I don’t want to get into legalities, but after nine years together I thought it better to let everybody do what they wanted outside of the band.
As the owner of your own record label, Gypsy Rose, you have seen “the best and worst of a music industry”.
I’ve got to do some really cool things. I’ve played with some of my heroes and earned their respect. I’ve released a large catalogue of music. I can sit here in a studio full of equipment. But on the flip-side of that, I’ve had to come back from some bad shit.
Missing out on a potentially game-changing tour with Mötley Crüe due to covid being an example of that.
I don’t know how I got over that. Something must be wrong with me, I guess. I probably should have given in and stopped doing this a long time ago. I don’t know what drives me to continue. But it has become a little easier over the last couple of years since I learned to lower my expectations. I’m just grateful to write songs and release records. When I realised that, the weight of the world lifted from my shoulders.
You have a new EP, Troubled Paradise. Are you working on a full-length second album from you and the Restless Hearts?
Yeah, man. It’s taken a long time but I’m almost done with writing it. I’ve had the blessing of working with lots of other bands – last year I wrote thirty or forty songs for other artists – but of course it takes away from my own time. The last thing I want to do is sit down and write my own shit. Now I’m really focused on lyrics, I’m spending more time on them than ever before. Lyrics are just about the only thing that you can no longer cheat with.
You see yourself as much of a storyteller as a rock‘n’roller.
I don’t know how I see myself, but I have always loved the storytelling aspect of making music. Not enough people are doing that today. I’ve been a contrarian for my whole life and that’s probably bitten me in the arse, I’m just too hard on myself. But I do believe that a song should take the listener somewhere.
Is there a time frame for the completion and release of the new album?
No. Right now things are still at the demo stage. I don’t think it will come out until sometime in 2027.
Tuk Smith’s UK tour kicks off at Maid Of Stone on July 19 and runs until July 26. For full dates and tickets, check the Tuk Smith website.
