“I'm excited to see my dudes,” says frontman Damien Moyal, also known for fronting hardcore acts Shai Hulud and Culture, and for his work as a solo artist under the moniker Damien Done. “We're older, we're busier and we're geographically challenged, and now that there are no more weddings to attend, these occasional shows are the only excuse we have anymore to get together.
“Then the songs,” says Damien. “I've been in many bands, and while each holds its own sentimental value, As Friends Rust was the band for me. The songs mean so much to me, and I feel like I'm my truest self when playing those songs with these guys, and seeing people who've inexplicably derived meaning from them, singing along to them...That just never, ever stops being the wildest, most humbling thing. This band is all about inclusivity. Our motto for years was 'Exclude No One.' So that sense of connection we feel with the people we're sharing those songs with for 40-whatever minutes...that's fucking everything.”
Though the band initially broke up in 2002 and has only played sparingly for years, Damien feels as though the music’s purity and earnestness make it as relevant today as it ever was.
“Musically, because we never tipped too far in any one stylistic direction, we always seemed to appeal to fans of various subgenres under the punk rock umbrella,” he says. “My feeling is that existing at that intersection gives you a lot more longevity and relevance than a band that fits squarely into one specific category. I think that's why we see other bands who never fully gave themselves to any particular style -- like Avail or Hot Water Music, for example -- still out there making just as many people sing along and smile as they did in their heydays, if not more.
"Lyrically, we have a sense of candor and honest nakedness that I think people still appreciate," he adds. "That feeling of ‘Shit, that's me! That's exactly how I feel!’ is what hooked me as a kid, and with AFR I always aspired to a level of openness that would be disarming, inclusive and relatable for everyone. I think that certainly helped to create a timeless relationship with our audience.”