“My mate found me naked, unconscious, covered in blood and sick”: 20 Questions with Rob Damiani

Don Broco have just dropped a new banger, Hype Man. It rules. And, says frontman Rob Damiani, it’s about “how grateful I am to be on this journey with the rest of my bandmates. We’ve been friends since school and I don’t know how I could face all the challenges of life without them.”

So, we sat down with him in front of our rapid-fire question machine to find out what a few of those are. Turns out it involves knocking yourself out, getting the thumbs-up from wrestling legends, and being forced to eat octopus balls by Kerrang!…

1. What’s the best thing you can cook?

“Spaghetti bolognese. My tip is: loads of fish sauce, loads of Lea & Perrins, loads of Marmite, all that stuff.”

2. What’s the best movie ever made?

“I'm gonna go with The Dark Knight. It isn't, but I love that film.”

3. Who’s your biggest non-musical hero?

“Dave Bautista. As an actor, as a wrestler, he gave me the best feeling ever as a little kid. I tagged him in a photo on Instagram, where I had load of Bautista badges that I wore on my jacket, and he actually messaged me back. He was like, ‘Sick jacket, man.’ I was so made up. He seems like a really legendary dude as a person. He’s very outspoken when it comes to shit he sees in the media and politics that he doesn't agree with, which I think some awesome. I just think he's a great guy.”

4. What’s your biggest fear?

“I'm not scared of heights, but my balance is absolutely terrible. So my greatest fear is being on something really high where there's no ledge or anything to hold. If it's heights, then I'm fine with it. But as soon as I have to walk across anything that's a little bit sketchy, I just clam up and I can't move.”

5. Dog or cat?

“Dog. Definitely.”

6. Fly or drive?

“Fly. Watch a few movies on the flight. Watch The Dark Knight again…”

7. What’s your favourite city?

“Maybe New Orleans, just for the vibes. We always have a day off there when we're in the States, and we have the best time. There’s a lot of music, great food, great people, debauchery, and you’re surrounded by sick French architecture. It's cool.”

8. What was your first job?

“A primary school support teacher. It was the first job I thought I could maybe handle while being in a band as well. I’d come in, help some year two kids with reading or whatever, then finish by 3pm, so in theory I could then drive to any show in the country. But it didn't quite work out like that!”

9. Complete the sentence: at school I was…

“Always talking to my friends in lessons, getting in trouble.”

10. What’s something about you that would surprise somebody?

“I'm secretly a massive nerd. I’ve got an obsession with a very obscure card game kind of similar to Magic: The Gathering called Doom Town. It's all that goes into my brain, apart from music.”

11. What’s the best riff ever?

“Probably Enter Sandman by Metallica. Specifically after the drum build-up.”

12. Beach holiday or city break?

“Beach. I love nothing more than just doing nothing. Cocktail, ice cream, dip in the sea, read a book… I could do that for weeks and not get bored.”

13. What’s your least favourite food?

“Probably this weird little octopus thing that Kerrang! made me eat in Japan. I'll never forgive you for that. Takoyaki, it was called. It’s like a fried ball with octopus in the middle. Apparently they can be delicious, but I just couldn’t get over the texture. It could be the most delicious thing in the world, but I’ll never get past the squelchy feeling in my mouth.”

14. Who would play you in Rob Damiani: The Movie?

“Dave Bautista. Obviously he looks nothing like me, so we’d give him a fake nose.”

15. If you owned a pub, what would it be called?

“Three More Pints. There was a pub I walked past in London recently called Two More Beers. That's a really nice kind of feeling. You’re with your mate and you go, ‘Let's stay for two more beers…’ So I’d do that, but Three More Pints.”

16. What’s the best TV show?

“Andor just got me. Honestly, the emotions I was going through with that... The storytelling, the pace, being a huge Star Wars fan and bringing back that nostalgia, the way it elevated the understanding of the rebellion to a whole new level, the depth of the characters, it all made me so proud to be a Star Wars fan.”

17. What’s the worst fashion idea you’ve had?

“This really hot Japanese multi-stitched shirt that I wore onstage. It was made of all these different materials, and I cooked in it. I felt cool walking up, but then you’d just roast. It only looked right with a hoodie, as well, so it wasn’t easy to take things off during the gig.”

18. What’s been your stupidest injury?

“Probably a head injury. I was on the beach too long and, surprise, surprise, got heatstroke. I got back to our hotel and stripped off completely naked to stay as cool as possible. I ran to the toilet to be sick, knocked myself out on the these really low doors, and that’s how my friend found me: in a pile of blood and sick, naked.”

19. Complete the sentence, I wish I could…

“Fly. That’d be fun.”

20. Would you rather be too wet or too dry?

“Too wet.”

Hype Man is out now via Fearless. Don Broco's UK arena tour starts on December 4.

Read this next:

• Don Broco’s Rob Damiani: The 10 songs that changed my life
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• Don Broco’s Rob Damiani: Put your phone away at gigs