CULTURE WARS: FINDING CONNECTION THROUGH MUSIC
- 11 minutes ago
- 11 min read
WORDS MAISIE JANE DANIELS
Momentum is a funny thing. From the outside, it can look instant: sold-out shows, fans singing every word back, arena stages replacing intimate venues almost overnight. But spend half an hour with Culture Wars and it quickly becomes clear that the band's rise has been anything but sudden.
Behind their debut album, Don't Speak sits more than a decade of persistence, quiet reinvention and an unwavering belief in the music. Across our conversation, frontman Alex Dugan reflects on the years spent rewriting songs, the personal shifts that shaped the record and the realities of balancing life on the road with life at home. Alongside him, guitarist David Grayson brings the band's trademark humour, reminding us that no matter how euphoric life on tour becomes, eventually someone at home is still going to ask you to take the bins out.
At its heart, Don't Speak is an album about growth. It's about recognising old versions of yourself, learning from them and, ultimately, finding the courage to move forward. That same sense of evolution runs through our conversation, where reflections on songwriting, family and life on tour sit comfortably alongside discussions about cheeky Nando's, Essex slang and favourite F words.
As Culture Wars continue to carve out their place on the global stage, one thing feels certain: they're only just getting started.
Maisie Daniels: For readers discovering Culture Wars for the first time, how did the band come together?
Alex Dugan: Dave and I met first. He knew a drummer, which is how we all got connected. That was about... eleven years ago now. (Laughs.) I always forget our anniversary. I knew Dylan through a family friend that I'd grown up with. Caleb was actually interning at the studio while we were recording demos, and Josh was interning there when we were making our first EP.
David Grayson: We basically picked up a couple of strays.
Maisie: Where does the name Culture Wars come from? What made you think that was the right fit for the band?
Alex: Believe it or not, we argued over band names for a really long time. Coming up with music is honestly easier than naming a band. I threw "Culture Wars" into the mix as one of about a hundred suggestions, and I wasn't expecting anyone to like it. Then, all of a sudden, everybody just said yes.
Looking back, it actually makes perfect sense because we're all incredibly different. We all grew up differently, we come from different backgrounds, different religions, different races, different political views... we disagree on pretty much everything except the music.
So it became this representation of all those differences coming together. It wasn't intentional at first, but afterwards we realised, 'Oh... that's actually exactly who we are.'
David: People always assume it's political, but it isn't. It's internal—it describes the band.
Alex: We even Googled it before settling on the name. Back then it was just the title of a book from the '80s about Reagan or something. This was all before Trump was elected, before the phrase became what people associate it with now.
Maisie: Speaking of everyone bringing something different to the table, what's your songwriting process like? Do you all write together?
Alex: It's different every single time. I'll take a good idea from anywhere. Sometimes Caleb and I will start something, then bring it to the rest of the band. Other songs begin with everyone in the room. "Miley" actually started from a drum beat when we were staying in an Airbnb during the pandemic. I genuinely blacked out—I don't even remember writing it. The guys showed me what we'd come up with afterwards and I was like, "That's pretty cool."
Other songs, like "Slowly", started with me sitting on my own with an acoustic guitar, just bored.
The important thing when we made this album was that every song had to work stripped back. If it wasn't good with just a vocal and a guitar—or a vocal and a piano—we wouldn't move forward with it. That forced us to be really strict. Once we knew the song stood on its own, then the band could come in and just be the band.
That's the fun part.
Maisie: So speaking of the album, Don't Speak has been out for a little while now. What's the response from fans been like?
David: It's been amazing.
Alex: We've been selling out shows.
For us, this is our first album. Dave and I have been trying to be in a band together for over ten years, so now we're standing in front of sold-out rooms that we always dreamed about... It feels pretty surreal. The energy at the shows has been unbelievable. Hearing people sing the songs back to us is something we'll never get used to.
Maisie: You’re building a huge amount of momentum at the moment. Has there been one moment over the past year where it really hit you that things were changing?
David: Honestly... London.
It was around Thanksgiving. Another tour had fallen through, so we thought, "Let's just book our own show in London." We honestly weren't expecting much...and then it sold out.
When we walked on stage and everyone knew every single word—singing louder than Alex—it was one of those moments where we all looked at each other thinking, "What is happening?"
Alex: There were a couple of songs where I actually stopped singing because I just wanted to hear them. I had my in-ear monitors in, so at first I thought I was imagining it. (Laughs.) Turns out I wasn't.
Maisie: I actually think your sound really suits the UK, especially London.
David: Honestly, our dream has always been to break here first.
Maisie: The album explores identity, emotional fallout and the uncomfortable process of growing up. Can you talk a little about the themes that shaped Don't Speak?
Alex: A lot of it is literally just me growing up while we were making the record. When we first started writing it, it was during the pandemic. We were all staying in an Airbnb and, honestly, I was drinking every day. I wasn't in a great place mentally. Between then and finishing the album, my entire life changed. Now I wake up at five in the morning, I go to the gym, I'm married, I've got a son... everything is different. So when I listen back now, I can actually hear myself changing across the record.
"Typical Ways" is probably the best example. It was one of the first songs we wrote, but I rewrote the lyrics over and over again for almost four years. The guys were getting pretty frustrated with me. (Laughs.)
When I first wrote it, the message was almost celebrating all my bad habits. It was like, "This is just who I am." But I knew that wasn't honest enough. I had to grow up before I could finish that song properly. By the end, it became much more about being frustrated with myself—wanting to become a better version of who I was.
Maisie: Do you think making the album was cathartic?
Alex: Maybe it is now. I think the real growth happened while I was living through it. Looking back, the songs almost feel like letters to myself—little reminders of what I learned along the way. Not that I always remember to listen to them... (Laughs.)
Maisie: Are there any songs on the record that still feel emotionally difficult to perform live?
I wrote that about missing my wife while we were out in Tokyo. Some nights I can get through it just fine, and then other nights it really hits me. It just depends.
There was one time when we were flying from Seattle to San Francisco. United Airlines delayed our flight by twelve hours, so our sold-out Friday show ended up becoming a Sunday show. On paper it's only an extra day, but for me it wasn't just another day working—it was another day away from my family. When you've got a wife and a kid waiting at home, you feel that. So singing (Tokyo) after something like that definitely becomes harder.
Maisie: I love the music video for the title track, Don't Speak. It feels like it must be a brilliant one to play live. Where does it sit in the set?
David: Usually about third from last.
Alex: It's in a really nice spot. It's actually one of my favourites to play because, selfishly, it isn't the hardest song for me to sing. (Laughs.) I definitely gave myself a few songs on this record that are... a lot. By the time we get to Don't Speak, we've usually just come out of a slower section of the set, and that song is where everything shifts gears again. From that point onwards, it's just full energy until the end. The crowd always goes for it. One day I'd actually love to open with it, but I think that's probably something we'll save until album two, once we've got a bigger catalogue.
Maisie: What do you hope people take away from Don't Speak?
Alex: Honestly, I just want people to enjoy themselves. I think everyone's taking themselves far too seriously these days. People are constantly angry about whatever the issue of the week happens to be. I just want people to come to a show, be together and enjoy being around other people again.
That's really it.
Songs like Typical Ways have become something different live. People absolutely scream those lyrics back at us. For me, it almost feels like a release of energy—for us and for the audience. People can feel everything at once: happiness, sadness, excitement... they can let it all out.
David: That's exactly what we felt when we were writing those songs, so it's really nice seeing fans connect with them in the same way.
Maisie: I want to put your London knowledge to the test... If someone says they're absolutely knackered, are they angry, drunk or tired?
Alex: Tired.
Maisie: What does "I'm skint until payday" mean?
Alex: That you're broke until you get paid.
Maisie: If a Londoner asks, "You alright?", what's the correct response?
David: Don't you just say... "You alright?"
Maisie: Exactly. Or just "Yeah." I think Americans sometimes think we're asking if something's wrong.
(Everyone laughs.)
Maisie: What's a cheeky Nando's?
David: Going to Nando's! (Laughs.) I've actually had Nando's loads. When we were in Chicago I think I ate it three times.
Maisie: Last one. If your tour manager says you're having a mare, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
David: That sounds bad...
Maisie: Correct!
David: You know what's funny? Before the pandemic I somehow ended up watching The Only Way Is Essex on Hulu. I have absolutely no idea why. (Laughs.) I ended up binge-watching loads of it, so half the stuff you're saying sounds familiar. Then one of my friends got married and there was a British guy there, and I kept asking him whether people actually talked like they do on the show.
Maisie: My family moved to Essex when I was a teenager. I grew up in the north, so moving there was... quite a culture shock.
(Everyone laughs.)
Maisie: If you could steal one member from any UK band without replacing anyone in your own band, who would it be?
David: Noel Gallagher. (Laughs.)
Maisie: Touring is obviously exciting, but it can also be exhausting. How do you switch off once you get home?
David: It's actually harder than people think. Before a tour you've settled into your routine at home—when you wake up, when you go to bed, all of that. Then you go out on the road and suddenly you're running purely on adrenaline. Every night you're feeding off the energy from the crowd. When you get home your girlfriend or your wife is like, "Can you take the bins out?" (Everyone laughs.) And you're thinking, "I was just playing to a room full of people..." But it's good. Home grounds you again. I always get a little bit sad when a tour finishes because you miss that excitement, but then after a while you start enjoying being home. Eventually the itch comes back...and you're ready to leave again.
Alex: It's even stranger now because I've got a son. Part of me is desperate to get back on the road, and another part of me doesn't want to leave home at all. It's a really weird feeling.
David: It's honestly the best of both worlds. I wish everyone could experience that feeling—even at the level we're at now. Obviously we'd love it to grow even more, but just getting to experience that kind of joy with people every night is incredibly special.
Maisie: You’ve hinted that you're starting to think about new music. Has work on album two begun?
Alex: It's definitely starting.
David: Alex's been the one saying, "Alright guys... album two." (Laughs.) Caleb keeps reminding us that he only just finished mixing the first one. But everyone's talking about it now. During soundcheck we've started messing around with ideas before shows, and there have already been a few interesting moments. I think everyone's getting excited.
Alex: I wanted to get to a point where I wasn't burnt out before starting again. I'm pretty much there now.
The more we tour, the more ideas I get. We actually rewrote about half the album after we'd played some of the songs live, before it even came out. You learn so much from performing them. Now, when we're on stage, I find myself thinking, "It'd be cool if we had a song that did this..." or "We're missing something that feels like this..." Sometimes it's good to just jump into writing blindly, but I think this time we've got a lot more perspective.
David: We were lucky with the first album. It was almost like testing a new drug. You put it out into the world, see what works, what doesn't...and then you go back into the lab. (Everyone laughs.)
Maisie: Do you have any pre-show rituals, or anything you always have to do before going on stage?
David: Yeah, definitely. I've got this thing called a Theragun—it basically looks like a tiny jackhammer. (Laughs.)
I use it all over my arms and legs before we play because drumming is surprisingly physical. I'll usually eat a proper lunch, then about two hours before the show I'll have an energy bar. An hour before we go on I'll eat a banana, take two Aleve, do a load of stretching and start warming up. It's become a pretty set routine.
Alex: Meanwhile, the guitar players are...drinking. (Everyone laughs.)
David: They'll complain halfway through the show that they're cramping and I'm like, "Maybe eat a banana?" (Laughs.)
Maisie: What does your rider look like? Is it anything exciting?
Alex: Honestly...it's pretty boring. Water, Coke, Red Bull...
David: Bananas.
Alex: Bananas. Gatorade. The guitar players usually ask for a pack of cigarettes. Sometimes venues can't get them, but that's about as rock 'n' roll as we get. (Laughs.)
Maisie: You’ve spent quite a bit of time touring Asia recently. How was that experience?
David: It was incredible. The fans were amazing, but even outside the shows it was just fascinating experiencing somewhere completely different. I'd never been to Asia before, so it felt like discovering a whole new world.
Alex: Going there was actually a really conscious decision for us. Instead of doing another US tour, we basically said, "Let's go somewhere we've never really played before." Looking back, it completely changed everything.
David: Honestly, it was probably the best decision we've ever made.
Alex: One month we'd be opening for people in little 200-capacity venues...and then suddenly we were playing arenas and stadiums in Asia. It happened incredibly quickly.
Maisie: That must have been quite difficult to get your head around.
David: It definitely was. But at the same time it also felt like, "This is what we've always wanted." We've always believed the music could work on those kinds of stages, so getting the opportunity just made us want to push even harder.
Alex: I just wish we were as good then as we are now.
(Laughs.)
Maisie: You’re a perfectionist?
Alex: Probably.
(Laughs.)
Maisie: Finally, because this is F Word Magazine, we always end by asking one question... What's your favourite F word? It can be absolutely any F word.
David: Fuck. (All laugh.)
I never realised how often I actually say it until my brother had his first kid. He kept saying,
"You really need to watch your language around him." And I was like, "Do I?" Then I started paying attention and realised I say it constantly. Not even because I'm angry. I'll literally say something like, "Yeah, I went and got a fucking cheeseburger." It's just become part of my vocabulary. (Laughs.)
