16 minute read
MATT DONNELLY
Two top-10 UK albums, famed for their conceptual, high-production music videos, which rack up millions of views, they are one of the biggest rock bands in the UK. Now, back with their fourth album, Amazing Things, it’s …
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Don Broco
The band’ s drummer and backing vocalist, Matt Donnelly, talks to Faye Lewis about his journey into veganism
Matt Donnelly caught up with Viva! to tell us what it’s like to be a touring band that can’t tour and his ‘non-traditional’ route into veganism. He is a warm-hearted guy and when we discussed his latest album Amazing Things, he is definitely in an upbeat frame of mind.
“I’ ve really learned to take each year as it comes, ” he laughs, “because if you make too many detailed plans, at the end of the year, you look back and laugh because they didn’t happen. It’s the same with music, which is so unpredictable and you never know what’s around the corner – but that’s also the beauty of it. ”
Matt’s desire to make music was seeded long ago and took root with the band when they were still in school. They grew coltishly from teenagers who travelled to London together to watch gigs, to becoming one of the most exciting hard rock bands in the UK. Anyone who has listened to Don Broco’s musical canon will hear three-to-four-minute reasons why people love them and their songs.
“We are a heavy guitar, rock band but when you watch us you ’ll see our sense of fun, hope and joyfulness. There is a seriousness behind our lyrics but our music is essentially about uniting and bringing people together. ”
They seem to play something for everyone – the angry and cheerful alike. Despite having catapulted to the major-league rock stratosphere, Matt reflects on how very grounded they are as a band. In fact, increased popularity has only made them appreciate what’s really important. And to Matt, health and veganism are two of those things.
His route into veganism was anything but traditional. In September, 2017, the band were on tour, playing sold-out shows across Europe and the US, when suddenly Matt found himself experiencing cramping and abdominal pain.
“If I was playing energetic shows or if I was going for a run, basically anything which caused my heart rate to be elevated, I would experience these pains, ” he says.
“After I returned to the UK, I went to get myself tested and was diagnosed with a rare blood condition called Aceruloplasminemia, a disease which is horrible to spell and even more horrible to have.
“There was a period of six to eight weeks where we weren’t sure of my eligibility for certain treatments so I went on a personal journey… I had already wanted to
cut down on my meat consumption and this was the real motivation for me to do something about it. ”
Matt was supported on this journey by his then girlfriend, Lauren, now his wife. “It became fun – our friends and family got us a lot of cookbooks and we became adventurous in cooking, finding new recipes and veganising existing ones. I didn’t transition through vegetarianism but decided to go straight to veganism and I’ ve never looked back. ”
For the band, the changes made were subtle, but sensible; keeping the international touring schedule in place but incorporating better planning around where they would source food in each city.
“Even though I’m the only vegan in the band, when on tour we go for Thai, Ramen, Mexican and Japanese places where I can eat comfortably and the band support that. I can’t imagine as a touring musician how hard it must have been in the 90s to find vegan food and still today, some countries have difficulty appreciating what veganism is. ”
Of course, the conversation turns from Don Broco’s previously hectic touring schedule – supporting bands like Linkin Park – to life offstage, fitting in song-writing whilst adapting to ‘the new normal’ .
“The last year has brought a really unique set of challenges. At the start of the pandemic, we had plans to go into the studio to record so thankfully our touring schedule wasn’t disrupted like many other bands. But after months of Zoom sessions we were [finally] able to get into the studio. ”
They decamped to Suffolk’s Decoy Studios at the end of last summer and enlisted the help of producer Jason Perry (McFly, Fatherson), who had produced the band’s second album Automatic in 2015.
“It was a welcome oasis being in the studio. We formed our own bubble and had our own feeling of safety in the countryside and were really able to just focus on the album, ” says Matt.
Listening to the new album, Amazing Things, reveals an escape route from the world so what emerges is the music.
“There’s a greater sense of letting off steam in the lyrical content, which is natural as we were all using music as an outlet and therapy for the madness of what was going on. Early on in the pandemic, I lost three uncles in a short period of time and other people I know were hospitalised. It felt like we were receiving daily phone updates on their health. It was a tragic time for my dad who lost three brothers in the space of a few weeks. ”
Death is a raw material of life itself and the impact of this can be felt on the track, Easter Sunday. Unsurprisingly, it’s a suitably poignant song even if you can – shock horror – hum along to some of it.
“Rob, our lead singer, was watching an online church service and for the lyrics and song idea, he was struggling with the juxtaposition of the sermon, God having a plan and the tragedy befalling my family. He was finding it difficult to put the two things together and was searching to find a way of remaining optimistic in that situation. ”
Despite the tragic events of Matt’s personal life, the album is coloured with different emotions and sounds –anthem-loud choruses, the raw aggression of Rob’s vocals, softer, lilting moments on tracks like Anaheim. Plus we mentioned the remarkable creative flair in their videos, right? But don’t take our word for it, Google ‘Don Broco, Manchester Super Reds No. 1 Fan ’ , and see for yourself.
The album is a full-bodied work and in my view their strongest to date. Looking back fondly on their time in the studio, Matt laughs:
“One of the highlights was that when we were recording, one person took on the cooking duties each day, so we played Come Dine With Me and secretly scored and rated each other’s dishes. ” And how did the band rate Matt’s dishes?
“Well, I didn’t come first, ” he laughs, his affability shining through again. “But they were all happy to be fed vegan food. Veganism isn’t as niche as it once was because even mainstream restaurants now have the word ‘ vegan’ on the menu – it’s regarded as a commonplace lifestyle choice. What’s even better, the younger generation will grow up not really knowing any different and that’s brilliant. That’s why I’m really supportive of what Viva! are doing because of the important message they ’re spreading!”
We concur on that.
lifeSCIENCE
Viva! Health unravels scientific research and makes it easy to understand. Here we update you on the latest findings…
BY DR JUSTINE BUTLER, RESEARCHER & WRITER VIVA! HEALTH
Too much pressure?
A vegan diet can help reduce blood pressure
Changing your diet is an effective way to lower your blood pressure and there is robust evidence to show that a vegan diet can help to do that. Many studies, including the EPIC‑Oxford study, found that vegans have lower levels of high blood pressure than meat-eaters, fish-eaters and vegetarians. Vegan diets probably work via a combination of factors, including the beneficial effects of fibre, vitamins A, C and E, antioxidants, polyunsaturated fats and minerals – phosphorus, calcium, magnesium and potassium, in particular.
Moving from animal to plant‑based foods can also alter the gut microbiota, decreasing production of toxic metabolites. So-called nutraceuticals, such as beetroot juice, magnesium, vitamin C, catechin‑rich beverages (green tea) or soya isoflavones may also help. Another review, looking at 15 studies with over 800 participants, also found that vegetarian diets significantly lowered blood pressure – a vegan diet was even more effective.
Strilchuk L, Cincione RI, Fogacci F et al. 2020. Dietary interventions in blood pressure lowering: current evidence in 2020. Kardiologia Pollska. 78 (7-8) 659-666. Lee KW, Loh HC, Ching SM et al. 2020. Effects of vegetarian diets on blood pressure lowering: A systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis. Nutrients. 12 (6) 1604.
Green chemoprevention!
Could broccoli protect against cancer?
Compounds called isothicyanates in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage and pak choy are known to have anti-cancer properties. Broccoli in particular contains many of these compounds and one, called sulforaphane, is found to be effective in preventing cancers of the prostate, breast, colon, skin, bladder and mouth. Scientists call this ‘ green chemoprevention ’ and say that eating these vegetables in the right amount on a regular basis can promote health and reduce the risk of cancer. Also rich in vitamins, minerals, fibre, polyphenols and antioxidants, broccoli should be a regular feature of your diet.
Nandini DB, Rao RS, Deepak BS et al. 2020. Sulforaphane in broccoli: The green chemoprevention!! Role in cancer prevention and therapy. Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. 24 (2) 405.
Meat health warning
… and it comes from a study of half-a-million people
We know that red and processed meat increase the risk of bowel cancer but new research, from the University of Oxford, shows that it also increases the risk of nine other serious illnesses. Scientists looked at the health records of half-a-million UK adults and found that higher consumption of red and processed meat increased the risk of heart disease, pneumonia, diverticular disease, colon polyps and diabetes. Higher consumption of poultry increased the risk of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, gastritis and duodenitis, diverticular disease, gallbladder disease and diabetes. It’ s quite a list!
Papier K, Fensom GK, Knuppel A et al. 2021. Meat consumption and risk of 25 common conditions: outcome-wide analyses in 475,000 men and women in the UK Biobank study. BMC Medicine. 19 (1) 53.
Improve your gut health
Plants foods are best for your microbiome
Our guts are inhabited by trillions of bacteria, collectively known as the microbiome. An imbalance in your microbiome can contribute to obesity, type 2 diabetes and other health problems. This study examined the effects of a low-fat, vegan diet in 168 overweight adults over 16 weeks. Half the group were given a vegan diet and the other half continued eating their regular diet, which included animal products. The vegan group lost, on average, 6.4 kilograms (a stone) of weight compared to just 0.5 kilograms in the control group and their insulin sensitivity increased significantly.
This wasn ’t just the result of a lower calorie intake; the vegan diet induced significant changes in people ’ s gut microbiota. High-fibre diets increase the production of short-chain fatty acids in the gut, which have a positive effect on weight regulation and cardiometabolic health. The positive effects of a vegan diet on the microbiome may be one of the reasons why vegans have a lower risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Kahleova H, Rembert E, Alwarith J et al. 2020. Effects of a low-fat vegan diet on gut microbiota in overweight individuals and relationships with body weight, body composition, and insulin sensitivity. A randomized clinical trial. Nutrients. 12 (10) 2917.
Breathe easy
A healthy vegan diet may combat asthma
A review of current evidence looking at the links between diet and asthma in children and adults found that diets rich in fruits, vegetables, grains and pulses, with little or no animal products, may reduce the risk of asthma. Antioxidants, fibre, vitaminD, saturated and polyunsaturated fats are all likely, they say, to affect how asthma might develop. Plant foods may protect against asthma via their effects on inflammation, oxidation and microbial composition – it’ s that microbiome again! Additionally, increased fruit and veg, reduced animal products and weight management could mediate free radical damage, cytokine release and other immune responses involved in the development and course of asthma.
Clinical trials identifying the mechanisms involved could lead to the potential use of nutritional therapy in the prevention and management of asthma.
Alwarith J, Kahleova H, Crosby L et al. 2020. The role of nutrition in asthma prevention and treatment. Nutrition Reviews. 78 (11) 928-938.
Message in a bottle
Why dairy milk signals trouble
Studies show a link between cow ’ s milk and increased birthweight, higher body mass index (BMI), early onset of periods, increased childhood growth rates, acne, type 2 diabetes, breast and prostate cancer, neurodegenerative diseases (Parkinson ’ s and Alzheimer ’ s) and mortality from all causes. This study suggests there is a common mechanism that links milk to these adverse effects – a growth regulator called mTORC1, which triggers protein synthesis. Cow ’ s milk is designed to turn a calf into a fully-grown cow in just over a year. It relays sophisticated maternal signals for mTORC1 activation to the ‘milk receiver ’ . It’ s no surprise then that such a powerful signalling pathway, directing rapid growth, produces adverse health effects in people consuming cow ’ s milk.
Melnik BC. 2021. Lifetime impact of cow’s milk on overactivation of mTORC1: From fetal to childhood overgrowth, acne, diabetes, cancers, and neurodegeneration. Biomolecules. 11 (3) 404.
The Viva! Vegan podcast & news minisode
What’ s coming up on The Viva! Vegan Podcast
JULY – We meet the incredible Kate Strong, a world record holding vegan triathlete AUGUST – Ben Meades, the founder of Bristol’ s own tempeh producers, Tempeh Meades SEPTEMBER – Matt Donnelly, drummer in top rock band, Don Broco OCTOBER – Olivier Mankondo, the wellness coach who has transformed his life and health with a vegan diet
with:
helen & faye
viva.org.uk/podcast
Morrison ’ s Pig Farm Closes due to Viva! Exposé
A year after our shocking investigation into Winterbrook Farm Partners, tenants of Calvesley pig farm in Wiltshire, an eviction notice was issued and they were forced to close. We returned to check on the progress and found the site had been completely emptied and work on demolishing the buildings had begun.
Calvesley Farm was a breeding unit, home to hundreds of female pigs (sows) who were routinely impregnated and forced to birth countless litters of piglets. Confined to cruel farrowing crates, the sows churned out a staggering 400 piglets a week – who were transported to another Winterbrook Farm Partners rearing facility, called Whiteshoot Farm in Oxfordshire, when just five weeks old. These farms supplied Morrisons ’ supermarkets.
Footage taken from Calvesley Farm in 2020 revealed disturbing examples of animal cruelty - farm workers thumping young piglets and killing them by slamming their tiny heads onto the concrete floor and dumping the bodies. Although shocking, this savage act is entirely legal.
Yattendon Estate, who own the land occupied by the farm, were so shocked by what we filmed, and the national publicity it achieved, that they served the farm notice to quit. Councillor Carolyne Culver, who represents the ward where the farm is located, said: “I’ m glad this case has been resolved. It’ s essential that whenever there is evidence of animal cruelty it is dealt with urgently.
“Concerned residents contacted me when they saw the media coverage and Yattendon Estates took action ” .
To read about our 2020 investigation, visit viva.org.uk/morrisons-pigs.
Media man, punk-bred John Robb Defying dystopia with positive ideas
Whilst governments are (generally) rushing us helter skelter into a Bladerunner future, we are greening up their effluent flow with positive visions and putting the diss into dystopia! This week I helped to soft launch a green and eco apprenticeship scheme called the Green Britain Academy, along with Dale Vince of Ecotricity (Viva! patron).
If the future is going to be green we need a green workforce and the Green Britain Academy is proud to play its part in this, running alongside the ever increasing vegan consciousness that sees hatchet faced TV chefs doubt their addiction to dead flesh and jump onto the post-corpse diet bandwagon that they once disdained.
Creak! creak! creak! the barn door of a fuzzy post-plague normality has slightly opened and peering into a hopeful postpandemic world with the added bonus of scraps of flickering sunshine, life feels better!
Of course, all the human-driven disasters, from climate crisis to pandemic, are still at the top of the agenda. At the beginning of the crisis, there was talk of a green future yet progressive leaders and mayors are still grappling with how to make this work, defying the belching, monolithic beast of stink-breathed capitalism and its enticing matrix that we are all trapped into.
One of the great points that crops up in debates about saving the planet is the fact that it’ s not the planet at all that needs saving, it’ s the human race that needs saving from the human race! If we were to obliterate everything, old Mother Nature would happily move on. Within a couple of years, it will have stabilized but in a different direction, just like it did during the last great extinction, when the lumbering dinosaurs saw their millions of years of dominance collapse within weeks of a random asteroid crashing to earth.
At least they could claim this was not self-inflicted. Could we be the first species on the planet to be stupid enough to destroy everything and yet smart enough to know that we were doing it? Could we get as smart as we should be and become the first species to say no to our basic impulses, like ripping the heads off smaller species and eating them in lunatic frenzy?
Yup! the pandemic may have paused our relentless rush into the dollar empire but it already feels like that relentless, blindfolded sprint is about to recommence. And yet there are literally green shoots of recovery. Low carbon power is rising rapidly, electric cars are no longer talked about as a luxury but a necessity and veganism and plant based are now part of the parlance and are expanding into the mainstream, embracing a murder-free future!
Solutions that once seemed far out are now within reach. Green populism is now the only pop culture that matters. Welcome to the future!
