What do social workers and punk rockers have in common?
Think social work and you don’t automatically conjure up an image of Sid Vicious.
But a social worker and lifelong punk rock fan believes the profession and the music genre made famous by the Sex Pistols have more in common than first meets the eye.
Rodney Faizi, who goes by the stage name Rodney Rock!T, has just released a punk rock album about “being on the backfoot in life” and taking a “positive step forward”.
Called Up The AntE, it deals with many of the themes social workers come across in their working life.
The singer songwriter, who works with an adults team in Wigan, says: “The songs focus on being oppressed and disadvantaged and finding the positives.
“As social workers we work in an anti-oppressive profession and we try and make peoples’ lives better however disadvantaged they are in life. We try and give them a positive outlook.”
The songs deal with issues such as undiagnosed ADHD, drug use, sexual abuse, racism, oppression, neurodiversity, domestic abuse and PTSD.
Rodney says: “They are real life events. One of them is about religion which is based on a Netflix documentary called Pray Away about conversion therapy forcing gay people to heterosexuality.”
Rodney believes punk rock, with its anti-establishment roots and identity, is ideally suited to speaking out against social injustices.
“Punk is at the heart of society. It isn’t about making money, it is about fighting against oppression and that is why I am a social worker: to help people make their lives better, to give them opportunity.
“A lot of music now in pop and even bands like Oasis, they don’t really sing about issues in society. That is what is great about punk. It is a brilliant voice for standing up against oppression and abuse.”
According to Rodney, punk could be in for a revival soon with the 50th anniversary of its explosive arrival on the music and fashion scene in 1977.
Up The AntE is the second album produced by the Liverpool-based musician and locum social worker. His first – !n a State – was also influenced by his experience in the profession. Themes included food banks, domestic violence, Covid-19, dementia, mental health and alienation.
While being lead singer in a punk rock band might seem an unusual hobby for a social worker, Rodney says the profession is full of people doing creative things outside their day job.
“I was in a meeting in my last role and the manager turned around and said to us: ‘Tell me something about you other than the social work that you do’.
“I was amazed by the responses. One was a poet, another did artwork, one acted. There is a lot of creativity among social workers. We are not just social workers, we are doing lots of other things in life and it is always nice to know people have other talents.
“Social workers are cool, down to earth people!”
Rodney believes there's a strong link between social work and the creativity: “Social work is quite a creative activity. You have to be creative in how you approach people. You have to use your human self. You have to be a chameleon and adapt to different people and come up with creative solutions. It is not just paperwork and assessments.”
Up The AntE was recorded with fellow musician Jose Ibanez on bass and engineer and Mark Rice on drums, with the album artwork by Andrew Boyden.
It’s dedicated to Carl Smith, a musician from South Africa and friend of Rodney’s who died recently.
The album can be found on online streaming platforms, including Spotify and YouTube.