interview

Interview: Lindsey Stirling

/ Paul McBride / 1 Comment

Global Youtube phenomenon Lindsey Stirling is about to bring her signature violin-electronic-dubstep style to Australia for the first time. I tripped over all those hyphens on the way to the interview.

Your style has been described as ‘hip-hop violin’ or ‘classical fusion’. How did you arrive at the sound people now know you for?

I started playing to hip-hop tracks because I wanted to make the violin fun again. I wanted to dance and I wanted to entertain both myself and the crowd. When I was finally able to produce my own music, I basically took all my favourite styles – electronic, dubstep, classical, and Celtic – and combined them all together.

Growing up in Arizona, what music influenced the songs you make today?

I always listened to electronic music. I think I was the only kid in my high school who liked techno. Haha! But I also loved pop-rock. My favourite band of all time is Evanescence.

After being dismissed by the judges on ‘America’s Got Talent’, were you ever tempted to change your style or approach?

I was actually considering giving up. In my mind, I had failed so dismally and I was so humiliated after that experience, I wondered if I had the courage to get back no stage again. But after much thought I turned fear into motivation. Nothing gives me more drive than when someone tells me I can’t do something. I now had a point to prove.

How does it feel to know your videos have over 300 million hits on YouTube?

Mind blowing.

Do you think it’s still possible for artists to ‘make it’ without the Internet?

It would be really difficult because that is where people connect now; not TV, not radio, but through the Web. The Internet and technology has made it possible for the Average Joe to do it on their own and bypass the record label.

LINDSEY STIRLING’S SELF-TITLED DEBUT ALBUM IS OUT NOW. SHE PLAYS BRISBANE POWERHOUSE ON SATURDAY AUGUST 24.

Interview: Sonny Chin of A Cartoon Graveyard

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a cartoon graveyard
Hi Sonny, you’ve just released your debut album, The Men Who Stole Your Horse Are In The Woods With My Friend. How would you describe the songs on the album?

I think the songs really need to be described as part of the album. And the album I might describe as manically nostalgic. The songs for me really reflect off each other and have a certain completeness when heard together on the album. Its kind of like how without Data’s inventions or Chunk’s big-heart the Goonies would never have found the hidden treasure. And that can only lead to evil developers destroying small sea-side towns. So yeah, in a way they’re good enough.

I’ve always been an albums person and for me there was no other way to put out these songs. Singles seem to be becoming more popular these days but I think eventually people will come back around to the album as the way to listen to music. Or maybe not, whatever.

Tell me about your writing and recording process – is it something you enjoy or something that can prove difficult?

I love writing music which makes it a pretty easy thing to do. I don’t really think about the process too much. The recording process is a completely different animal. Its a self-produced album, so we were doing all the mixing ourselves and you can end up getting quite self-conscious when you’re mixing tracks that you also play on. I think we ended up getting the hang of it and the last few songs we recorded were done in a fraction of the time that it took to do the others.

How does it feel to have your album finished and in the public domain?

Its great having it done and its good to know that our music is somewhere out there in the sub-ether. Although since finishing the album most of my life has been taken up with promoting it, which is a bit up the hill backwards, but its good to know the songs are now on ‘record’ in the literal sense so that we can look forward in a way and perhaps start branching out from what we have been doing for a while now in our live show.

What has the reaction to your album been like so far?

The reaction so far has been good from the people who have heard it, although it would be nice if more people did hear it. The great thing is that these days there’s this under-current of people searching for music that isn’t necessarily heard through major media and so we’re slowly building an audience there, which is cool.

You know, its like those jazz or Cuban music albums that used to be made as short-run pressings for small fan bases. The guys who made those albums were doing it on a small budget and were basically doing it for the love of playing music. So from the outset I felt like that was the sort of album we were making, except with rock music.

Which artists have had an influence on your music, and which do you currently rate?

As a band and as individuals we’re influenced by a whole range of artists and hopefully that comes through in our music. The Ventures are one of those great surf guitar bands that I think heavily influence our sound. Again, I’m into bands that have created great and diverse albums. The Beatles, Bowie, Big Star… and that’s just the B’s. My favourite current artists are probably Dirty Projectors and Okkervil River.

You are playing an album launch show at Black Bear Lodge on 19th June. What can fans expect from your show?

Wow, well for starters I’ve organised a massive LED stage for the audience to dance on, there’s gonna be some pyrotechnics and the whole club is going to be moved to a remote country town for the evening. In fact, we may not even be there, but if we are we will be in robot helmets. I just hope it hasn’t been done before.

If you could share a stage with one artist, living or dead, who would it be?

I’d probably go with a living artist, because you can almost guarantee that things would get a bit messy with a dead one. I did once have an idea of forming a tribute band called The Zombie Beatles, and we were going to play covers like “With a little help from my friends’ brains” and “While my re-animated flesh gently weeps”, so maybe Zombie John Lennon. I think he went vegetarian so we wouldn’t have to worry about the whole ‘eating brains’ issue as long as we kept a few heads of lettuce around the stage. We’d play ‘Rain’ so he could join in on the harmonies in the chorus. Actually, how about dead Bieber?

How do you rate the current scene in Brisbane for bands like yourself? What could be done to improve it, if anything?

There’s definitely a scene. But unfortunately there are only a handful of venues that will actually play original bands which makes it difficult. Hopefully more venues will open up under small bar liquor licences and give bands that have modest followings more places to play. Venues and bands alike need to take more risks. Doing what everyone else is doing is an easy way to guarantee numbers, but nothing great was ever created by maintaining the status quo. Other than ‘Rockin’ all over the World’. People also need to get out and support local music, and see a band they haven’t heard of. It’s also becoming more important for bands to be well organised and plan gigs and releases well in advance.

What are the band’s plans for the rest of 2013?

We haven’t really thought past the 19th June. You can over plan these things.

A CARTOON GRAVEYARD PLAY BLACK BEAR LODGE JUNE 19. THE MEN WHO STOLE YOUR HORSE ARE IN THE WOODS WITH MY FRIEND IS OUT NOW.

George Sheppard of Sheppard: “We’re like normal siblings in that we have tiffs now and then”

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sheppard

BEING IN A BAND with two of your sisters may seem like a nightmare to some, but it’s all in a day’s work for George Sheppard.

“It’s not too hard, to be honest,” he says. “When we first decided to start a band together I was a bit hesitant, and we’re like normal siblings in that we have tiffs now and then, but it’s all over quickly and it’s like it didn’t happen. I find it easier in that sense, because if you’re in a band with your friends an argument can leave a bad taste in your mouth or bad energy in the air, but with them it’s over with in two seconds and it’s back to normal. The only people I ever have arguments with are my sisters, so it’s pretty easy.”

“Amy started the band,” he says. “She began singing from a very early age, and it wasn’t until I was about seventeen when she asked me to sing harmonies for songs she had written. Then I started helping her write the songs, and we came up with a few cool little numbers. Soon after Jay came on board; he’s an accomplished songwriter and guitarist I met in Sydney, and he added a lot to our song-writing. We realised we needed to play live, so we auditioned Michael for the guitar, and my younger sister Emma decided to learn bass, and in January we added our drummer Dean. We started playing eighteen months ago, and the current line-up has been together since January.”

The Brisbane indie-poppers’ single ‘Let Me Down Easy’ is the band’s most well-known song, and has been getting considerable radio play of late.

“It was released last August when we put out our EP,” he says, “but it’s only been in the last five or six weeks that it’s been picked up on commercial radio, so it’s all happening for us now. It’s pretty much a break-up song, but it’s different to most break-up songs because it’s funky and happy, which is strange for such depressing subject matter. The reaction to the song has blown our expectations out of the water; we’ve had all different ages of people interested in our music. We’ve had videos sent to us of three year-olds singing along to ‘Let Me Down Easy’, and we’ve had seventy year-olds e-mailing us telling us that they love our music. We love to know that people are enjoying what we’re doing; we get mostly positive reaction through our Facebook and Twitter. There are heaps of bands who don’t really care if people like their music or not, but it’s really nice for us to know that our tunes are being enjoyed, and that we’re a positive part of people’s lives.”

In an unexpected turn of events, it was a radio station on the West Coast of America that gave the band their break.

“There’s a huge market over there,” he says. “We had a guy who runs a radio show pick up our song, and we scored a spot on his playlist in Portland. He picked up ‘Let Me Down Easy’, and it was the first commercial radio station in the world to play us, which was a massive deal. We got to number one on their most requested track list, among some huge names like Fun and The Lumineers. We did some shows over there supporting Atlas Genius, and we sold out a 1600 capacity venue, which was a moment I’ll never forget. We’ve done so many awesome gigs; South Africa was probably the most memorable as it was the first big festival stage we had ever played on. Our manager Michael Chugg pretty much threw us in the deep end, as it was in the middle of the wilderness, like something out of the Lion King; just this giant dust bowl.

The band will be playing a show at Brisbane’s Eatons Hill Hotel in June, but it won’t be a conventional Sheppard gig.

“This will be a funny one, as we’re doing a semi-acoustic show,” he says. “We’re going to have all the instruments, although we’ll have to tone down the drum kit a bit; Dean will have to be on brushes or something. It’s going to be very different from every other show we’ve played, that’s for sure, but we try to do that with every show we do; make it a little bit different or add something new every time, so people coming back can expect something different. It’s a big venue with a great reputation for live music, and we’ll take it as a challenge. A lot of our songs translate well acoustically so it’s going to be a groovy, chilled-out afternoon.”

As well as playing a number of hotels and bars, the young band have recently been on a tour of Australia’s high schools, which has seen some new rules being introduced.

“Man, the kids are amazing,” he says. “I expected to have some smart-alec kids here and there booing us or whatever, but they get right into it. Now I totally understand, because I would have loved a band to come to our school, and it’s an excuse for them to get out of class. We also get to do a workshop with them afterwards, and they can ask us questions about the industry, and watch us set up and sound check, so it’s a real learning experience. We can’t play ‘I’m Not A Whore’, and we find alternatives for a couple of swear words, but for the most part it’s really relaxed. The obvious rules are no swearing and always being courteous, although we’re not allowed to hug the students front-on. We do signings after the show and a lot of the students want a hug, but we’re only allowed to do side hugs. We thought it was funny, but rules are rules!”

While high school shows are earning the band legions of new fans, George has an eye on bigger stages.

“If I had a choice I would have Coldplay’s career,” he says. “I saw their live show, and it’s just such an unbelievable spectacle. To be able to put on something of that magnitude would be a dream come true for us, and that’s the level I’d like to see the band get to eventually. Personally I’ve always been a huge fan of big, atmospheric rock music like Kings Of Leon. I’m also into a lot of jazz, blues, and soul. Amy is more into Fleetwood Mac and The Rolling Stones – more old-school rock. Jay has a more singer-songwriter background, so he’s into Elliott Smith and those kind of artists, as well as Death Cab For Cutie. After this tour we’re planning to go back to the US at some point, as there are a few stations picking up our songs over there. We’ve also got a festival in Bangkok, which is going to be pretty cool, so we’re going to be very busy.”

SHEPPARD PLAY EATONS HILL JUNE 9

For Scenestr: http://www.scenemagazine.com.au/music/pop-electro/sheppard-keeping-it-in-the-family

Interview: Ilias

/ Paul McBride / Leave a comment

ilias portrait 2

Hi Ilias, tell me a little about where you grew up, your first memories of hearing music, and what music you listened to growing up?

I grew up in many places: Brazil, Algeria, France, and Indonesia before moving to Australia a few years back. I think my first memories of music are of my mum listening to and loving the Bee Gees very early. I remember being into guitars quite early too. Movies played a big part of my life as a six year-old; I used to watch The Blues Brothers over and over and I remember wondering why John Lee Hooker was in the movie but not on the soundtrack! What kind of six year-old worry about that? Tim Burton’s Batman soundtrack by Prince – I wore that tape out, and I was also obsessed with Sergio Leone’s The Good, The Bad & The Ugly and was hooked on Ennio Morricone’s score for this movie when I was seven or eight. I was probably way too young to be watching that movie!

On your debut album, Somewhere In Time, you wrote, played, and recorded everything yourself, taking several years to do so. Tell me about your writing and recording process; is it something you enjoy or something that can prove difficult?

Writing music is a fairly natural process; I love music and see sounds as colours when I hear it. Music is a refuge, it comes to me at night in dreams sometimes, and it’s always in me. Lyrics are a completely different and fairly excruciating process. Making words fit a melody while still having impact and meaning is the biggest challenge. I read that Burt Bacharach used to obsess for weeks over one syllable fitting one particular note, so I am glad life’s also tough for true geniuses like him. He’s so smooth, I love Burt! I also seem to have a habit of taking ten years to complete certain songs, like ‘Loving You’ or ‘Regret’ from last year’s EP. I wrote those lyrics in 2003 but then I rewrote the melody last year. The demos were sung with a French accent back then!

All recording for this album was done alone. I used various approaches, but I mostly tried to adopt a hypnotic/trance-like state of mind when it came to what was captured. The stuff you hear in old soul/R&B, blues & jazz records, the mysterious aspects of improvisation, how fresh it sounds decades later – that’s what inspires me. It’s something that is seriously lacking in modern music. My songs were composed, but all the guitar solos, bass, piano parts, weird noises, and some of the vocals were improvised on the record. You can really hear that improvisational, jazz/blues inspired approach on ‘If I See You’ and ‘September Memory’.

Which artists have had an influence on your music?

My biggest influences as a singer are Smokey Robinson and Dionne Warwick; their voices are pure magic. I also love ’60s vocal groups like The Ronettes, The Temptations, The Miracles, and The Delfonics. Growing up, my favourite artist was Prince; I dug his guitar playing, his productions, general craziness, and bad attitude. The idea to produce everything and play all the instruments myself for my album is pure Prince madness. Prince and I are not on speaking terms anymore however, I am just hoping he picks up the phone and asks me to produce his next album. Do it, Prince!

From a compositional point of view, I really love & study the music of Burt Bacharach, Brian Wilson and Brazilian greats like Tom Jobim, Joao Gilberto, and Caetano Veloso. I am fascinated by the musical connections linking these specific artists. You can hear that influence on ‘Never Utter The Word Never’, ‘Sometimes I Wonder’, and mostly on my acoustic 2012 EP Somewhere Down The Road. As a young guitarist, I was a huge fan of John Frusciante, Johnny Marr, Jimi Hendrix, Mark Knopfler, and Radiohead, but my heart will always belong to underappreciated soul/R&B/jazz cats and Motown guitarists like Robert White, Marv Tarplin, and Wah Wah Watson. My favourite jazz guitar player will always be Wes Montgomery. His playing was pure, effortless, unsurpassed genius – another smooth cat!

How does it feel to have your album finished and in the public domain after all that time?

It’s a strange feeling, and it will always be. These songs are so personal and I guess only I know the true meaning and inspirations behind them. It’s a thrill however, when people give me their interpretation of a song, and how much it means to them. I love that.

What has the reaction to your album been like so far?

The album has received praise from a few journalists, mostly overseas and here at home to some extent. It’s been mostly lauded for the originality and uniqueness of it’s sound and compositions, as well as instrumental and vocal prowess. I wish more people could hear it, but being independent & alone, it’s a tough task in today’s overcrowded music market. The album has quite a few complex musical layers and is very different to what’s being put out there today; I think it takes some time to grow on you. People have a fairly short attention span today so it’s a challenge. Still, it seems that most people who take the time to listen to it, end up really falling in love with it, to the point of addiction! I hope it gets discovered by more people in the future. It’s an album that needs to be listened really loud or in the dark, with eyes closed and a good pair of headphones. And also a box of Kleenex!

What is the most prized guitar you own? And which would you like to own the most?

I have a big Gibson acoustic that I got from Texas last year that I love, and a twelve-string Rickenbacker from Brighton, England, but my Gretsch White Falcon is probably my most prized axe. I remember watching ‘Going Inside’ by John Frusciante and Vincent Gallo on MTV back in the day, seeing that wonderful guitar and telling my uncle, one day she’ll be mine! The Gretsch guitar is all over the album and the artwork. It’s a great sounding and inspiring instrument. It can go from jazzy, smooth, and delicate to a rocky growl and rip your ears off. I really love how crystal clear it sounds on ‘Regret’. I still dream of owning a Gibson L5-CES; also known as the king of jazz guitars, but with a starting price of $US10 000, I better become quite famous before I can afford that one. I’m willing to accept all donations!

If you could share a stage with one artist, living or dead, who would it be?

Well, I’ve already shared a stage with Neil Finn of Crowded House twice and he was pretty high on the list. I’ve also been on stage with Prince on French TV when I was 18, but that was just dancing. I am thinking of a beautiful voice; Aaliyah, God rest her soul. If I could also hook up with Minneapolis funk masters The Time, that would be one hell of a jam session. I would just be shaking my money maker all night! In my dream band I’d have James Jamerson (Motown) on bass, and Hal Blaine (Phil Spector, The Beach Boys) on drums. On guitars would be Teenie Hodges (Al Green) and Spanky Alford (D’Angelo/The Roots), and on piano I’d have Lisa Coleman (Prince & The Revolution) with Lisa Germano on keys/violin/vocals. I will also steal Maxwell’s amazing backup singer Latina Webb, and you have the grooviest band ever assembled. It would totally work!

How do you rate the current scene in Australia for musicians like you? What could be done to improve it, if anything?

I am probably the worst person to ask this question. I don’t belong in any scene here. I guess I am just happy doing my own thing musically and being a reclusive freak. Personally, I am not a fan of the macho posturing in some of music out there nowadays. Perhaps it would also be great if new acts spent a few more years honing their skills and discovering and learning about great music before stepping into the spotlight so quickly. There is great energy in some of the music out there today, but I sometimes can’t help but feel that it lacks a bit of musical sophistication and a feminine touch.

What are your plans for the future? Any gigs or recordings in the pipeline?

In the distant future, I would love to step more into a strictly producer role, or even write for a great woman’s voice like Feist. In fact, I am on the way to New York now, where I will produce the next Mary J Blige record (in my dreams!) Movie soundtracks are something I am also interested in working on. In the immediate future, I would like to play select music industry showcases and festivals, both here and overseas. I am looking for a label or management, so I can focus fully on creation and recording. Any special gigs, events, future plans will be announced on my Facebook (http://facebook.com/tamalocal) and Bandcamp (http://ilias.bandcamp.com). Peace.

Kim Wilde: “I seem to remember a thrash metal version of ‘Kids In America'”

/ Paul McBride / 1 Comment

kim wilde

EIGHTIES pop siren Kim Wilde is back in business and promises to send audiences into nostalgia overdrive in an upcoming run of shows with Nik Kershaw.

“Nik and I are good mates and there will be a lot of good energy flying around,” she says. “He’s going to start by singing a handful of his most famous songs, and then I’m going to come on with my band and rock through all the songs people remember me for, and a few surprises. It’ll be very rocky, and a night of reminiscences; a lot of people get a lot of memories coming back when they hear these songs again, so it’ll be a very special night. I like to chat a lot with the audience between songs too, but the main focus is on having a real rock ‘n’ roll night.”

The choice to tour with a fellow eighties heart-throb was an easy one for the rejuvenated Wilde.

“We’ve been on the same record label before, back in the days of MCA,” she says. “He’s always been a bit of a reluctant pop star; it never sat easily on his shoulders. It’s only in recent years that he’s been able to come out and sing his songs again, in a kind of retro set-up, but I think he’s surprised himself with how much he’s enjoyed it. He recorded a new album in recent years and he’s still looking ahead as well as playing his old stuff. He’s sung on a couple of albums I’ve recorded in recent years, so he’s become a good friend and feels like part of our extended family.”

This will be Wilde’s first headline tour since 1994; something that the singer wasn’t initially comfortable with.

“It’s something I’ve got used to gradually,” she says. “I left the music business to get married and have kids, and when I came back to music it was to do eighties retro tours in the UK initially. I was happy to find myself in a list of people and not to have a fuss made over me; somewhere in between A,B,C,D, and Heaven 17. I still didn’t see myself as headline material at that point, but as the last few years have gone by I’ve got myself an amazing band and we’ve got a really good setup and a great reputation for our live performance. My early career in the eighties was all promotion and videos, and now it’s all about cutting it live, and that’s totally transformed me. So, headlining now feels much more like something I can take on; I feel like I can really make it work.”

Many of Wilde’s tracks are iconic enough to earn attention from a wide range of bands wanting to ‘re-imagine’ them.

“There are always good and bad covers,” she says. “I seem to remember a thrash metal version of ‘Kids In America’, which I think captured the spirit of the song, but there have been a lot of bland remixes too. There has been some good work done with ‘Cambodia’, and it’s always great when someone is inspired enough to have a go at reinterpreting your music, but some have been better than others – that’s the way of life. I’m looking forward to writing new tracks – we’re just putting to bed a twelve-track Christmas album which will be out this year, and I’ll be starting to write some pop and rock tunes for an album next year.”

KIM WILDE PLAYS THE TIVOLI OCTOBER 16

Interview: Bill Oddie

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oddie 1

Whether you know him best for his work on The Goodies or as one of the most well-known wildlife presenters of recent years, one thing is clear about Bill Oddie: he has had as varied a career as they come. Beginning in the mid-sixties, the multi-talented Englishman has dabbled in acting, comedy, music, presenting, ornithology, and conservationism, and at the age of 71, his sense of humour, energy, and passion for wildlife are as strong as ever. He also likes to go off on tangents from time to time.

You’re coming to Australia next month for a run of shows. Tell me, what will the show consist of?

The simple answer is that I don’t really know at the moment! That’s not because I’m completely busking it and haven’t thought about it, but in a sense things are much easier these days because you can gather together clips and things, whereas before you were stuck with a couple of pieces of film or a few slides. I’m doing research at the moment to see what’s actually available, because if you try to get things off the BBC you have to go under the cover of darkness and steal it. They don’t want you having things like that without paying them vast amounts of money. There will be a certain amount of Goodies-related stuff because I didn’t come on the last couple of tours with Tim and Graham. They’ve come back twice I think – sorry about that by the way! Nobody wants them forcing themselves upon your nation (laughs). I’ve got to find out what they covered then. I think it was about five or six years ago when I came over with them and we did shows at several places, starting off at the Melbourne Comedy Festival and then we ended up doing about fifteen gigs I think, covering mainly – and I hate to call it this – nostalgia; covering how various things occurred and requests and stuff like that. But this is going to be my angle, and the great thing about that is that I can say whatever the bloody hell I like and they’ll never know! (laughs)

Will you be solely telling stories, or doing some music too?

I won’t be directly singing with anybody as such unless I burst into something vaguely self-accompanied. One of my biggest failures in life is not actually getting round to playing something that I felt like exposing the public to, but I can probably plonk through the few chords I might need for a couple of things. So, there might be a bit of music, and there may be questions about that, which is fine. I’m amazed how much appreciation and affection we still get from the audience – I was in Sheffield a couple of days ago to talk about some pretty heavy conservation stuff and I was getting asked questions about having John Paul Jones on bass for a demo I did and things like that. I hope Australian audiences will be curious about how we arrived at where we did when we started doing The Goodies stuff. There’s a big Australian connection there as a matter of fact, as most of my band at that time were from Australia or New Zealand. We were like an early-days Flight of the Conchords!

You’ve been so involved in music throughout your career; do you still follow new music these days?

Oh, God yes! I would consider myself a massive fan. I’ve been accused over the years of wanting to be a pop star, and without being unduly uppity, we were pop stars in a way. We had five or six top-twenty records, and were on Top of The Pops every week. If you’ve been reading about the scandalous times in the BBC dressing rooms and Top of The Pops in the seventies – I’m here. I might be able to shed some light on that, or maybe not!

Well in that case, shed some light!

I don’t know (laughs). I can tell you what it was like, and I can tell you about the atmosphere without getting myself jailed or something. One was aware of a certain atmosphere. Let’s face it; it was a bunch of rock bands together at the BBC, and the recordings at that time had a concert feel to them. It was the age of freedom and groupies and so on and so forth, and I personally wouldn’t have regarded most of it as scandalous, but obviously some of it was. But obviously, some things we knew and some things we didn’t.

So you’re saying there’s substance to the stories, shall we say?

It depends (pauses). I don’t mind if when we do the shows in Australia I get asked serious questions; in a way I even prefer it. We can go on forever about the day we did a sketch with a giant kitten, but if part of what the audience wants comes from other curiosities I’m fine with that. I’m happy with people asking about the seventies and if it was really like the stories, and if it’s all true. If there’s a serious side to that I’m perfectly happy to talk about it, so I’d like people to feel that my shows aren’t just about dragging up the old times. Sometimes I like to throw questions right back at the audience and see what people think, in terms of politics, music, the environment, and whatever else. Am I making it sound too serious? (laughs) That also applies to talking about mental health problems I’ve had in the last ten years; I’ve been on something of a journey it has to be said, although if anyone’s looking for salvation you won’t find it; there’s no easy cure. We tend to get the same celebrity depressives in the UK, and I haven’t made that list yet, which I’m a bit cross about! (laughs) Yes, we know about Stephen Fry and so on, but come on!

Your struggles with bi-polar disorder and depression are quite well documented. How are you these days?

I’m fine at the moment; have been for about three years now. Fingers crossed I’ve got through it. I wish I could actually genuinely say it was with a lot of help from various medical institutions, but I can’t say that. One of the big problems is they really don’t know what they’re doing, in the nicest possible sense. It isn’t a simple matter of just take these pills and you’ll be alright, you know? But it might be, and they never say that because that puts half a dozen shrinks out of a job. (laughs) A bit of cynicism is creeping in here! Anyway I’m very happy to answer questions about anything; I’ve never understood people who go into an interview and set rules – I don’t want to talk about this, I don’t want to talk about that and so on. That’s ridiculous; if somebody asks something you don’t want to answer, then don’t answer it.

You’ve had such a diverse career. Is there anything, career-wise, that you haven’t yet done but would like to?

Well, there are millions of things! I suppose as you get older you have to accept all sorts of limitations and likelihoods, apart from getting old and dropping dead, which tends to put a bit of a dampener on some ambitions. I’ve changed my mind frequently about this, but sometimes I think I would like to get back to the sort of position I was in when I was making natural history programmes a couple of years ago, although I don’t think it’s possible as they’re not making that kind of programme now. I don’t know what they’re doing up there in BBC-land, that nasty place! (laughs) So really, apart from wanting to stay around, stay compos mentis, and frankly enjoy my own family – my daughters and grandchildren. Despite every possible encouragement, almost all of them have managed to go into some branch of show business, and I love it. Get to know them, get to know their mates, and you’ll be very, very pleasantly surprised nine times out of ten. Then, a couple of times you’ll be absolutely horrified! (laughs)

Let’s talk conservation now. Do you think we – as in people – are generally improving the way we treat animals or getting worse?

It’s hard to answer this, because I think roughly speaking one could say that we know a great deal more about what the dangers are, what the threats are, how the loss of habitats is so important and that kind of thing. We know much, much more than we did when I was a kid, for example; we know what the problems are in many cases, and what the solutions are, but that doesn’t mean that people are necessarily going to do anything about it. Awareness amongst the public is unquestionably higher, backed up with far more knowledge than we used to have. However, the same overriding concerns like money and greed; in other words politicians and occasional heads of countries – that hasn’t improved and the unfortunate fact is that they’re in charge, and it’s hard to make them see sense. In Britain it’s every fucking day with our stupid government, if I can be frank. We’ve got an absolute moron as an environmental secretary at the moment, Owen Patterson, and the Prime Minister is nearly as bad. It’s like dealing with a bunch of over-privileged landowners, and the battles are there non-stop. Times have changed so much that If someone asks me what should they do to help the environment, I tell them genuinely to be a politician, if they have a mind and a stomach for it, because we got to get some people in there with the right morality.

Final question, Bill. What are your plans for the rest of 2013?

Recover! (laughs) I don’t know actually, as my whole schedule has changed. When I was doing The Goodies that’s all we did. Because I was doing the music as well, I was probably more involved than anybody, so there wasn’t any spare time. Then, for ten or fifteen years I was doing wildlife programmes, which I gather were never shown in Australia; and those took up all my time. At the moment I’m just concentrating on putting my show together and I hope the people of Australia will think it’s rather good and want a few more. I want them to know that it’s not going to be all comedy, or not all serious; believe me, if you see my attempts at swimming with seals in Cornwall, you’ll see it’s not serious. And we’re going to have a good mix of things, but it won’t be totally schizophrenic; just a little bi-polar! (laughs)

BILL ODDIE’S TOUR OF AUSTRALIA STARTS IN BRISBANE ON JUNE 20th. SEE http://www.billoddietour.com.au FOR DETAILS.

MC Slice of Kobra Kai: “We’re really proud of this album”

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THE RELEASE of Sydney dubstep/dance collective Kobra Kai’s second album comes at a great time for the band, explains MC Slice.

“Insession is our second album to date,” he says. “We’re really proud of this album; we feel very comfortable with how we’ve evolved our sound over the years. Kobra Kai has been together as a band for almost eight years now, and it even existed previously as different incarnations, so it’s been a long journey and we’re a really solid unit. Down the years we’ve had a few band member changes, and we’re in a place where we feel really comfortable and we’ve always known who we are and what our music is, but this album really feels like our sound is really solid and an accurate reflection of us and how we’ve developed as artists. We’re all in our early thirties, and we’ve all been doing music as our principal passion for around fifteen years, so Insession really reflects where we’re at right now.”

Honing their live show has always been Kobra Kai’s main focus, with recording taking a back seat.

“We’re firstly and foremost a live band,” he says. “Basically, our ethos is to replicate in a live situation the music we hear at raves and clubs; predominantly club-based dance music. Someone will have an idea for a song or a skeletal structure of a track, and together we try to put all our ideas or themes into that. Then we rehearse it, it might change over time, and eventually it might become something, or maybe not. Sometimes it’s clear there will be a diamond at the end of this piece of rough, so to speak.”

“Insession is only our second album,” he says. “We’ve put out singles before and an EP or two. It took pretty much five years to get the first album done, and we needed to kind-of purge all of that and get it out the way so we could sink our teeth into the second album; it was almost like a release of new music as a finished product. So, this album is really special to us. It’s a bit darker than the last one, and we’ve produced and mixed all the tracks on the album ourselves, so they really are all ours. Hutch and Rehan have become really adept producers, and they are the two real musicians in the band in a classical sense; they play the instruments. Our first album was executive produced by an artist in London, and it was never quite satisfying to us, and it didn’t feel like our own; so we’ve done this one all ourselves.”

Using drums and guitars in a dance show adds another dimension to the band’s live performance.

“Hutch and Rehan come from a traditional instrument-based background,” he says. “They appreciate the club sound, we appreciate the musicianship, and so we come together and take inspiration from DJs in clubs and work out ways to add things to it in a live environment. I’m a DJ at heart, but when we’re on stage the live aspect is all about the energy we capture from the crowd. It’s so engaged, personal, and energetic, and the live aspect is really important in that, and in who we are as band full-stop.”

Slice is looking forward to a busy few months ahead, with the band set to hit the road in support of the album.

“We’ve got an Australian tour coming up for Insession,” he says. “We’re playing Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, The Blue Mountains, Newcastle, Brisbane, Byron, and Melbourne. Then we’ll be taking it to New Zealand. Hands down the best gig we’ve played is Subsonic; it’s all about the music and a great vibe. We’ve played Big Day Out, Future Music, and Parklife, which are always a pleasure to play as they’re generally really well manned and the sound is tip-top. As a performer, having a great set-up makes a real difference. We’re also going to be busy writing new material, which is a constant process for us, and we have a music video coming out really soon for our track ‘New Swings’. So all in all, really busy!”

INSESSION IS OUT NOW THROUGH ITUNES AND WWW.KAILIVE.COM

Andreas Bergh of Deathstars: “We look up to bands like Iggy & the Stooges and MC5”

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DEATHSTARS singer-guitarist Andreas Bergh – a.k.a Whiplasher – is looking forward to touring Australia for more than one reason.

“We are really looking forward to the Australian weather,” he says. “It has been the longest winter here! Also, we haven’t played club gigs in probably three years; we’ve mainly been doing festivals and arenas, and just to hang out with the guys in the band and play the songs will be nice.”

Having a distinctive look and being labelled as ‘death glam’ hasn’t stopped Deathstars branching out.

“We have always been a pretty straightforward rock band, even though the music is big-sounding and heavy,” he says. “We look up to bands like Iggy and the Stooges and MC5 and people like that, so it’s more like that vibe these days, but there’s also a flamboyant side to us. There’s a contradiction in Deathstars; we have one foot in the black metal scene in the graveyards of Sweden, and then we have a glam side, as we grew up with bands like Kiss. It’s most important for us in the band to not be able to say what Deathstars really is; we like to leave a question mark behind it.”

The band recently celebrated ten years together and completed a European tour with metal titans Rammstein.

“Watching Rammstein was incredible,” he says. “I think it was the biggest indoor production last year, and it was over 700,000 audience members in total. When we started out it was like an experiment; it was just finding something new that was interesting for us with the influences we had. Today, we’ve grown a lot, and it’s much more relaxed. We could be pretty stressed, but now we don’t really think about it. It’s a more peaceful band to be in now, although it’s still a circus all the time. And we have new members now, so when we make our new album after the Australian shows it’ll be as just a four piece, without Cat on guitar. We are starting to record it as soon as we get back home. We’re quite slow with releasing albums.”

Deathstars last toured here in 2009, and Bergh hopes to have a similar experience this time around.

“It was a hazy, but great time,” he says. “Our music is very Scandinavian, very European, and you can see that that scene exists and people appreciate that kind of vibe in Australia; it’s really not that far between us.”

DEATHSTARS PLAY THE ZOO MAY 1

Kings Konekted: “A lot of things dictated who stood where and by whose side”

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Brisbane hip-hop collective Kings Konekted are about to launch their new EP The Campaign, and it’s set to be a real landmark release for the group. DJ/producer Stricknine and MC Culprit explain how much it means.

“It feels great to have it finished,” says Stricknine. “It was all done at Class A Records and it was an absolute pleasure working with producer Trem.”

“We always love recording,” explains Culprit. “We would do it every day if we could. When writing we usually start with a beat first, and we can ponder on that for days or weeks, and from there we’ll either decide if it needs a theme or a message, and Dontez might write some verses to it. Generally the writing process starts with the beat, and the beat dictates where the writing of the track is going to go for us. It might all three of us or just two of us working at any one time. Dontez really controls the boards; the computers and the programming. I don’t do any of the computer work, but once we load the beat in we work out the layout of the song, and whoever is going to rap first does their part. The choruses tend to get done at the end, after we get our verses out over the beat and have a listen. If there’s something that’s going back and forth then the process changes a bit where we might switch things around to make sure we get it out effectively.”

Serbian/Australian Culprit and Indigenous Australian/Italian Dontez forged their friendship and musical bond from a young age, growing up in the crime-infested streets of the western suburbs of Brisbane, before joining forces with elder statesmen Strickine, Prowla, and Trem to make The Campaign.

“There was a lot of segregation in what we call the 4300 postcode area,” says Culprit. “It’s a working class area and unfortunately there’s a bit of crime. You could call it a low socio-economic environment if you wish, and a lot of things in the lifestyle – things like graffiti, things like music, things like sport – dictated who stood where and by whose side. And unfortunately fights are pretty common out there. But most cities across the world – wherever you go – have riff-raff; it just happens to be a bit more common in that area, and we bring it all to the table. It’s not a negative view or a positive view; we’re not saying it’s good that there’s fighting or it’s bad that there’s fighting, we just want it to be known. It’s our life, our story, and what we’ve seen, so we want to portray that. But it’s each to their own. We don’t think you have to come from that sort of background to be a hip-hop artist.

The Campaign is the group’s first release since 2009’s Trails To The Underlair, but fans won’t have to wait as long for the next, with a full-length album planned for late 2013.

“It’s going to be called Corrupted Citizens,” says Culprit. “We wanted to put out the EP as a taster to give something to the fans and to thank them for waiting so long as we’ve been working on this since 2009. But that’s not to say the quality on the EP isn’t as good as what the album will be.”

When asked about what the local hip-hop scene and what could improve it, Stricknine is quick off the mark.

“More Kings Konekted!” he says. “Nah, the scene in Brisbane has its moments. There’s plenty of stuff out there that would make me want to go and see it. But there’s a lot of stuff out there that’s labelled as hip-hop that isn’t. We try to make music that can be recognised as hip-hop the world over, so someone in New York can listen to it and know what it is, not just someone from Australia. Some hip-hop artists are together for only a couple of years and put out an album, and it shows in their music, whereas we started in 2007 or 2008 and the guys were together for about ten years before that.”

‘THE CAMPAIGN’ IS OUT APRIL 19th FROM WWW.CLASSARECORDS.COM

Pat Lundy of Funeral For A Friend: “We’re just going to show up, plug in and jam”

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FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND may be a post-hardcore institution, but drummer Pat Lundy will be keeping his feet on the ground for the band’s upcoming Australian tour.

“We’re just going to show up, plug in, and jam, it’s all we know how to do,” he says. “We’re not into any crazy production or anything like that; even at home we tour in a van and we do that because we choose to. Hotels are overrated, man. Bus touring, the smell of ammonia, piss, engines, and vomit; I kinda like that vibe. We just plug in and play, and get really sweaty in a bunch of kids’ faces.”

The band’s Australian tour will consist of ten shows in eleven days, and Lundy is excited by the prospect of the busy schedule.

“It’s the new dynamic of the band and it’s pretty normal,” he says. “I’ve just got home today from five shows in five days, so we’re into packing as many gigs as we can and playing to as many people as we can in whatever country we’re in. We wanna keep it busy man, and keep it punk rock! It’ll be a much more intense, more intimate vibe, played in places the band have never been to. I’ve only done Soundwave before, so getting to play the Gold Coast, Canberra, and places that we’ve never been will the best part of the tour I imagine. Now I’m home for five days, then I’m off for a secret Converse show in Berlin, then flying home for shows in the UK, then it’s the Silverstein tour, then our own headliners in Europe, then shows in Australia, then after that more shows in the UK and Europe. So, the whole year is a touring year for us.”

Lundy joined the band in 2012 after the departure of long-standing sticksman Ryan Richards.

“I joined a year ago this month,” he says. “I toured with the band a number of times with my old band. We supported them on four different tours and I knew their management really well. We were with the same management company, and we were always at the same parties and shit like that. They asked me not to join, but to audition, and I did that in March 2012.”

The band has just released their sixth album Conduit, and he reaction so far has been generally very positive.

“It’s a bit funny, when you work on something from inside it’s hard to tell,” he says. “I mean it’s hard to conceive that we have fans to be honest, and trying to guess how people are going to see our record is an alien concept. Even for the guys who have been in it from the start – we’re talking about Matt and Chris, obviously – for them I think it’s even harder to fathom how people are going to take it, but I can tell you for free at this stage that they don’t care. They’re just doing selfish music to make us happy, and the fact that people are vibing it is a really good buzz. We’re the happiest we’ve ever been as a band, and I can say that safely as we’re such a good line-up. It’s really nice and a rare thing when everyone engages musically; writing and playing is really exciting and it’s not work, it’s all fun, like when we were little and were in bands, kind-of like that vibe. It was slightly different for me, as the record had been recorded before, so I re-recorded the drums. I went in and took about three days to re-record my parts, and the producer is a really good friend of the band, so it all turned out really well, and at the end of it everybody was really buzzing.”

Despite having a wealth of material to choose from, the band won’t just be rolling out the hits on their upcoming tour.

“I think there are over 120 songs or maybe more, so to get that all into and hour and a half set means you don’t get the best demographic that you want to get off all your records, so we’ll play four or five songs off Conduit, and still leave room for all the classics and range of shit between; a great mix.”

FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND PLAY THE REV ON MAY 8th

Interview: Tim Hecker

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Montreal’s Tim Hecker will bring his brand of ambient electronica to Brisbane this week for a free show as part of the Mono series.

What can Australian fans expect from a Tim Hecker performance in 2013?

Well it’s been a few years since I was last visiting, so there’s a lot of new music that has been made in that time and I’m part way through working on a new album, so I think there’ll be some new stuff in there that people might not recognise. I’m never sure where things are going to go really, so best to just leave it open in terms of expectations.

How much do you stick to the recording when performing live, and how much is improvised?

It’s a real mix for me, like I have elements of all the pieces that I can use, but they are never like the albums as such. It’s two different things in a way – what makes sense in one, doesn’t always in the other. Everything effects the live experiences I think – PA, room etc – so all that feeds into what I make when performing.

Do you consider your live performance a partial assault on your audience’s senses or a chance for them to get lost in the music, so to speak?

I’d say both and neither. I definitely employ volume as a tool to overload listeners at times. That means sometimes making things more pleasant, but it also means as much if not more about sometimes making things uncomfortable or awkward for listeners. I’m not really sure what my live efforts are going after at times, I kind of throw things out and see how they bounce off the walls, and go forward from there.

Is your writing process complicated, or a fairly simple affair?

Sometimes it’s simple, easily coming in short moments of clarity or improvisation on the spot. Other times it’s very labour intensive to push the sound into certain directions where it starts to take on a life of its own. That means transformation upon transformation of some motif or line that gets hammered and distorted and bent inside out.

You have been active since 1996. How or where do you find motivation and fresh ideas for new material?

Often it seems like I’ve been thrashing at some of the same ideas for at least ten years, each release a further addition to the catalogue of failures to properly realise those ideas or loose visions. But there seems to be an arc of transformation over that period though that might suggest my interests have changed somewhat. I would say making music is both a real pleasure but also something that I need to do to maintain my sanity.

This will be your first appearance in Australia since the Open Frame Festival in 2007. What are you most looking forward to about coming to Australia?

Actually, I’ve been down once between this and Open Frame in 2010. I’ve been looking forward to seeing a lot of friends there – that’s one of the upsides to festivals, it brings us together somewhere different. I’m also looking forward to spending some time at the beach – I have a short residency just south of Byron I will be doing while here… so that will be a pleasure no doubt.

TIM HECKER AND GERMANY’S LEGENDARY POLE PERFORM AT THE IMA GALLERY THURSDAY MARCH 21st FROM 7PM. AND IT’S FREE.

Steve Diggle of Buzzcocks: “I nailed my colours to the mast and went out into the seas and experienced it all”

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SEMINAL PUNK VETERANS Buzzcocks may have been around for nearly forty years, but guitarist Steve Diggle won’t be tiring of playing live any time soon.

“You would think we might get tired of playing those songs,” he says, “but the nature of Buzzcocks songs is that they’re so catchy and well crafted in their own weird way, and they’re always such a pleasure to play. It just feels like you are playing a classic all the time. What I’ve learned over the years, is that a live show is about communicating with the audience; it’s about the atmosphere and the vibe. It doesn’t matter whether I play a bum note or the wrong chord; we can all be in this together, and in that way you never get bored of playing them. We can put a different life into a song each night because of the nature of the audience, as we’re feeding off the crowd every night, and I think that’s where the magic is, human beings connecting, you know? But fortunately they’re all pretty good songs as well.”

Coming to Australia to play the Hoodoo Gurus’ Dig It Up festival and headline their own shows is a double bonus for the band.

“They asked us to play there,” he says. “I think they’ve been big Buzzcocks fans over the years, and it’s nice to be asked to do it. I think it’s a good combination for us to do that. Obviously they’re fans, and we have mutual respect for each other, and I think it’ll be a great day. I’ve never met them, so it’ll be great to meet and connect. A lot of bands don’t get to meet, so being on the same bill is a great chance to do that.”

Whatever the size of the gig, Diggle is clear about what to expect from a Buzzcocks show.

“A selection of great classic songs, and a lot of excitement on the stage – that’s the nature of Buzzcocks music. Seeing it live is even better than the record, really. The bigger crowds bring that big sense of occasion, which is a great thing, but then the smaller crowds are more focussed intensely on the music. So it’s great to see a band in a small place as well; you can really get the essence of what they are. You can get more of a sense of a band and what they are about. But they all work, they all have their different merits. When I’m on-stage nowadays, it’s not what I’m playing, it’s about relating to the crowd. I’m more concerned about what the crowd are doing and feeling, and that’s always interesting.”

Buzzcocks are one of the few original punk bands to still be together since their formation in Manchester in 1976.

“When you’re living with each other all the time, on the road together, in the hotel together, it’s in some ways like being married to four people, and it’s bad enough being married to one sometimes! This is why a lot of bands split up. We split up for a while in the ’80s; we had a lot of success, we were on tour all the time, and all of those things take their toll. But when we got back together again we learned a lot from the break-up; to keep things in focus and in check, and now 35 years down the line we know how to deal with all that, and it helps us survive. By the time I was 30 I realised it’s really exciting to be in a band, because you do go through this period of “what’s it all mean?” or “how am I dealing with all this?” We started when I was 20, and a lot of success came to us quickly, but then I realised that rock ‘n’ roll is in my blood and I embraced it. Like Turner, I nailed my colours to the mast and went out into the seas and experienced it all. Some people start taking it all personally and cracking up, you know? We got over those things quite early on, and that helped us survive. It’s been a great journey.”

At first success came quickly for the band, but the thought of still doing it all these years later didn’t once cross their minds.

“At the time everything was just for the moment,” he says. “We thought it was great if we had a gig that week, and maybe one the week after – we never thought further that that. Like James Joyce’s Ulysses, we were Mr. Bloom for a day, but the day went on and on for about the last 37 years!”

Planning the trip Down Under is easy for the experienced and well-travelled band.

“I just bring two guitars and that’s it,” he says. “We always hire the back line. In the early days when we went to America, we took the whole of the back line with us, and racks of guitars on the planes; flying cases of equipment everywhere. Now we just turn up and plug in. The great thing about Buzzcocks is that we don’t need rows of effects pedals, it’s just a couple of guys with guitars, and that’s enough to make it work. We were in Bratislava a couple of days ago; we just flew in there, plugged in with no sound check, and away we went. It was fantastic – it was our first time there. We did some Buzzcocks songs on piano, and people loved it; it was a different look at our songs.”

“We’ve played China, Rio, but we’ve never played Russia yet. It’s always nice to go to new countries. Coming back to Australia is a little like coming home to us, in a sense, because we’re always well received; it’s like a great understanding we have. We know what to expect a little bit, and Australia knows what to expect a little bit, so let’s all get down to it.”

While a Buzzcocks show may be rooted in music from the band’s long career, Diggle is also very much looking to the future.

“I’m working on my solo record,” he says. “Pete lives in Estonia now, so it’s hard not being in the same country. It’s easy for me to do a solo record as I’m in London and the studio’s just down the road. I was rehearsing with my solo band just yesterday, so I just keep going with everything, you know? We will get a new Buzzcocks record at some point. In the mean time we’ve got about 150 songs which are great to play live. We’ve got a lot of die-hard fans who’ve been with us all the way, which is great, and there a lot of new kids that pick up on our stuff – our fans span three generations now. Our live experience has always been the best.”

BUZZCOCKS PLAY THE ZOO ON SATURDAY 20th APRIL.

Interview: Owl Eyes

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owl eyes

One-to-watch Owl Eyes a.k.a Brooke Addamo released her new single ‘Crystalised’ earlier this month and is gearing up for a set of intimate shows around the country in May. I had a candid chat to Brooke ahead of her tour.

Hi Brooke! You first came to our attention on Australian Idol in 2008, so I just want to clear something up. Why is Kyle Sandilands such an arse?

Ha, I don’t think I could possibly answer this question, I guess everybody has to be known for something?

Ok, no more mention of him, I promise. Your new single ‘Crystalised’ has a fresh and different sound. How would you describe your new style?

I wrote this song thinking about the live aspect and that’s something I have never done. I wanted something to get people dancing and I wanted something really fun to play. It’s a bridging song between EP and album.

My new stuff is a little more synth and electronic inspired, but not generally as punchy as ‘Crystalised’.

Next month you are setting out on an east-coast tour promoting ‘Crystalised.’ What can your fans expect from an Owl Eyes show?

They can expect new music; I want to in a way involve them in the recording process of my album I want to play new and unfinished material to get a reaction and I will take that back with me to the studio.

Over the past couple of years you’ve had heaps of support from Triple J, got a gazillion fans on Facebook, and played gigs all around Australia. How do you find time to relax?

It’s pretty full-on at the moment mainly because I’m trying to get my album finished and I want to produce something that I am proud of.

So I don’t have much time to relax, although I did take the Easter weekend off to get away and stay in Daylesford, Victoria, which was lovely.

Your cover of ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ is one of my favourite Like A Versions. What made you decide to cover that song, and have you had any feedback from Foster The People?

I am a big fan of the band and I really relate to the song as an artist.

It’s such a catchy pop tune with dark underlying themes in the lyrics. I really respect that. I did get some feedback when they were in the country The Doctor on Triple J interviewed Mark and showed him my cover. I think he said something about me having a great vibe, I can’t really remember, I was pretty much in shock.

What can you tell us about how your debut album is shaping up?

It has electronic elements mainly because of what I am inspired by at the moment and I am also really focused on lyric and theme writing at this point.

I’m working with a few different producers and artists trying a few different things and just generally experimenting.

If you could play live with any artist, living or dead, who would it be and why?

I think I would love to play along side Stevie Nicks in her younger years. She is a huge inspiration to me.

Finally, if Owl Eyes was an animal (other than an owl!), what animal would you be and why?

A cat, mainly because they are so quirky and make me laugh so much.

Interview: Velociraptor

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velociraptor band

The Eight Miles High mini-fest is flaring up a second time around at Alhambra Lounge on Friday 8 June, indulging in all things psychedelic, ’60s, surf, shoegaze and garage pop. I caught up with Julian from Brisbane’s biggest musical orgy Velociraptor ahead of their spot on the bill.

The velociraptors were the coolest dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, but ultimately got the shit kicked out of them by the T-Rex. Who would win in a fight between Velociraptor and T-Rex the band, and what would be your finishing move?

I’m pretty sure the raptors let the T-Rex win because raptors are horrible gamblers and owed a bucket load of cash from a bet gone wrong. Out of us and T-Rex (the band) however, we would win. We have more members, more super powers and three of us can breathe underwater, which I can imagine would really come in handy. After a collective bashing, we’d finish them off with a ‘Knights of the Round Table’ from Final Fantasy 7. Ultimate finishing move.

You guys are playing the Eight Miles High festival of psychedelic music in the next couple of weeks. What level of wasted should I get before arriving, and what can I expect to see at your show?

We go from a twelve piece to a twenty-four piece, and sometimes onward depending on how blurred your vision is, so the more wasted the more amazing the spectacle. Expect shenanigans, techdeck tricks, a white leopard, little green men, an ant kingdom and truck load of guitars. We literally have a truck dropping off out instruments before the show.

Most of the time Velociraptor consists of twelve dudes playing brutal garage pop, but how do you agree on what tunes to listen to before a show, or on the tour bus? I’m imagining the band splitting into two camps – one insisting on the Hives while the other screams for the Kinks?

It’s literally like being in hell. Take the two camps, and then split them again – it’s more like 6 camps between the 12 of us. Each member has their one taste, and yes we all scream for the Hives, and we all scream for the Kinks, but in the end we realise we didn’t bring any of their albums because we only had room for ourselves and gear. Luckily our super powers can take form of a sing-a-long and Kumbaya drowns out everyone’s screams until we’re thousands of kilometres away from home.

What can you tell us about your next EP? When do we get to experience its delights?

All I can say is that we’re casting a spell on every copy, so expect some fuckin’ magic.

Your bio describes Veliociraptor as ’12 Ultimate Party Dogs’. But have you ever had a moment of thinking “fuck this, I’m quitting to become a train driver and/or an acupuncturist”?

We are 12 Ultimate Party Dogs, but we already have the shitty day jobs that you speak of. Some of us are sales reps and some of us are accountants. Some of us are loans processors, glassies, and some of us are tradies. The list goes on. The true thought in our heads is “fuck this, I’m quitting my job and Velociraptor, and becoming a train driver”, because that would be way cooler than what we do.

One time my bass E string broke and hit my thigh. I couldn’t walk for about two weeks. What’s the worst or funniest injury you’ve had in the line of duty?

Several of us have been face punched at several different locations – we can’t go more than a year without one of us being struck down. Our instruments are usually injured far more than we are. I’d hate to see how much cash has been splashed on drum skins, tambourines, guitars and costumes – we’ve bought masks and the like before and thought “this will be rad” and they’re broken within 10 minutes of the show because we’ve head butted everything in the room. Costumes are clearly for bitch bands.

You must get some pretty crazy fans at your shows. Tell me about the craziest thing a fan has ever done to get your attention.

When we played Byron I think a majority of our fans wanted to fight us. They enjoyed the show, but they thought that by fighting us they could truly become fans. After we whooped all of their arses we gave them lemonades and we all laughed. They were crazy, but in the end they realised that fighting isn’t the solution.

If Velociraptor could share a stage with any act living or dead, who would it be and why?

The cast of Happy Days…but playing their characters from Happy Days. We’d play Arnold’s diner and really get down. There’s an episode when Fonzie’s cousin comes to visit, and he’s actually really nerdy and nobody can believe that he’s even related to Fonzie. After some hilarious mishaps the gang finally realise he’s not that bad and accept him into their arms. He’s not in any more episodes, so I really hope he could make it to that

Interview: Pete Kilroy of Hey Geronimo

/ Paul McBride / Leave a comment

hey geronimo

Hi Pete. Hey Geronimo are being labelled a ‘supergroup’. Firstly, can you tell me a little about how you guys came to be making music together?

Ahh yes. We were taking the piss a bit with the supergroup tag, but it’s fun to think that way. The band came together when Blame Ringo was booked to play a Beatles tribute night, but half the band was engaged. Myself and Ross still wanted to do it, so we enlisted Andrew, Greg and Tony to fill in. It was so fun that at the end of the set we looked at each other and said – let’s make this a permanent thing!

You’ve just released your debut EP – I‘ve been enjoying the summer-y, upbeat vibes. What has the response to the EP been like so far?

We spent a lot of time honing the writing and recording of the songs so we were very confident when it was finally finished. No corners were cut, and I think the feedback has reflected this too. The aim was to make sure it was all really strong, super, upbeat and fun – and that’s how it turned out, so we’re happy!

You’ll be setting off on the ‘Special Best Tour’ in September and October, taking in shows from the Sunshine Coast to Adelaide. What is the level of excitement like in the camp, and what can fans expect from a Hey Geronimo show?

We’re super pumped because we love touring. It’s great to give people an excuse to let their hair down and have a good time. We want peeps to learn the songs, have a few beers, dance, sing along, and ultimately get a bit loose. We’ll be doing the same!

I recently read a review of your EP that described you as “the new Little Red”. Is that an accurate description, because I’m getting more of a Beach Boys/Vampire Weekend feel?

Personally I haven’t really heard any Little Red so I can’t comment on that. We’ve been getting lots of “Beach Boys” though, and that’s cool. In fact, we’d never really thought of that, but now it’s affecting our writing. Now when we reach a crossroads writing we’re erring towards the mega harmonies and the whole Brian Wilson vibe. Not a bad hero to emulate at all.

Hey Geronimo is one of many Brisbane indie bands doing well at the moment. Do you think the quality of music coming out of Brisbane has improved in the last few years? Or is it simply that more people are taking notice?

I had this conversation with somebody interstate just a few days ago. They were gushing at the Brisbane music scene. I’m not sold on the hype to be honest. I think bands here have to work a bit harder due to how the scene is playing out here (ie limited venues etc) so that might be something, but regardless, people analyse it all too much. Maybe those interstate are just surprised that a Queensland redneck can hold a tune at all? Not sure.

You’re playing at BIGSOUND in Brissy, which is going to be EPIC. What bands on the bill are you looking forward to seeing?

We’re huge Ball Park and Hungry Kids fans, so they’ll be first on the list to see. Personally I’m keen to see a bit of Loon Lake, because I think we share a bit of the same vibe, and Courtney Barnett too. She’s great. It’s always a great couple of nights and this year really does seem to be bigger and better than ever.

What are your plans for after the tour, do you have any more recordings in the pipeline? Can you plan that far ahead as a band, or is it a matter of seeing what happens, or what opportunities arise?

We’re starting the recording of our debut album early next month. No rest for the wicked. The tunes are there so we’re going to record them, then release them. Bands over-think these things too much sometimes. Should have something ready to go in the early part of next year. Hopefully a million shows between now and then too!

If Hey Geronimo could share a stage with any act, living or dead, who would it be and why?

Hard to speak for the other guys, but I think myself and Andrew would want to jam with Ben Folds Five. Such a hard rocking, fun band. Good chance we’ll be throwing underwear at the man come Harvest time.

And lastly, a AAA Backstage tradition: if Hey Geronimo was an animal, what would it be and why?

Probably a giant squid. Creating havoc on the high-seas could be a fun way to spend the weekend.