Under The Iron Heel

Sink Or Swim Interview

2009-08-17T16:36:00.000-07:00

Sink Or Swim are a hardcore band from Byron Bay that formed only a few years ago, but have quickly made a name for themselves. After releasing a great little demo in 2008, Sink Or Swim set out to begin writing their debut release, the powerful ten-track EP Polaroids. Sink Or Swim's vocalist, Dane Evans, who also plays guitar in Byron Bay mosh band Crime Scene, answered a few questions about the history of the band and the process of making Polaroids.

I thought we could start by talking about your upcoming record, 'Polaroids'. How long have you been working at it, and how was the writing and recording experience for the band?

We put out a demo of 5 songs mid 2008 recorded by Dan Brown, and at the time of that recording we were still writing songs, but didn't want to put out more than 5 on just a demo quality cd. And we had decided that we didn't want to be one of those bands that puts out like 5 demo's and then just re-records every song they've ever written in a good studio and calls it their first album. So basically, we wrote for the second half of 2008 for the album, and writing was a breeze, surprisingly. Everyone would come to practice with all these ideas. Eli and Guy (our guitarists) would come with pretty much a new song every week, and when we finished the basics of the 10 songs, we would write different little bits and pieces to add to the songs and play them over and over until they sounded finished to us. And I would come with a new song (lyrically) almost every practice. So there was definitely no writers block on anyone’s part. Recording was great too, because we worked with Dan again, so he knew the sound we wanted. One amazing thing about Dan is, not only is he great at recording, but he is a great producer as well. When he records a song, you can always see his mind ticking, and he always hears things that you could add to the song or change to make it sound better. I don't think the songs would have sounded the way they do without his creative input.

How about your musical history? When did you start getting into music, the Byron Bay hardcore community, and your bands Sink or Swim and Crime Scene?

I've been into music ever since I can remember. I was raised in a music loving household. My brother and dad always had an acoustic guitar lying around, and my brother especially loved singing. As for BBHC, I had a few friends in high school who were always talking about hardcore shows (in year 9 I think it was?). So I decided I'd tag along and check it out. It’s been about 6 or 7 years and I still can't get enough. I still love every show like it's my first.

Crime Scene originally started as a joke band with a funny name that did Evergreen Terrace and Bury Your Dead covers. We called it Death Tooth because, well I don't really know why, we just thought it was funny I guess. Then we decided that we all liked mosh bands and breakdowns enough to kind of make it into a real band. And here we are 4 years later, still trying to hold down the mosh style of hardcore in Byron.

And Sink Or Swim just kind of randomly happened when a bunch of us decided that we wanted a band, and realised we had the right amount of dudes who could play different instruments. For me, Sink Or Swim is my vent, and my way to have my voice and opinions heard. It’s my way of reaching out to people and hopefully helping them with my own personal experiences.

What does it mean to you and the band to have these ten songs on 'Polaroids' to put to your name?

It makes me super proud to have this cd on its way to being released and having such positive feedback from the tracks up on our myspace page. I think that goes for the rest of the band too, but I don't know though, you'd have to ask them.

Is 'Polaroids' being released on a label or independently? If independently, are you looking around for a label/had any offers, or are you happy to put it out yourselves?

It’s coming out independently, straight out of our own pockets. We haven't had any interest from labels, as far I know. If a label did want to sign us and help us release it, we'd be stoked. Hahaha

Lyrically, 'Polaroids' seems to be very far-reaching. There are recurring ideas of memory and concepts of time throughout the lyrical ideas. Was this something you wanted to focus on beforehand, or was it more a case of realising this after taking some time to ponder the songs' meanings?

'Polaroids' is a very personal record to me. I wrote the first half of this album in a relationship that was slowly dying, and I wrote the second half after the relationship had ended. So I had a lot of frustration - with my situation, and with myself, and with my ex-partner - that was all swirling around in my head. At the end of that relationship, I really isolated myself and kind of withdrew from my emotions and walked around pretending all of my emotions because the only real emotion I felt was self loathing. I pretended that the end of the relationship didn't hurt me at all and never really talked to anyone about it, in depth. Then I started thinking that if I had no one to vent to, and I had nothing to take my frustration out on, I better start writing, or I might start to lose my mind. So I would just write and write and write pages of lyrics about how I felt, about what I felt I had done, and what was done to me emotionally, during and after the relationship. So 'Polaroids' for me, is kind of like a journal of my life for the past 3 years. It may all seem like pretty bleak stuff, but the album tells a story, where at the start and until about halfway through, I felt miserable, not just with my relationship, but with past events that had affected my life and I was still struggling to come to terms with. Then the latter half of the cd has songs like, 'Closure', 'Constellations', 'Legacy' and 'Untitled' which are my "happy" songs, I guess. They're the songs about closing the casket on the regrets and remorse I felt at the end of the relationship, finding someone who truly means the world to me, who is there to help me with however I'm feeling at any point in my life, the thought of leaving behind a legacy so that I will be remembered, and finally having the strength to put it all back together and get on with my life.

Sink Or Swim has this great pastiche of melodic punk and the most crushing and powerful aspects of hardcore. Is this the musical direction the band wanted to have when they started out, or is it more a result of the band members' musical chemistry with one another?

We never really had any direction we wanted to go in when we started out. We just want to have fun. I think the four other guys in the band are all great musicians. They love music and they're all more than capable with their chosen instruments. And there are no real personality clashes in the band either, which helps. There's a little bit of everyone’s musical tastes that influences our music, we all love metalcore, hardcore and punk/pop-punk, so I think we try and incorporate everything into it, and it comes out sounding like it does .

On your blog, you wrote that you haven't been more disheartened with hardcore than you are right now. You are an integral part of Byron Bay's hardcore community and have been part of it for quite some time, so your words carry more meaning than most. What are the issues that lay behind that statement on your blog, and how do you think they can be mended?

There is just a lack of respect. All my life, no matter where it was, day to day, everyday life, in the surf, at school, and at hardcore shows, I was taught that you've got to pay your dues, and show respect to the ones that were there before you.
And the other thing that really bugs me is that there are so many little separate groups that fit into 'hardcore' music now, that everyone seems to have divided up into groups and it is causing friction. And that's the last thing you want in a place that's meant to be a refuge, and an escape for people who don't feel that they belong anywhere else. How can these problems be mended? I don't really know. People could maybe just put their differences and egos aside, but we all know that's impossible to do for some people. Hopefully kids can just learn to respect each other. Mutual respect and respect for the older guys who are running the shows, and booking the bands for you, because without them, there wouldn't be a show for you to go to.

You supported Parkway Drive, the most successful band to come out of the Byron Bay hardcore scene for their hometown show last week. What did it mean to the band to be playing with them?

It was really awesome for us to get that spot on the show, especially in Byron. It’s always fun when Parkway play in Byron, it just seems to put everyone in a good mood to see that these guys from our hometown are doing so well. And for Sink Or Swim, it's a great opportunity for us to expose a wider audience to our music. Hopefully we'll gain a few more listeners or 'fans' from it.

What are the plans you have for the rest of the year in regards to touring in support of 'Polaroids'?

We have nothing planned yet! Unfortunately our guitarist Guy is leaving to Melbourne to finish University, and we wish him all the best. This definitely isn't the end of Sink Or Swim, we have a few people in mind to take Guy's place, and hopefully we can tee up some awesome shows or a tour all up and down the east coast towards the end of the year, and put 'Polaroids' out there as much as possible.

Lastly, your song 'Legacy' asks the question of how you will be remembered when you're gone. 'Polaroids' marks the beginning of Sink Or Swim's musical legacy. How do you want the band to be remembered after they're gone?

I want people to look back and say 'Holy shit! Remember how much fun that Sink Or Swim set was at such and such a show?' I don't care if we never get famous, only sell 9 cd's, 5 shirts and have the same 10 kids singing along to us in Byron for the rest of the band’s existence. This is all just fun for us. We're young, and I'm sure we'll all be in other bands in the future. And hopefully, some kids will be able to listen to the CD and remember when it helped them through a tough spot in their life. That's all I want. No hall of fame, or hundreds of thousands of record sales, I just want us to be remembered for good times, and if I help a few kids with their problems with my lyrics, then I'd be really proud and happy to be remembered like that.

(Author's Note: after this interview was conducted, Sink Or Swim decided to call it a day and announced that their farewell show will be on October 1. Unfortunately, this also means that Polaroids will not be released. However, you can download it by clicking here. Under The Iron Heel wishes the members of Sink Or Swim all the best for the future. This great young band will be missed.)

www.myspace.com/sinkorswimbbhc
www.myspace.com/crimescenebbhc

The Devil's Paintbrush - Jake Arnott (Review)

2009-07-14T14:04:00.001-07:00

The Devil’s Paintbrush – JAKE ARNOTT
(Sceptre)

At first, Arnott’s new release reads out like a fast-paced mystery, but soon it settles in to what is more like a historical fiction character study. Using late nineteenth century historical figure, Major-General Sir Hector MacDonald, as his muse, Arnott explores the motives that lay behind MacDonald’s suicide by going back to the day before his grisly end.

By doing so, Arnott plunges the reader into a world where homosexuality is a crime and the underground occult movement of the western world is on the rise. Aleister Crowley, infamous occultist, meets MacDonald at a Parisian café in 1903. MacDonald is reeling from a series of accusations by the army of homosexuality and Crowley offers to help him redeem himself.

Through flashbacks we discover that the accusations are true, and Crowley, striving for control in an occultist society called The Golden Dawn, sees a chance to set MacDonald free from the sexual repression and morality of the church and the culture that they are both a part of, and that MacDonald has been hiding all of his life as a soldier.

What could at first be taken as a novel about sexual freedom and the repression and bigoted views of the early twentieth century, is in fact a fable on morality itself. While it is hard to really develop a bond with either MacDonald or Crowley, Arnott makes it easy to understand the logic that lay behind the actions of both men.

While it may not be a book that will go down in the annals of history as a classic, it is a highly ambitious and creative work of historical fiction, and on many levels it works. However, the fact that I felt disconnected to the characters dampened my opinion of the book, and it’s best to see for yourself how the novel works for you.

The Book Of Rapture - Nikki Gemmell (Review)

2009-07-14T14:01:00.000-07:00

The Book Of Rapture – Nikki Gemmell
(4th Estate)

Three siblings wake up from a drugged stupor and find themselves in an unknown basement. They don’t know where they are, they don’t know why they’re there. All they have is each other and the memories of their parents and their home to keep them going.

Nikki Gemmell’s previous novel, The Bride Stripped Bare, was an honest and humourous exploration of married life that bordered on the erotic. In The Book Of Rapture, however, she delves into an Orwellian, dystopian world. The children’s story is told through the eyes of their mother and through this, the clichés of the dystopian novel (suppression through violence, mysterious head figures, political genocide) can be quickly overlooked and the real themes of Gemmell’s novel come to the fore.

Told through lessons instead of chapters, The Book Of Rapture is essentially about faith: faith in family, yourself and humanity. Gemmell’s motherly narrator gives a warmth and an affection to the children’s plight, and through her, the reader is able to build up an astonishing amount of connection.

Gemmell’s writing style is sharp, succinct and extremely enjoyable. The story is so well thought out that I could not put this book down ( I read it in less than a day). With The Book Of Rapture, Gemmell has outdone herself yet again.

This Is How - M.J Hyland (Review)

2009-07-14T13:59:00.000-07:00

M.J. HYLAND – This Is How
(Text Publishing)

Patrick Oxtoby has just been dumped by his fiancée, and we meet him as he escapes to a small seaside town to start over. Patrick’s a loner, unsure of himself in social situations and finds it difficult to express his emotions. What begins as a story of redemption quickly spirals into a portrait of a man who has not only lost his way, but also all aspects of control.

This is the first time I have come across M.J. Hyland, and her simple, understated style drew me in immediately. Much like Sebastian Faulks did in Engleby, Hyland presents the character of Patrick in such a way that the reader is continually unsure as to what is right and what is wrong.

This Is How is a startlingly accurate description of how every action has a consequence, and even the most innocent of human beings can sometimes be guilty beyond all doubt. Whether Hyland’s novel was meant to be paradoxical or not is another story, but the subtleties that she has used in writing This Is How make it read that way.

Not only is This Is How fast and entertaining to read, it will leave your mind running long after the last page is finished. Hyland has produced a wonderful work of literary art here, one that should be experienced by all.

Somme Mud - E.P.F Lynch (Review)

2009-07-14T05:48:00.000-07:00

SOMME MUD – E.P.F Lynch
(Random House)

Edward Lynch was eighteen when he travelled to fight in World War I as part of The Australian Imperial Force. He arrived at The Western Front after the mass murder of the battles of The Somme campaign such as Fromelles and Pozieres, but instead faced one of the coldest French winters in ninety years. Lynch is introduced to The Western Front by spending six nights standing knee deep in mud in the front line without sleep, men contracting trench foot and getting what rest they could by sleeping upright. His writing style is laconic, witty and understated to the full, which leaves Somme Mud feeling like one is reading the diary entries of an eloquent young wordsmith who needs to get the demons out of his head. Somme Mud is a gory read at times – Lynch began writing his memoirs in 1919 a few months after he was repatriated – but in doing so it captures the blood and guts lifestyle that Lynch and his mates endured day in and day out for nearly three years. He writes his personal account from a detached distance, like an observer, which, rather than lessen the impact of his memoir, increases it. One only has to read the conversation between Lynch and his Corporal to understand why:

‘”Look here, lad,” he says. “You give up thinking too much or this war will get you down. It will beat you. I’ve been in it since Gallipoli and I know. The man who thinks is done. He’ll never know a moment’s peace…”’

Sadly though, Lynch, like so many soldiers of the time, couldn’t stop thinking about it. Maybe writing made it feel more real, easier to understand for Lynch in his own mind. Hopefully it did, for Somme Mud successfully makes the reader of his tale find it easier to understand what occurred on The Western Front.

The Gifthorse Interview

2009-07-14T05:37:00.000-07:00

I'll keep it short and snappy: the Gifthorse are a melodic punk rock band from Brisbane who have swiftly climbed the ladder of the Australian alternative music scene with the critical acclaim that has been bestowed upon them following the release of their 2007 self-titled debut album. Having just released their EP, titled From The Floor Up, member of The Gifthorse Stevie Scott answered some of my questions. This is a band that are continually on the up and whose name should be placed in the good 'ol memory bank for future reference.

How was the writing/recording process for From The Floor Up?

It was fun actually! We spent a lot more time on the actual song writing process than ever before. Sam Johnson from Melbourne produced recorded and mixed the EP and he pushed us in a lot of ways to make a more interesting record. We also had our mates from Blueline Medic , Mid Youth Crisis and A Death in the Family sing a few songs which was a massive honour!

Did the positive reception you received for your self titled album have an impact in any way upon the overall product of the new EP?

Not really... I mean it always nice to know that what you are doing is appreciated but we have always written what makes us- as a band- happy and just hope afterwards that someone likes it.

Several songs either allude to or directly address with travelling. Is that a reference to the life of a travelling band?

I've never taken those ideas literally. I think I personally see them more as a metaphor for nostalgia and moving forward through your life in the most positive way.

What other lyrical themes are discussed on the EP?

This is kind of hard for me to talk about as I don't write the words but the thing i've always liked about Shane’s lyrics is the way he draws people in by keeping the ideas fairly open and applicable to a lot of things. He looks back at life experiences and evaluates where it’s got him if that makes sense! He does it though with the kind of honesty that people can relate to.

Did you have a rough idea of how the EP would turn out when you went into the studio or was the finished product different to how you expected it to be?

To a certain extent you know how it will turn out but when you record you lose a lot of the energy of having the drums and amps in front of you. So the hard part is finding ways to replace that energy without compromising the melody or feel for the songs. I think we got there in the end.

Throughout the EP there is a wonderful chemistry between both guitarists, but in saying that, all members seem to be really on song. How much do you think you have all grown as musicians and songwriters through the writing of this EP?

Hahaha thanks. I think we have all found our place in the band and give each other enough space to play in our own respective style. I think previously we didn't have that kind of focus and some of our old songs suffered because of this. I think the fact that we are all really close mates helps.

You have your tour coming up in support of the new EP. Are there many other tours in the pipeline for the second half of 2009?

Once this tour is done we are heading down to Melbourne again in September for the Poison City Weekender which is three days of beer, awesome bands and more beer! Hahaha We are lucky enough to be playing with Samiam (who have been a huge influence on our band), Bodyjar, and A Death in the Family. We also want to get across to Perth at some point.

And what about in terms of new releases? Is there another album planned for the future or are you playing it by ear from here?

We actually never stop writing new songs... I think that’s why we all stay so happy in the band, cause it never gets monotonous. We are aiming towards another album but it'll be a while away. We still might have something else up our sleeves this year but you'll have to wait and find out what!

www.myspace.com/thegifthorseband

ENjOY Productions (Jacob Livermore)

2009-06-16T19:03:00.000-07:00

I first met Jacob Livermore in September of last year, on the eve of The Belief In Aeroplanes music video shoot. I was school mates with the drummer and they were crashing at my place. Jacob came over and introduced himself, a tall lanky man with enthusiasm and film knowledge coming out of his ears. The next day on shoot he was an immaculate professional and it was hard to believe that he was only directing his first shoot. I've followed Jacob's work in ENjOY ever since, so when he agreed to do an interview with me I was over the moon. Jacob and his team work wonders behind the camera so if you need a music video done, ENjOY are the guys to do it. I want to thank Jacob again for his time, it was a great interview. Get in contact with him at www.enjoyproductions.com.au

Lindsey: Jacob, the first thing I wanted to ask is what got you into film making and music video production in the first place?

Jacob: There’s not one particular point that I could say ‘this is what got me into it.’ It was more a culmination of always being interested in performing, which drove my interest in those sorts of fields, such as dancing, acting and theatre. From dancing I got a few jobs in some big budget film clips for Powderfinger and The Living End. That’s when I realised I wanted to delve into film making: when I was on set and paying more attention on what was going on behind camera rather than my job as a dancer.

Lindsey: How have you found the transition from being in front of the camera to now being behind the camera?

Jacob: Every now and then I get a little bit jealous. I find myself wanting to be back out in front of the camera performing, because I still love that. You feel like an idiot when you’re performing in front of a camera, especially on set when there are twenty people around you watching you making a complete idiot of yourself, but when you’re behind the camera, it’s reversed. Everyone’s looking at you and going, ‘this guy knows what he’s talking about.’ You’re performing in a different way.

Lindsey: What about ENjOY Productions? When did that begin and who else helps propel the project?

Jacob: it officially started when I was twenty, about three years ago. It started off as a joke between my best friend Matt Haynes and I. The first year out of school we lived apart but the second year we shared a house, and I’d just gotten my first video camera and we were making stupid little muck-a-round films. One day we were talking about filming weddings, saying to ourselves, ‘anyone can do it, there’s so much money in it, it’d be easy.’ And we spent two years talking about it until one day we just went fuck it, let’s go buy a proper camera and a proper editing system and just do it and it just happened. With Matt and I, I’m the driving force in regards to the business management and the production aspect of ENjOY, and Matt has this huge creative force that comes in from behind with this alternate way of looking at things.

Lindsey: Considering ENjOY have been together for three years, you’ve won a fair few awards. Tell me about that?

Jacob: Last year we won first place in the Forty-Eight Hour Film Competition in Brisbane, we were awarded best film at the Noosa Reel Mad Film Festival as well; in that comp we got best lighting, best actor, best film by audience choice, we got nominated for every award in Brisbane, and one of our films went to Miami Film Festival this year.

Lindsey: In three years. That’s pretty good.

Jacob: It’s alright. And that’s only one year of awards!

Lindsey: With all these awards, and the fact you’re now three years into ENjOY, do you feel like you have a great idea of what you’re doing now?

Jacob: I think so, but we get shocked everyday. You have to realise that you’re still a small fry, but then you have to portray an image that you’re not. I’ve been working on a few film sets lately where Matt and I and our team are quite capable of doing that sort of stuff, it’s just not being able to have the money to do it, and to prove yourself, you have to have that money. So in the interim you have to be super confident and put yourself out there in the right ways so you can get that money and really prove yourself. But we’re starting to take hold and things can only get better.

Lindsey: This confidence that you’re speaking about, that portrayal of confidence: when you shot the Belief In Aeroplanes video, that was your first music video shoot as a director. I was there and I thought you’d done it many times before, such was that confidence that you and the team exuded. What is it like having to create a theme to portray a song?

Jacob: Well that was the first one we’ve done. When I was a kid I’d wake up every Saturday morning and watch Rage religiously and tape it on video. I’d have tapes and tapes and tapes of music videos. When it came to having the opportunity to direct the Belief In Aeroplanes song, it was a matter of listening to the song over and over again. I would have listened to their song 'Aeroplanes' about fifty times until something popped and there would have been three or four people all listening and something would hit and we’d all be like, ‘yes, this is the idea.’ That’s almost the easy part: coming up with an overview. The hard part is then figuring out how we are going to make that work, and how do you make it properly relate to the song so that it matches up on screen and fits together.

Lindsey: With that song, you had a very fast editing style. There weren’t many long shots were there?

Jacob: The song was 2:37 long. The idea was that it was going to be a renegade, guerrilla style film clip. We shot it with no money and no permits running through the city of Brisbane. And again, that was another difficult part: how are we going to do this without getting in trouble and again we were able to pull it off. I’d do it again any time. Guerrilla film clips are so much fun. We did it with another film clip we shot. We broke into a restricted council area, got a key made from a locksmith friend of ours, went up to this reservoir, dumped a tonne of gear, went up there with about thirty crew.

Lindsey: Is that the film clip for Winston & Yoddy?

Jacob: Yeah, it’s a dance music video.

Lindsey: So that was a guerrilla film clip as well?

Jacob: Totally a guerrilla film clip! We went up there at four o’clock in the morning and broke in. We’d sent someone up there the night before to break into a control tower, which controls the pumps and electricity, so we could get power for cameras etc. So we rocked up there in the early morning and there’s an extension lead popping out of the control tower window. I mean, if we were caught up there we would have been fucked, completely and utterly fucked.

Lindsey: On the other hand, you shot The Smart Artists video in bushland on the way to The Sunshine Coast, as well as…

Jacob: Under my carport! [Laughs] Again, it comes down to the same thing: without sounding cocky, you’ve got the talent, you’ve got the people behind you to help you do something right, and obviously it’s been proven right through winning film competitions. Competitions only take you so far, but what we’ve learnt from them has been fantastic. When it comes to music videos, to be able to approach a band, or have a band approach you like The Smart Artists did, it’s hard for a band to understand where the money goes and why it costs so much to make something. The Smart Artists literally didn’t have the money first time around. They came with a figure and I said immediately, ‘no, you’re going to have to double that if you want to go with my idea.’ I’d already given them the pitch. They were ok about it, they said, ‘we’ll so it, we’ll take the risk’ and it was amazing. As you can see by the clip, it’s awesome. We absolutely trashed the underneath of my house – it became a studio for a day, which was very weird. But The Smart Artists have actually approached us again and we’re probably going to do a second clip with them.

Lindsey: How much did that Smart Artists video cost you?

Jacob: The budget was only $1,700 – that’s what they gave us – and we blew the budget by $400. We would have spent just under two and a half grand on that clip, which should have cost five to seven thousand dollars, which is still pretty cheap.

Lindsey: And here’s the thing: you look at all three film clips, which are all professionally done, and they’re done in a way that the average person would see it and think they were made with a big budget. How do you feel knowing that you have the capabilities on a very small budget to make highly professional and visually astounding film clips? You must have so many ideas in your head and just think, ‘if only I had a bigger budget.’

Jacob: Sometimes its like that but not once on The Smart Artists clip or the Winston & Yoddy clip did we think, ‘I wish we had this piece of equipment.’ The director of photography actually came up to me at the end of the day’s shooting and said to me, ‘today’s the first time that I haven’t thought, ‘I wish we had this.’ We were able to get what we wanted for those clips but its always in the back of our heads, just thinking if we can do this on two grand, imagine what we could do with The Living End’s budget, for instance. That was $25,000 and the film company who did it blew the budget by a few grand. There’s a lot more expenses such as more cameras and crew; materials and cameras that are much more expensive. That’s the next step. We always say to ourselves, ‘we had another five grand we’d be able to get a better camera, which would make it look even better.’ But if you look at The Smart Artists clip and think, ‘holy shit it looks amazing.’ We’ve entered that clip for an Australian Cinematographer’s Society Award for next year.

Lindsey: On film clips you’re working with people who aren’t exactly thespians. As a director, how do you stay cool, calm and collected when dealing with musicians who already have big egos?

Jacob: It’s bizarre because you often don’t think about it. I guess I did with The Smart Artists, because I was working with someone like Jacqui (Jacqueline Duncan, from the children’s TV show ‘The Shak’). It was the first time that I had worked with someone who has as much experience in the acting industry as she has had. With bands and musicians, I find that as long as you get in on their level and keep them informed with everything that’s going on, you’d be surprised at how interested they actually are. There’s all this new stuff going on around them and it’s to make them look good. I don’t think it actually clicks until they get on set and there’s a massive camera pointing at their face and there’s all these people working. You just see them say to themselves, ‘holy shit, this is actually happening. We’re actually getting a music video made.’ So I think that if you keep them informed with what’s going on and try and be their mate it works out. I’ve worked with Bernard Fanning, Chris Cheney, Luke Steele, who is just impossible, and I’ve found that you have try and sneak onto their level and try and find something that you can relate to and pretend and not act like they’re famous because then they think they’re on the same level as you in a way.

Lindsey: So to finish up, who is your favourite music video director?

Michel Gondry, because he has the best, most creative and influential music videos ever, but I am a really big fan of locally produced stuff. I love all the music videos coming out of Australia at the moment because it comes back to what we touched on before: labels like Sony and Universal in our country are expecting these huge results like what you see come out of America, when those music videos have budgets from two hundred thousand to two million dollars and shoot for five days. In Australia they want those same results but they want it for twenty grand. Brisbane has the biggest music video culture in Australia – we make more than anywhere else in the country so there are guys here like Grant Marshall from Black Lab, who makes some fantastic stuff, you also have Square Eyed Films, who used to do all the Silverchair, Sleepy Jackson and Grinspoon clips. Head Pictures, they make really cool stuff, so to do Steven and Damon Escott. I love the people who are local and we’re aiming to be one of them as well, but they’re the kind of people that we look towards for inspiration.

Lindsey: So when it comes to your dream bands to shoot a music video for, who are they nationally and internationally?

Jacob: Internationally it’s Incubus. They’ve been my favourite band my entire life. Their most recent music video is rubbish though, it’s very Hollywood. Nationally I don’t know. It would probably be somebody like The Living End and Powderfinger. They might be a bit too poppy but in saying that I’ve never really had a dream Australian band I wanted to shoot. We really just want to make clips for everybody, like a wide, diverse group. But if I got to shoot an Incubus film clip; if that opportunity arose it would be completely ridiculous.

Lindsey: So you might be doing another music video with The Smart Artists, but what else is planned for the rest of the year, and more importantly, how can bands approach you to get stuff done?

Jacob: My plans are to continue down the path I am going, because it’s the only thing that I know. That is to religiously read Rave Magazine, Scene Magazine and Time Off! and go through them and find the local artists who are upcoming, who are getting gigs, releasing cd’s, who may be in competitions such as uncharted or unearthed and just contracting them, talking to them and getting to know them. Even if they’re at the level we’re they are like, ‘we don’t have the money to make a clip, but thanks for thinking of us.’ That’ll stay in the back of their heads and then when they do have the money they might come to us. And I think we want to keep doing this low budget work, not only to prove how talented we are and how so much can be made out of nothing, but also to help these up-and-coming artists get up there as well because the boat rocks both ways. We make a film clip that makes you look good and it makes us look good too. So our plans are to as make as many music videos as we can before the year is out.

Lindsey: Thanks for your time Jacob.

Jacob: You’re very welcome. It was a pleasure.

Jacob Livermore and Matt Haynes can be contacted at www.enjoyproductions.com.au

Moneen - "Hold That Sound" EP Stream

2009-06-06T04:21:00.000-07:00

these four songs see Moneen heading in several new directions, and with every path they're walking down they're absolutely making it their own. If this is a sign of things to come for their impending new album, it's going to be marvellous. Enjoy!

Rolo Tomassi Interview

2009-06-02T17:02:00.000-07:00

Rolo Tomassi have exploded out of the UK underground of late and with a debut album as gripping and musically exciting as Hysterics, it was only a matter of time. They are one of the most talked about up-and-coming band in the UK underground, with a mixture of metal, jazz and avant garde that has a lot of listeners' jaws on the floor. Keyboardist James Spence answered some of my questions.

For a youthful band, you have not only delivered a breathtaking debut with Hysterics, but you have also created a style and sound that is truly unique. What are some of the inspirations and influences that helped create the dynamics of Rolo Tomassi?

James: We all take influence from that music we've been listening to at a specific moment in time. In terms of writing material, we're mainly influenced by something in a way that doesn't make you want to create a carbon copy of it. It's finding music that inspires you to be creative and to be pro-active and interested in making interesting music. We all tend to listen to lots of different artists playing music across a lot of different genres and it helps our creative output in that sense. Personally, when it came to writing the album I was influenced a lot by bands like Sonic Youth, The Contortions and M83.

Can you tell me a bit about the recording process and your producer, and more importantly, how it felt to be recording your debut album?

James: We recorded our record with Jason Sanderson in a studio above his flat in the small town of Barnsley. Jason plays in a band that we'd done some shows with and we've known him and been friends for some time. In terms of choosing to work with him, we did a 2 track 7" with him at the end of last year and enjoyed the process so much that we went back to him. We recorded the record in just over 3 weeks. Jason was fantastic to work with and had a lot of really good ideas on how we could improve certain sections of our songs. I don't think the record would sound the same without his input. After being a band for 3 years, knowing that we were working to make our debut album was a strange feeling but ultimately gratifying once it was finished.

Abraxis is a song that showcases just how high the level of Rolo Tomassi's musicianship and interplay is on. How long has it taken the band to achieve this musical chemistry?

James: We've all played in projects together since we were about 13. Im now 20 and after 7 years of playing with the same musicians you learn how each person works. We've all grown up together and improved together at our instruments. It's literally a case of practicing hard and touring hard thats made it possible to write music the way we do.

Nine is also a song that jumped out at me through the sheer use of dynamics. And throughout the album there is this beautiful juxtaposition between singing/screaming, melody/dischordance, aggression/contemplation. Were these elements important for the band?

James: Absolutely. Had we used no contrast I don't think the music would have the same impact. It was also carefully considered that all the stuff on the record would have to be played live. It's important to use a range of dynamic and emotion to push ourselves and to keep it interesting on the record and live. If it was all fast and heavy it'd get boring, similarly if it was all drawn out and quiet.

What are some other elements or concepts that you wanted to address in Hysterics?

James: We wanted to write a proper LP. Something that you had to listen to from start to finish to appreciate fully. That was really important for us. I think that sometimes bands can put together a bunch of songs at the last minute rather than actually writing an album and I think it's totally apparent when you listen back to it.

In The Ghost Of A Thousand there are the Jago brothers, in Gallows there are the Carter brothers - these are two bands who have really spearheaded the underground movement in the UK of late. In Rolo Tomassi there are the Spence siblings. Do you think that a band with siblings has an edge over others, or is it pure coincidence?

James: I think it's coincidence... I think musicality is something that runs in families and the fact that me and Eva can be in a band together is really great. It adds a different group dynamic and can be a lot more personal. This is something that I can see in TGOAT and Gallows too.

Where does the musical creativity stem from in the family?

James: My Dad played in a bunch of bands when he was younger and my mum, despite not being able to play an instrument, has always been really into music. In fact, she provided a great help in terms of getting into the prog rock side of things. When she heard our earlier material, she gave me her old Pink Floyd and Yes LP's and told me to listen to it. When we were younger she also insisted that we learnt how to play the piano.

I mentioned Gallows and TGOAT before in regards to the underground movement. Along with them are Dead Swans and up and comers Blackhole and Throats who seem to be building on what has gone before. Why do you think that the scene in the UK is exploding, and how does it feel to be a part of it?

James: I think at this moment in time that are a lot of factors that help bands in the UK. The scene over here at the moment is amazing for hardcore aswell as all sorts of different music. The internet makes things a lot easier with getting in touch with promoters and other bands. I've also found that bands are willing to take more chances on taking bands out on tour with them. We've definitly benefitted from that. It's a great time to be involved over in the UK right now.

The first time I heard about Rolo Tomassi was through watching an interview with Steph Carter from Gallows who described you as one of the best up-and-coming bands he's seen. How does it feel to not only have the UK alternative media behind you, but also to have a member of the most prominent UK punk band today in your corner as well?

James: With any comments like that we recieve we feel flattered more than anything. Gallows have been absolutely amazing with us and really helped us out and we can't thank them enough for their support.

Will Australia be graced with Rolo Tomassi's presence anytime soon?

James: I would certainly hope so! We're currently making our touring plans for 2009 and Australia is certainly on my radar. We'll have to wait and see.

www.myspace.com/rolotomassi

La Dispute Interview

2009-06-02T16:55:00.000-07:00

Last year, La Dispute released one of the best debut albums that I have ever heard. Somewhere At The Bottom Of The River Between Vega & Altair blew me away for its amalgamation of all things raw, melodic, urgent and ferocious. Drummer Brad Vander Lugt and vocalist Jordan Dreyer took time out to answer some of my questions in anticipation of their first ever Australian tour, supported by To The North.

Lindsey: This will be your first Australian tour and there are a fair few people over here licking their lips in anticipation of seeing you guys live. How are you feeling in terms of anticipation for the tour?

Brad: We are more excited about this tour than any we've ever done. We've already felt so much love and friendship and the tour is still 2 months away! I'm positive we'll be making so many new friends.

Lindsey: Your debut album is a highly original and thought provoking piece of art. Do you think the unique process for writing Here, Hear helped you achieve that?

Brad: I certainly think that helped. Trying new things like the Here, Hear pieces helped us explore different aspects of this band. New ideas always bring more and more along with them.

Lindsey: Do you also think that coming from an area such as Grand Rapids (which is generally overlooked by the musical public) helped La Dispute to develop and nurture this unique and expansive playing style?

Brad: I think that Grand Rapids has a great musical community, you just need to dig a bit. But yeah, when you're not surrounded by hundreds of bands, it helps you focus and probably stand out a little bit.

Lindsey: What inspired the rich imagery and metaphorical nature of the lyrics for Somewhere At The Bottom…?

Jordan: A number of things, I think. First of all, the art and literature I was interested in the time probably had some direct influence on the manner in which I was writing. Vladimir Nabokov, in particular, shows through in spots. Second of all, the stories I attempted to dictate or discuss, or the emotions I tried to represent or evoke, were, to me, so inescapably complex and multileveled that the use of imagery and the analogies came out of necessity. Which is to say, I so often couldn't say something was right or wrong, or someone was at fault in a situation, or say certain things were one way or the other in personal confidence, that assigning those situations an image or presenting it as an analogy gave me the opportunity to let the listener decide for themselves. Rather than me stating it. Third of all, the music over which the words were written. Fourth and final, everything around me in a on day to day basis, whether it be my friends, my family, the radio, my backyard, etc. etc.

Lindsey: You’re currently writing a new 7 inch to be released over the American summer. How is that coming along?

Brad: It's coming along very well! Really excited about the new songs. Still not sure if we're going to put them out as a 7" yet, we'll see if it grows into something more.

Lindsey: At this stage of your career, what do you place more importance on: being a great performer or being a great songwriter?

Brad: I know this sounds really really cliché, but we try very hard to keep that balanced. Playing well live is very important, but writing good songs and albums is just as important. We certainly focus on both aspects of being in a band. Music critics have heaped praise upon your debut album.

Lindsey: At this point in time, where do you think that you stand in the craft of being a songwriter?

Brad: Young. We have so many more songs to write and so many ideas to explore. We're certainly still learning to be a band together, even after 3 years.

Lindsey: Finally, what purpose does being a songwriter and musician serve for you? Is it to persuade or demonstrate knowledge?

Jordan: I'm not sure the words "persuade" or "demonstrate" are the most accurate descriptions for our intentions in that regards, but I think it's certainly along that line. Each of us recognizes and values how powerful a resource art and music can be in regards to the sharing of information, experiences, beliefs, and emotion, and how important all of those things are in establishing legitimate and beneficial relationships with people. Thus, in our approach to songwriting, a certain significance is placed on filling songs with information we consider relevant, emotions we feel are powerful, and experiences we think represent a portion of the human struggle we all confront. It’s more of an attempt to encourage or suggest than persuade or demonstrate, if that makes sense.

Lindsey: Thank you very much for the interview. I really appreciate it and I look forward to meeting you all when you come to Brisbane.

Brad: Cheers! Looking forward to it as well Lindsey, thank you so much for doing this for us!

www.myspace.com/ladispute

To The North Interview

2009-04-27T17:23:00.000-07:00

I got the chance to interview Cam and Errol from Brisbane's To The North in regards to the upcoming tour they have with La Dispute, and to be able to spend time with two friendly, intelligent, like-minded individuals was a great experience. Enjoy and don't forget to find them on MySpace!

First of all, how did the La Dispute tour come about?

ERROL: Well they got in touch with a guy that we know in Brisbane, or I think he got in touch with them and offered to bring them over or something like that. But anyway, he said that we’d be a good support and they emailed us and we were like, “yeah, sweet!” We listen to similar stuff so it was only natural that we’d do it.

So they actually contacted you guys?

CAM: I think their drummer, or guitarist, had downloaded our EP which is from quite a while back and a pretty shitty EP but it was good because they at least contacted us.

I originally assumed that you guys had got in contact with them.

CAM: Nah. It’s kind of cool. I think it’s also because of the whole DIY network. We’ve toured pretty heavily for the last couple of years and maybe they’ve sussed that out and seen that and for doing some Australian shows that would be good for them.

Well both bands have a history with the DIY ethos, especially you guys with the compilation albums and seven inches and stuff like that.

CAM: I think the same goes for them as well.

A fair few people have been raving about their new album.

ERROL: I didn’t know anyone knew them.

To The North have been around Brisbane for a few years and as of yet are yet to record an album. There’s a twelve inch coming up, but when can we expect the debut To The North album?

CAM: It’s coming. Hopefully soon. We’re releasing four songs as a twelve inch for this tour.

ERROL: We recorded them a year ago.

CAM: Yeah, they’re about a year old. It was just a case of we recorded with our friend in Byron Bay and there were a few problems with the initial mixing that we didn’t like and a few vocal takes that I wasn’t happy with so we re-recorded some of that stuff.

ERROL: The guitars sounded shocking.

CAM: So then it came to the point where we needed to get them out because they’re just well and truly past their prime so we went to an engineer in Brisbane and asked him to tidy them up. So we’re putting those songs out and then working on the album.

ERROL: We got a bit fruity in the mix as well. We added some xylophones and bad singing.

Just experimenting I guess.

ERROL: Yeah, exactly, because those songs are so old now.

I suppose it’s a bit difficult writing the album sometimes. I assume you guys all have jobs or university on the side?

CAM: Everyone works and it’s kind of hard to try and fully focus on the band while you’re working.

A lot of musicians say that it’s hard trying to decide what to do, if it’s one or the other.

CAM: There’s a lot of give and take.

ERROL: It’s always like studying, working, writing, because our songs sometimes take a while.

CAM: Like our new song that we just wrote took four months to write because we were so pedantic about it, like it had to be perfect. We got to the point where we finished it and realised that this is probably the best song we have ever written. So it was worth the amount of effort we put into it but it’s obviously it was a long time coming.

The last thing you want to do is to churn out ten songs that just mean nothing. Sometimes it’s better to take time isn’t it?

CAM: Yeah, like we’ve been working pretty hard at getting the album together. We’ve got three or four songs that we need to finish writing so we can go and lock it in and go and actually record. It’s the process of growing as a band too. The songs we initially wrote were just passionate and naïve and our sound has grown together as well as us as musicians and it’s that whole natural evolution where it gets to the point where we want to write an album where the songs are all succinct, it has to be going somewhere or to a point, not just for the sake of writing rock songs.

ERROL: I think we’ve gotten over trying to be the most technical band we can be as well, because it got a bit ridiculous.

Well going by the songs on the myspace page, I can understand why it took so long for you to write them because they are so intricate. I found that even though there was so much going on it didn’t really feel like it was cluttered.

ERROL: That’s cool. Thanks.

CAM: The thing about those songs on the myspace page is that they are so old and the latest song that is on there is going to be a part of the twelve-inch. We’ve played them in Brisbane a number of times, we’ve played them on tour a number of times…it’s not like we’re past them; I’ve actually grown closer to the songs listening back to them now that they’re finished and done and we’re about to actually get them out but we don’t play them as much as we potentially would have done six months ago.

Have you found the songs to evolve over time?

CAM: Lots of the things we laid down initially for the first EP was after we’d only been together for a little while. We did it in a friend’s bedroom basically and it was really rushed (Errol says something funny here but for the life of me I cannot deduce what he says on playback. Seriously, I’ve listened to it twenty times. I still have no idea. It was funny at the time though, LC) but the throes at the time were passion and we just trying to represent what we could do at the time. At that time it was great but then guitar parts change and there are parts where you think some of the vocal parts suck so you change the vocal melody or try and put something more appropriate in.

ERROL: We can’t actually play our songs until we tour them. [Laughs]

CAM: So it’s a bit of a double edged sword.

ERROL: We sound pretty bad for a while.

You guys have said that musically you are influenced by such bands as Hot Cross and Minus The Bear. What about what inspires you lyrically?

CAM: I always go for darker authors like Hubert Selby Jr and Albert Camou and all those kind of guys just because in their writing they seem bleak but they always offer a bit of hope. So I think in terms of writing lyrics I have always offered the agenda that even though life is sometimes hard and there are all these tangible elements to our lives there’s always that little bit of hope and inspiration and I think from the DIY and punk aspect it’s always been a very volatile mix because it gives you some empowerment to do and be what you want to be so that’s the whole basis for my lyrics, even though most of them are looking back over my life there’s always that inevitable hope and there’s so much more to gain and attain in terms of knowledge and life experience.

ERROL: It’s (Cam’s lyrics) pretty nostalgic a lot of the time.

CAM: Yeah, sometimes. The last batch seems a little bit nostalgic but the new stuff isn’t at all.

Have you ever found that when it comes to writing the lyrics that the things that you feel most strongly about are events from your adolescence?

CAM: With the old songs, definitely. Lately it has seemed to be evolving into more of a storytelling situation of someone else’s life. It’s almost like writing a book…

A bit of Bruce Springsteen in there.

CAM: Before it was definitely autobiographical – a lot of my childhood was in there but now it’s the imagining. It’s the awakening of the mind and thinking about other predicaments and situations

At this stage of your respective careers, because I know that you’ve been in the scene a long time Cam, and Errol you’ve been in a fair few bands yourself.

ERROL: Yeah, they were all pretty bad. [Laughs]

What do you guys place more importance on at this point: being a great performer or being a great songwriter?

ERROL: I think it’s a mix within the band. Our drummer, Simon, is very focused on the live aspect of To The North and that’s pretty cool because I could quite happily never play another show as long as we wrote ridiculous songs that I could look back on and be like “I can’t believe I wrote that.” But there’s definitely a balance.

CAM: Simon puts it in perspective because Errol and I, and Josh to a degree, are more interested in the songwriting and recording aspect and the dynamics where Simon believes that if we have a good live performance and it’s very evocative and meaningful to us so it’s a case of him wanting us to always perform at our best live. He’s always the one cracking down in practice, saying that we should run through the set list a few more times and we should really tighten the screws.

Where do you think you both stand in the craft of being a songwriter now? In regards to when you first became a musician do you think you stand any closer to where you wanted to be?

CAM: Definitely.

ERROL: It’s really weird, I think the first thing we did was a mess because we were figuring out what we liked and how we could sound like that all at once so it was definitely disjointed. The second thing was more reflective of current influences. A band called Kid Crash had a big influence on us – at the same time influences like Hot Cross and Off Minor shone through as well. But now with the current songs we are writing it is a lot truer to what we always go back to, like a lot more of the indie stuff like Pretty Girls Make Graves…and still there are so many Hot Cross rip offs. But now I think we are a lot truer to what I thought we were going to sound like at the beginning.

CAM: I’m always not looking to the future for longevity with things because it (music) is an instantaneous thing – it has to be a very moments-based sort of situation so in the beginning it was like ‘do what we can do, do as much of it as we could, play as many shows as we could, have as much fun as we could have…and we did. It was a great time but at the same point the music was pretty chaotic and messy and our older songs are a reflection of that. Whereas now we’ve bunkered down and we’ve been on the road enough and played so many shows in such a short that all I want to do is write really well and I think the album will be a testament to that…if we make it to that point of our lives.

When you guys began was it like, “alright, we’re going to start a band and be influenced by the bands we are currently listening to” and now as time has gone on have you found yourselves casting your mind back and back in terms of influences?

CAM: Sure, I always pull out old albums for the roster. Like today I was doing my tax stuff - usually I just pull out a random record and chuck it on – but today all I listened to were old records. So many of those albums have influenced where we are right now. Lately I’ve been going back a lot of old Cursive stuff.

ERROL: You always want to hear new music but in terms of our songwriting I think it’s a lot closer to that older stuff.

CAM: it’s a bit of an entity unto itself, you know.

ERROL: I think also we are able to be influenced by ourselves too.

CAM: Yeah, it’s also like we have such diverse tastes in music too. We all have those stable bands that we all like such as your Minus The Bear’s, Kid Crash’s and Off Minor’s. I’ve been around a lot longer than the rest of the guys so I listen to a lot of hardcore and Simon listens to a lot more indie and hip hop at the moment. It’s good to have all these different avenues of musical styles coming together but the vision for To The North is very similar in that we just want to write really good songs.

What you just said reminds me of when I studied post-modernism in High School. It was always about challenging literary conventions but the post modernists also believed that to create something original it wasn’t by saying “fuck you, we’ll do it our own way,” they brought all these influences in and get all the bits they liked and used them to create a pastiche. That element does come through in the songs that I’ve heard from you guys.

CAM: The next stage will be much better for us because even thought we’re proud of what we’ve done this new song we just wrote, Luster, shits over everything else we’ve ever done.

ERROL: We’re learning some restraint as far as musicianship goes.

CAM: it’s not even that: the whole songwriting process, even though it’s a torturous task at times and everyone might be at each other…

ERROL: …We’re putting a lot more into it now…

CAM: …we want this to be mature in some sense but also powerful and energetic as well.

ERROL: We’re probably going to end up writing more songs than we need for the album as well, because it’s hard to keep it linear and we want the album to be cohesive.

Especially like La Dispute’s album. That’s their first album but it is cohesive as. You listen to the whole thing…

ERROL: …and it just flows really well.

Exactly. Last question I’m going to ask: what purpose does being a songwriter and musician serve for you? Is it to persuade or demonstrate knowledge?

ERROL: Ok.

CAM: (to Errol) Do you want to field it?

ERROL: You go for a bit, while I think about it. I think it’s a mix.

CAM: it’s a little of both. It’s not as simple as saying “this is what we know.” The funny part about this question is that one of our songs is called If Knowledge Was A Rite Of Passage Then You’d Be A Fucking Genius. And the whole point of that song is that people get so compounded in the fact that they think they know everything. The arrogance I see in some people is to their detriment because they stop themselves from learning or evolving and it’s the same thing with our songs: we’re still learning about each other, about the songwriting process, about creating good lyrics, good songs, stuff that I can look back on and not cringe, stuff that I really enjoy and hopefully someone else can take that enjoyment that I find in it – the same stimulation or input. So it’s definitely a little from column A and a little from column B.

I think it applies to a lot of people in all walks of life where once they think they think they know all they need to know, the wall goes up and especially sometimes it’s like “this is what I know so therefore this is right and everyone else who doesn’t think the same is wrong.” People I talk to, in and out of music, seem to be treading that line between demonstrating their knowledge or persuading it.

CAM: I like the notion that songwriting is just story telling, be it fiction or non-fiction, it doesn’t matter. It’s a case of finding a connection with the audience and vice versa. We’ve got a really good bunch of friends – you could call them fans or whatever- but they’re just our mates who come to our shows, and it’s all about that impassioned contribution together where we will just as much out of them as they might get out of us. The only thing I can liken it to is sitting around a fire singing songs, communicating what you have to say in some small degree. Because you can’t touch on all these emotions and feelings, it’s just that moment.

It’s just like a bit of give and take.

CAM: Yeah.

ERROL: We’ve got a few friends who get sloppy and lose their shit and then we get sloppy and lose our shit so…

CAM: That’s what’s awesome though, having people give a shit enough to learn the song and sing along and it means more to me than anything. I’d much rather play to two people in a place where we can have some sort of connection than play to five hundred people and they just don’t get it.

Cam, have you found, over time, to come to respect and humbly appreciate the fact that you are frontman and have your chance to get on your proverbial soap box and give your two cents? Do you find now that what people connect more with you demonstrating your ‘search’ and persuading them to do the same?

CAM: I hope so. That’s the whole point of it: that it inspires people to take a look at their life and think that there are other avenues and other things to learn and search for. That’s just the whole DIY ethic: as much as we buy into that a little bit we are just regular dudes who just carry on and do what we do. But the point of it is that people can connect to the fact that you can do anything that you want to do as long as you spearhead the campaign and you’re motivated enough to go through with it so I think in a lot of cases people can be like, “well if these guys can do it, I can do whatever I want to do. Maybe there are better things in life than working nine to five. I mean, everyone has to work nine to five to pay the bills though.

That’s true. That’s like me at the moment; I’m going through that. I’m finishing up university in the next year and a bit and I keep saying to myself, “I don’t want to work nine to five.” It’s just not for me.

ERROL: Same with me. I never want to finish off university.

At the moment I’m sitting there thinking, “ok, what the fuck can I do so I don’t have to do that. In essence, I’m currently working at not working.

CAM: That’s why I started Via Studios, so I could basically come to work and be a slacker as well as hanging around like-minded people.

ERROL: Also with what you were saying before, about anybody can do it, that’s a pretty central part of the band. Cam was a guitarist who did vocals and now you’re a stand alone vocalist. I used to play bass until this band and picked up a guitar because we wanted to play stuff like this. Josh didn’t do anything.

CAM: He was the bedroom warrior.

ERROL: Now he plays bass like a crazy person. Simon didn’t ever play in any bands like this so he just knew how to play straight away. Anyone can do it.

That’s the best thing about coming from the punk rock world. Anything goes. No one cares about if you’re a great theorist, just as long as you can get on stage and evoke that emotion and the crowd feels it. That is all that really matters.

ERROL: It’s really great being friends with most of the people who watch us live because it makes the experience so much more intimate and awesome.

And also because they understand. A lot of people outside the punk rock world look in and just think that they’re a bunch of shit players who are trying to destroy music, but really it’s just about taking what you know, and even if you don’t know that much, you just put it out there.

CAM: That’s the one thing I like about the whole ethos of us even being labeled to some degree as a punk rock band because we played this one show at The Jubilee Hotel for a 4ZZZ benefit with all these different types of bands. And this guy came up from a typical hardcore band and just said, “man I love your band, you sound just like Don Caballero.” I wouldn’t have expected that guy to listen to bands like that, let alone appreciate what we did for that. It comes back to that accepting of quality amongst punk rock that it can be so much more than just like “you have to sound like this, you have to be like this.” The whole spirit is to be free and lifted of these bonds…

ERROL: …and also we tried to approach punk rock not from a “let’s just slap some songs together and enjoy a show” opinion. We have to fucking practice really hard to play our shit.

CAM: Sometimes.

ERROL: It’s putting something a lot more into something that is usually pretty simple – and not more than anyone else but putting in as much as we possibly could. The technical aspect of our music is more a show of that, just wanting it to be so perfect that you just spend so much time drafting it that it almost becomes like something that you can’t do.

Even though you guys are technical there’s also that element of rawness to your music.

ERROL: Definitely. I don’t even have a guitar pedal; I just plug it straight into the amp.

Fugazi never used guitar pedals, they just used a distortion pedal and that was it.

ERROL: They’re like the most amazing band. The most amazing dudes.

CAM: I was actually thinking about that before the interview. I was like, “fuck, I hope I don’t get into the whole avenue of sounding like Ian MacKaye on his soapbox. The dude’s a genius but too much emphasis was placed on him being disaffected by the record industry.

ERROL: And like how they wouldn’t be interviewed in magazines with alcohol advertisements.

I’ve seen a few interviews of Ian where any time any of that shit gets brought up he just acts really facetious and kind of blasts them off. This guy asked him, “what inspires you?” and Ian just said, “what inspires you?” right back at him and turned it back on the interviewer.

ERROL: It’s an interview, man.

I can understand it though. People take away Ian MacKaye the musician and focus on the guy behind it.

CAM: They focus on his stand points rather than his music. And the thing is that he’s just a dude and it comes back to breaking down that bullshit barrier. Like we’re just dudes and we could pretend to be something we’re not…

ERROL: …we could try to talk about jazz…[laughs]

CAM: …but the whole point of it is that I was thinking that before the interview. That’s why sometimes I’m hesitant to use the term ‘DIY’; I’m so skeptical about it because it’s so akin to Ian MacKaye and people like that.

ERROL: That being said, we love their bands.

CAM: Don’t get me wrong, we love all their bands, but that’s it, y’know.

ERROL: Music is just a sound that comes out of a box at the end of it all.

CAM: it’s no more important than the dude whose shoveling gravel down the road: if he’s as passionate about that, what makes the premise of music better?

www.myspace.com/tothenorth

Defeater - Travels (Review)

2009-04-06T06:55:00.000-07:00

DEFEATER - Travels
(Bridge 9)

The spirit of hardcore rises again.
For a debut album in the world of hardcore, Travels may just be as good as it gets. Defeater, a five-piece band from Maine, USA, have snuck under the radar of many with their explosive, at times almost desperate, sound, promtly being snapped up by Bridge 9 to be stabled alongside their other hardcore warhorses such as Verse and Have Heart. Not only do Defeater rub shoulder to shoulder with the aforementioned bands in progressive slants on the genre, as well as hard hitting and well thought out lyrical messages, but at times they even stand above their contemporaries. The lyrics are written as a third-person, linear tale, for one. Not only do they attempt something that has been done, and done badly, they make it work without fault.The Prophet In Plain Clothes, whilst starting off as a chugging, military lament, rattles its chains when guitarist Jay's impassioned cameo hits your ears, the crescendo exploding into an acoustic country song reminiscent of Johnny Cash. The drums are frantic, driving the guitars along at a breakneck pace. At times Defeater throw you into the gutter with a twist in their songwriting, (the beat poetry delivery in the verses of Forgiver Forgetter) at other times they lift you straight back up again with some of the finest, rawest and hardest-hitting music that has rumbled in the hardcore world for quite a while (Everything Went Quiet, the one-minute firecracker The Blues). At all times, Travels conveys the sound of a young band firing on all cylinders, demonstrating that when done in the right way, hardcore music can be the most affecting and moving music in the world today.

Lindsey Cuthbertson
www.myspace.com/defeater

Rise Against - Appeal To Reason (Review)

2009-03-26T07:04:00.000-07:00

RISE AGAINST-Appeal To Reason

(Universal/Interscope)

Chicago punks deliver yet another socially sharp masterpiece.

Deciding to yet again team up with producers Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore, Rise Against have fast become the Bad Religion of their punk generation. They ply their melodic punk trade with so much integrity and passion that they need not alter their style very much to remain successful and important. Tim McIlrath’s ability to turn political issues into highly personal stories, especially on ballad Hero Of War, is a gift that he applies to the majority of the songs on the album, giving them a personal, anguished aura. Musically, Appeal To Reason pushes their boundaries without deviating from their signature path. The carnival-like vibe on Entertainment and the use of mid-tempos, and McIlrath’s ever inspiring lyrical delivery keep things fresh and pioneering while songs such as anthemic Long Forgotten Sons and the jaw-droppingly powerful Audience Of One will undoubtedly keep their fans happy. New guitarist Zach Blair shines, his powerful riffing on lead single Re-education (Through Labour) driving the song forward alongside the rallying cry of “we sow seeds to see us through because sometimes dreams just don’t come true we wait to reap what we are due.” Appeal To Reason is a call for revolution and yet again, Rise Against have a delivered an album of outspoken rhetoric without once sounding contrived. It is a stark reminder to us all that the greatest art is created out of discontent in the quest for hope. A truly stunning piece of punk rock whose power will still be felt long after the last power chord has died away.

Lindsey Cuthbertson
www.myspace.com/riseagainst