Category: Interviews

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Q & A with Nik Yiannikas from Lost Valentinos

They say there’s no rest for the wicked. If that’s true, the lads from Lost Valentinos must have been very naughty boys! Fresh from a European tour, they’re already preparing to travel around our fair country to promote their highly anticipated debut album Cities of Gold. I caught up with the band’s frontman Nik Yiannikas ahead of the craziness!

You’ve just come back from a European tour. How was that?
It was great. We had been there briefly before, a few years ago, and in the time in between we have become a much better band. Our sound is definitely more refined and I think we have found our own “thing” now rather than something that is obviously borrowing from other bands, like we may have been in the past.

In the UK the crowds are quite tough, I guess because of the sheer amount of quality music they are exposed to, but I think we definitely left an impression over there and will be back there very soon. The rest of Europe was very receptive from the outset and, from our experience at least, I can say that playing in continental Europe is always a lot of fun!

You’re about to head out on your Conquistadisco tour. Are you looking forward to getting back in front of your local fans?
For sure. There’s no place like home! And we haven’t really done the regional thing yet, so it’s a bit of a journey into the unknown.

It’s a pretty fantastic name for a tour. What can music fans expect from these shows?
It is a great name isn’t it?! In fact it is a word that Ewan Pearson came up with to describe us whilst we were making the album. As for the tour, all of the following words go a little way towards describing the spectacle that is the Lost Valentinos live show: Gold. Black. Samba whistles. Air horns. Sometimes two drummers, sometimes one drummer. Kwaito. Forceful krautrockin’ techno. Manchester. Guitars. MS-20.

During the tour you’re playing Splendour in the Grass, and you’ve played Parklife, Falls, and Playground Weekender in the past. What do you enjoy about the festival experience?
Pretty much everything! You get the best riders, best treatment and biggest crowds when playing at festivals. Except when it’s a shit festival, then it can be a really bad experience.

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Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Q & A With Lisa Mitchell

At the tender age of 19, Lisa Mitchell is taking on the world with her sweet folk voice and exceptional songwriting skills. On the eve of the release of her debut album Wonder I chatted to her about the new CD, her upcoming Australian tour, and what it’s like to live the life of a nomad.

You’ve just come back from playing the Glastonbury festival. How was that?
Amazing. It was so cool. It was great. I would have loved to have stayed the whole weekend and have camped out – I had some friends there – but I had a gig the next day. So I literally just played. The gig went well, it was good. The thing is, over in the UK they know the “Neopolitan Dreams” song from the ad on TV. So it was good; they all sing along with that. So we did the gig, and then went and saw Fleet Foxes who were fucking amazing, and then I had to go back to London. And it was for a good gig, it was for a good cause. It was support for the James Morrison show in Canterbury, Kent. So it was a good gig, but I would have liked to have stayed and camped.

So how did the Glastonbury crowds respond to the other songs that maybe they weren’t so familiar with?
They responded well I think, from what I can remember. It was a good gig. A lot of people came in off the muddy thing we were on. Typical festival. The sun was out the whole time I was there, but we had our wellies on and it rained a little bit the day before we were there, so it was all nice and muddy. Which was good; you don’t want to go to Glastonbury and it be dry. So it was a real experience. I was absolutely stoked to play it.

Last time we spoke you mentioned how much you love to travel. So did you have any time in the UK to just kick back and enjoy your holiday?
I did. I had a fair bit of downtime. I spent lots of Sunday afternoons in the nice pubs and the parks. The weather was absolutely gorgeous when I was there. The sun was out every day, and back here it’s freezing! Music-wise it was going really good. I think it takes a lot of your energy up, being in a new place. You’re very aware of trying to make friends and just being in this new place. By the end of the time I was there, my last week, I was feeling nice and settled. I think the more I go over the more I’ll build up a little network.

It seems a shame that you just get settled and then you’ve got to come back home and start promoting the album over here!
Yeah. It’s the life of a troubadour, always on the road.

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Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Q & A With Nick Beresford-Wylie of Hancock Basement

Canberra band Hancock Basement are ready to take Australia by storm with their catchy tunes and infectious energy. I caught up with the multi-talented Nick Beresford-Wylie (he sings, and plays guitar, keyboards, and saxophone!) to hear about the Canberra music scene, his love of vinyl, and the band’s upcoming Sydney shows.

You won the Triple J Trackside Unearthed competition last year. How many doors has that title opened for the band?
Winning the Trackside Unearthed competition has certainly been a great help as it earned us national exposure and radio airplay, which in turn have helped us in booking shows and reaching a wider audience. It’s also great to be able to say we’re a Triple J Unearthed band.

What was it like to play for the crowds at the Trackside festival?
Playing Trackside was a pretty great but slightly bizarre experience. Although we were on early we played to a pretty huge crowd of all ages, which was a lot of fun. However, halfway through our set the wind began howling and it started to pour with rain. Then the stage power cut out and our drummer Tom had to launch into an ad lib solo and our singer Craven did some crowd interaction dance moves. After a few nerve-wracking minutes the power came back and we were able to finish our set. The crowd wasn’t phased though and the soloing/dancing received some pretty loud cheers.

You’re from Canberra. What can you tell me about it the music scene there?
Canberra has a lot of talent at the moment although, sadly, this is let down by the lack of live music venues. We were very sad to see the Greenroom close last year (one of Canberra’s long standing dedicated live music venues). It makes it more difficult for local bands to get the chances they deserve. However, Transit Bar, the ANU Bar, The Basement and the Phoenix Bar are still great places to see local rock and indie music.

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Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Q & A With Mark Sheehan of The Script

The Script are all over local radio and the Australian music charts, and soon the lads from Dublin will be here in the flesh. I chatted with Mark Sheehan ahead of the band’s September tour.

You’ve only recently visited Australia for some shows, yet you’re about to tour here again in September. What keeps you coming back?
What can I say? We’re suckers for the Aussies. We love it there. Aside from the band, Dan [O’Donoghue] and I have been there a few times travelling around a little. We LOVED it. Plus your beer is good!

You’re playing some small theatres while you’re here, yet back home you’ve been performing in stadiums. How do those intimate shows compare to the much larger ones?
I prefer them to be honest. The stadiums are very surreal and the shock settles in after you’re off stage … very annoying. But the smaller shows is where we are from and I find the atmosphere is always electric. We’re on top of the audience. God help them!

I’ve got tickets to your Sydney concert. What can I expect when I see you guys live?
Nakedness! No, I lie. We would clear the building out if we did that. Maybe I’ve just started an idea for last call in bars throughout the world: show them naked Script pictures and clear the shop. We like to call our live shows our time off because no one bothers us up there. It’s the reason why we’re in it so we really savour that and play the best we can. Our shows are high energy, so if the audience is any good then we just excel. It’s a reciprocal energy, so audience and band feed off each other so to speak. This is what we live for.

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Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Q & A With Johnny Galvatron of The Galvatrons

The Galvatrons are preparing to unleash their retro rock sounds on a nation, with the release of their debut album Laser Graffiti next week, and their support slot with Something with Numbers. I caught up with the band’s flamboyant lead singer Johnny Galvatron to chat about his group’s big sound, their “ridiculous” new album, and his uncanny knack for always getting just what he wants!

Your sound harks back to the 80s, with the big synthesizers and sing-along choruses. What do you love most about that period of rock music?
I was more influenced by soundtracks than specific bands. I guess that’s kind of where the band stems from, that whole science fiction soundtrack, that whole 80s soundtrack vibe. So I think the record has that whole Breakfast Club meets The Last Starfighter kind of vibe, which is definitely what we were going for.

I caught you supporting Cheap Trick and Def Leppard last year. What was it like to be on the road with such legends?
I mean, it’s Def Leppard! How awesome’s that? I had a sweet time! And I really like Cheap Trick, I’m a massive Cheap Trick fan. They came out one night, I think it was at ACER Arena, you know like 15, 20 thousand people, and they walk out and go “Good evening ladies and gentlemen, we’re The Galvatrons!” and then played “In The Street” from That 70s Show and that was like the highlight of my life, like single tear down the side of my face. Cheap Trick just introduced themselves as my band. That was probably the most amazing thing ever.

And the Def Leppard guys, if you ever become a big stadium rock band, you want to be like those guys, because everyone who’s on tour with them loves them. They eat all the same catering as everyone else, they all sit around with the crew when it’s dinnertime and stuff, and the crew love them for it. They’re just geezers, they’re such nice guys. So I think it was a very good lesson on if you do succeed, how to treat everyone and how to do it the right way.

You have such energy on stage. How do you keep things fresh when you’re on the road for long periods at a time?
Umm, probably just drugs! (laughs) No, no. I think we really love what we do, we love playing rock and roll. We’re not one of those bands that are too serious about what we do. We know we all have a really good job and we love playing rock and roll. It is hard being on the road for a long time, and being in a band for a long time sometimes, but we love what we do. We’re very thankful for it.

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Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Q&A with Jeremy Wright of The Sundance Kids

The Sundance Kids are a band on the brink, earning rave reviews for their shows with End of Fashion and Evermore and preparing to release their debut album Fall Into Place in August. Bass guitarist Jeremy Wright took some time out from the tour to chat to me about the band’s wild ride.

You’re on the road with End of Fashion and Evermore at the moment. Are you excited about the shows?
Yeah, definitely. These are two amazing bands and we’re excited to share the stage with them every night! We’ve been cooped up in the rehearsal studio for months so we’re excited to be getting out and on the road!

What can music fans expect from your set?
We put a lot of ourselves into our performance. It’s pretty dynamic. Our main aim is to connect with people. And a little bit of crowd participation.

How do you win over people who may have come to your shows to see the other bands on the bill?
We like to hang out after shows and meet as many people as we can. So make sure you come and say hi!

This tour is massive. Where are you looking forward to visiting?
This week we’re looking forward to visiting the Big Pineapple. Actually, we’re keen to be anywhere that’s not flooded! The last two days of driving have been hectic, dodging flooded roads, missing bridges and fallen trees. But that just shows our dedication to the rock and roll cause!

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Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Q & A with Stuart MacLeod from Eskimo Joe

It’s been a long time coming, but Eskimo Joe are back. Their new album Inshalla is set to drop on May 29, and they’re travelling around the country in July to support the release. But before all that I caught up with the band’s guitarist Stuart MacLeod to chat about the new CD, the band’s recent success in Europe, and what it’s like to be home.

You’ve just come back from Europe. What’s it like to be home?
It’s amazing to be home. Leaving home definitely makes you realise how amazing we have it back here in Australia. Stepping out onto the streets of Hamburg in the sleet and the snow, and then you come home and you’re sipping a beer out on your back deck as the sun goes down. That’s quite amazing.

What do you miss most when you’re away?
Family I guess. And the weather.

I believe you’ve got two kids. Are you apart from them all the time that you’re away?
Yeah, at this stage we’re still touring quite lean over in Europe so it’s really just drive, and play, and drive, and play every day. So it’s not really conducive to having two really small bubs on the road. So when they get a bit older, they’ll definitely be down for the hard slog.

What was the response like to your music over in Europe?
They were amazing. They were very excited because a lot of them had been travelling through Australia and seen the band maybe once and bought a CD back. So the excitement of seeing us over there definitely came across in the crowd. There was a freshness to the excitement in the crowd, so it was a real buzz.

Your new album Inshalla comes out later this month. I hear it showcases a fresh sound for the band. How so?
I guess because we’d had some new injections of youth into the band in the form of the little babies that I have, and Kav [Temperley] has also had a son, I guess there’s a real fresh lightness to the band, and a new energy to the band. I guess we allowed ourselves to write a bit more positive, hopeful-sounding music. There is a definitely a kind of real hope on this record, and a lot lighter tone on this record.

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Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Q & A with Khan Manuel

Khan Manuel is a musician on the up. The Sydney-based guitarist was recently endorsed by global giant Ibanez, an achievement which follows the international success of his debut solo album The Knight. I caught up with this rising star to chat about the Ibanez deal, teaching the next big stars, and Guitar Hero.

You’ve just been endorsed by Ibanez guitars. What does that deal mean for you?
It has always been a dream of mine to be endorsed by Ibanez. And after thousands of hours studying, when things like this happen it really does give you a sense of accomplishment. It will help open doors that would normally be shut and I am so grateful for this endorsement. Many thanks to Kurt and Adam at Australis for helping make it possible. Australis look after Ibanez, Tama (drums) and also Ashton here in Australia.

What do you love about Ibanez guitars?
I have played the Ibanez Jem 7v white for around 11 yrs. Personally I have not found another guitar that caters for all my needs. The neck is very important and needs to have speed on it without losing its tone. Dimarzio have been with Ibanez as long as I can remember and always make top-notch pickups, which has to blend well with the body. My Ibanez has an alder body and resonates beautifully with the combination of the dimarzio pick ups and the fast neck. Overall its perfect for me, and also covers a wide range of genres. The Knight was recorded in its entirety with the Ibanez 7v white, which is interesting as there are blues, rock, metal, fusion and funk styles on the album. I have tried almost every other model of guitar you can think of and have stayed with Ibanez because I haven’t found anything better.

Who are your guitar heroes?
Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan were the first guitarists that I studied and listened to. Still to this day I marvel at their genius. Its almost as if they knew something that all other players failed to put into their own voice, and I am not talking about technique or playing ability. I think all great players are like this: Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Santana, George Benson, Larry Carlton, Tommy Emmanuel. I could name 100 more but ultimately for me there is only really a top 1% that has really made an impact for the guitar to evolve, and these players I could only count on two hands. I have studied well over 100 guitarists since I was a youngster and will continue to study anyone I think has a good energy that can be added to my own voice.

What inspired you to start to play?
All I can remember is sitting next to the stereo when I was around six and listening to my dad and sister’s albums over and over again. I listened to everything from Michael Jackson, Chubby Checker, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Phil Collins, Bob Marley, The Beach Boys and heaps of others. There were no guitarists that interested me, it was just the way that the music made me feel. I remember getting shivers down my back when I heard a song that I liked and that made me feel good, so I kept going back for more of that same feeling.

My dad was playing the guitar one day (he was playing “Hey Joe” by Jimi Hendrix) and I walked in and saw this guitar that he was playing. Then on the odd occasion I would walk in and pretend that I was playing it. Then he started teaching me to hold chords and to start playing tunes at around 9 or 10. So I guess it was a combination of already loving the feeling that music gave me, and my dad introducing the guitar to me.

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Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Q & A with Chardy

With regular shows at Melbourne’s Onelove and OneSixOne club, Chardy is a local dance legend. Now that he’s remixed a disc for the new Neon Essential compilation, the rest of Australia is falling for this electro disco dub tech house wizard. I caught up with him today to chat about the Neon Essential project, performing live, and Paris Hilton.

You’ve mixed one of the discs on the new Neon Essential compilation. What was it like to work on the project?
It was quite amazing actually, a lot of fun to work with the guys from TV Rock. I had an absolute ball.

What was your favorite track to mix?
Probably my favourite track at the moment is “Doov,” a Bass Klephs mix by Ben Colin. It’s probably one of my most played records in my cage at the moment, so I’d probably have to say that.

This Neon Essential album has been released in conjunction with Novanation, the new 24-hour digital dance station. What does a station like this bring to Australia’s dance scene?
It’s going to be huge. They’re signing all different artists, a lot of bedroom DJs, young DJs who aren’t even out playing. I know a couple of guys that they’ve signed up after little remixes they’ve done as well. So I think they’ve got some big stuff in store. They’re not really trying to look for big artists that are already writing big tunes. They’re more looking for independent style artists who haven’t got their stuff out yet. They’re doing a really good cause, the Neon label. Good on the guys.

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Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Q & A With Paul Greene

One of the hardest working men in the Australian music industry Paul Greene is back on the road promoting his new single “Love Work Dance Trust.” I caught up with this passionate and fiercely independent muso this afternoon to chat about life on the road, how he inspired a Ben Harper hit, and why the Olympics are a corporate marketing scam.

You’re touring to promote your new single “Work Love Dance Trust.” What can you tell me about the song?
It’s inspired by a Tibetan Buddhist proverb that I saw written on a friend’s wall in blue crayon once, nearly ten years ago now.  And on a drive to Bryon Bay from Sydney I had this song, which I thought was a bit of a joke, rolling around in my head. On long drives, that’s when I come up with a lot of my ideas, when I’m sitting in my car by myself. And I recorded it, I think I had a minidisk recorder at the time.

And it’s become probably my most requested song when I play live, which is pretty much all I do. It just seems to resonate with people. And I know it’s been used before – “Work like you don’t need the money, love like you’ll never get hurt, dance like nobody’s watching” is a bit of a cliché almost, sort of a modern cliché. But it’s interesting that song. With the way I write songs, I just make them up and bounce them off an audience and see what comes back, see what works and doesn’t work. And that’s definitely the song that has struck a chord with the most people.

You spend a lot of time on the road. What do you love about performing?
I love the individuality of it. It’s the journey that makes the songs a lot of the time, and really has established my sound and me as a performer. I particularly love being able to see the whites of the eyes, and seeing what happens when you bounce these songs off an audience of sometimes unsuspecting punters, seeing what their reaction is. People don’t have a chance to rereview or find out what’s going on a lot of the time. You get people’s raw reactions to the music. I get a lot out of that. I think that’s kind of what my whole project is really about.

What do you miss most when you’re on the road?
It’s more about what I miss when I’m not on the road!

OK then. What do you miss when you’re not on the road?
I miss being on the road! You very quickly forget about the uncomfortable beds. I’ve got to say after eight years of touring I’ve got it down to a fine art. I’m travelling at the moment with my seven-month-old daughter and my four-year-old daughter and my wife.

That would make things interesting!
Well, you know, I’d be sleep deprived if I was at home as well. I get to travel with my family. I come from Culbarra Beach, which is on the South Coast of New South Wales, and I love going home there. But I don’t go away from work. My life just kind of continues in another place. I just move from place to place, rather than having to go away and come back. I feel like this is my life, travelling and playing music, and I get to do it with my family. I feel like the luckiest person in the world.

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