In less than a week, Brittle will unleash their debut EP The Owls, a project that the band are preparing to give away for free! Today I caught up with the band’s drummer Geoff Slingsby to chat about his band’s generosity, their massive three-month tour, and more.
Brittle’s an interesting band name. Where did that come from?
We started off as teenagers in high school, and we just started out playing covers and stuff like that. And my mum booked us a gig at the local ampitheatre, and we didn’t have a same. So it was just really spontaneous. We were first called Brittle FX, but then we changed it just to Brittle because of other band names like NO FX and Def FX, stuff like that. We changed it to Brittle and then we just stuck with that. We liked it and it’s a bit different.
You’re about to release your new EP The Owls. Was it as much fun to make as it is to listen to?
Yeah, it was amazing. We had a really good experience because we worked with a well-known producer called Mark Opitz. It was a lot of fun because he was showing us a lot of different skills and stuff that he had, and he was sharing a lot of stories with us from working with people like Michael Hutchence from INXS, Rose Tattoo, stuff like that.
I was reading over the names of some of the bands he’s worked with. Was it a little intimidating getting in the studio with him, knowing all of those big names he’s produced?
Yeah, it was a bit intimidating because we’d never worked with a producer before. So we didn’t really know what to expect. We were like sponges. We just listened to every thing he said and we just did it.
You’re preparing to give the EP away as a free digital download, which is an extraordinary step. Why did you decide to be so generous with your music?
Well, one way or another people are going to like it. It takes one person to put it up on the net and they can get it for free anyway. But also it’s good to give something for free as well. We talked about it a lot with each other and we thought to get some really good fans if we just start giving away stuff for free, then they’ll be more likely to come to a show because they’ll know the songs. Rather than having to download it and worry about paying for it, this is a lot quicker and a lot more available.
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I wanted to take a short break from chatting about music to mention another topic that’s dear to my heart. You might have noticed the Pedigree Adoption Drive banner in my sidebar. I was always of the opinion that it’d be a great cause to support, but I was also acutely aware than my cat Gizmo would never tolerate us adding a pup to the mix. I also rent, so getting a dog approved would be a bit of a long shot.
A host of Brisbane independent record labels have banded together to promote the Queensland capital’s flourishing DIY music scene through the 