Tag: alternative rock

INTERVIEW: The Butterfly Effect (AUS), June 2010

Posted on by David James Young in Interviews

I loved this band so much back in the day. They’re an opportune band for angst-ridden teenagers in Australia, what can I say? Begins Here is a fantastic album, one that definitely holds up in the wave of so called “progan” (prog-bogan) bands of the time. I really didn’t like their third album, Final Conversation of Kings, but I think I only subtly dug at it in this feature. Glenn’s a good dude and an easy interview. I remember being in a great mood during this talk as I’d just finished uni for the semester. I was recording on a barely-working USB mp3 player with a completely cracked screen. Punk as fuck, right?

Also worth pointing out that the fourth album discussed in the interview never happened. Clint, the band’s singer, quit in 2012 and they’ve only briefly played since with a new vocalist. Not sure where that’s at, maybe they’re done?

– DJY, October 2014

***

“Hey, mate, what’s going on?” It’s refreshing to hear the voice of a successful Australian musician – in this instance, The Butterfly Effect’s bassist Glenn Esmond – sounding like they’re chatting to an old mate as opposed to a scheduled interviewer.

It’s early Thursday morning, and Esmond has been enjoying a bit of time off from the road and working on some new material with the band. “Writing songs of all sorts and kinds!” he reports enthusiastically. He continues to discuss the influences behind the early stages of what will become the band’s fourth album.

“We try not to get too easily influenced to the point where whatever you’re hearing at the time ends up on record. I think that it’s always just life stuff when it comes to the writing – y’know, if you’re in a bit of a shit mood you’ll go and write some dark riffs. If you’re in a happy mood, you’ll be writing happy riffs. But yeah, I think it’s all sounding pretty cool so far. It’s sounding a bit more demanding than our other stuff – like, you’ve got to give it a bit more time. We’re only at the demo stage at this point, though; so we could end up with a set of three minute pop songs. Who knows?”

Who indeed. If one can criticise the Butterfly Effect for anything, it certainly can’t be for resting on their laurels. Though their last album, 2008’s Final Conversation of Kings, didn’t fare as well in a commercial or critical sense as its predecessor Imago, the band’s attempts at expanding their sound and progressing were definitely sewn amongst the tracklisting.

This was evidenced especially by the seven-minute Worlds on Fire, complete with some of guitarist Kurt Goedhart’s most brooding and dark guitar sound yet, as well as incorporating a jazzy trumpet solo. Is there any clue as to which direction the band will be taking this time around? Esmond isn’t so sure just yet.

“Ahh, who knows, man? The kind of music we’re doing – y’know, it is what it is. There isn’t too much thought into the process. It’s kinda more that we just see what happens and you work with what you get. Some bands will say that they work towards a certain idea or concept, but we’ve never really been one of those bands. I think that each of our albums are totally products of their environment. Any of our recordings is just a reflection of us at the time, just going with it.”

Even though the album is far from completion stage – Esmond predicts an early 2011 release – he promises that the band will be playing a handful of new songs on their upcoming tour dates. The band’s tour dates for the rest of the year kick off this weekend, as the band take to the stage of Luna Park this Queen’s Birthday long weekend for the annual Come Together festival. “Yeah, that’s gonna be a good one!” Esmond enthuses when we broach the subject.

“We’ve played that a couple of times and it’s always pretty good – the crowd always has kids that are really into it and I’m really keen to be kinda co-headlining alongside Gyroscope. The Gyro boys are always up for a laugh and they’re a killer live band. I’ve heard a couple of good things about House Vs. Hurricane, too; will see if I can check them out, for sure.”

Shortly afterwards, the band are gearing up for a tour entitled ‘Four Wheels And A Heartbeat’. It begins in Adelaide in late June and ends in Darwin (“the ski club there is in a really beautiful place!” says Esmond) in early August. The band will be stopping in a string of remote and regional areas – a far cry from their capital cities tour of last year that culminated in the filming of their live DVD at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre. When asked about the extensive tour dates, however, Glenn is quick to point out that it’s not as great a stretch from what the band have been doing normally for the past few years.

“Yeah, I think we’re known for being a band that is known for playing a lot of regional shows. We’ve been doing it for so many years, so we just thought it would be good to just get back to doing it. It’s cool we’re getting to play a lot of places that bands don’t normally visit. We’ve played a couple of these places before with a band like Grinspoon, but I think it’s really remarkable to be able to play a bigger place like the Enmore and then play some RSL to a couple of hundred people.”

No matter where you see the band over the next few month – from Come Together to Campbelltown – rest assured you’ll bear witness to a solid, energetic performance from the Butterfly Effect boys. Esmond’s certainly looking forward to the rest of 2010.

INTERVIEW: TV on the Radio (USA), December 2008

Posted on by David James Young in Interviews

No need to bullshit about here: TV on the Radio are one of my favourite bands of all time. I’ve seen them live four times, I own and love all of their music and they have been with me for a very, very long time. Nearly ten years, in fact. I’ve grown to love them more and more with every album, reaching fever pitch around the time that 2008’s Dear Science came out. How fitting, then, that this was when I would interview Jaleel Bunton, formerly the band’s drummer and now their bass player following the loss of the late, great Gerard Smith. Jaleel was a very cool cat – he was talkative, engaging and smart. I was beyond stoked with how this one turned out – and even looking at it now, my work here isn’t too bad. Definitely one of the better features I put together around this time.

Smith actually gets a mention in this feature, and I nearly cried reading over it again. He was a remarkable musician, and is dearly missed. TVotR are here at the end of the month for Splendour in the Grass – infuriatingly, not doing any sideshows. Hopefully, we’ll hear some new stuff soon.

– DJY, July 2013

***

“Sorry, man!”

Jaleel Bunton has returned from his promise to be right back, apologising for the noise. “I just entered a very loud rehearsal space.” This is easily forgivable – Jaleel Bunton is a fairly busy guy, consistently on the move. He is one-fifth of Brooklyn-based avant-garde rockers TV on the Radio, who are headed to Australia in early 2009 on the back of their latest album, Dear Science.

Released in September, Science has topped Rolling Stone’s end-of-year list and earned high-ranking positions in many more. It was also the second record that Bunton was an official part of the band as its drummer. Certainly, one could see this as a cementing of the band as a five-piece; and Jaleel himself tends to agree.

“The band started as just Tunde [Adebimpe, lead vocalist] and Dave [Andrew Sitek, guitarist/producer]. From that, it’s now grown into a five-way collaboration – this is the first time where everyone wrote songs for the record. We’re still trying to journey to – œfind ourselves’ as a five-piece, and I think Dear Science was a big step in that direction.”

With tight, groovy jams like Dancing Choose and Golden Age, as well as full-band freakouts like DLZ andHalfway Home plentiful on the new record, Science sounds far more like a band-focused record than their last, 2006’s wildly successful Return to Cookie Mountain. Putting this to Bunton himself, however, reveals a little uncertainty to merit of such ideas.

“One thing I like about this band is that it doesn’t really adhere to the typical band script of – ‘we were best mates in high school, started playing in our garage, rented out a studio’ – we’re not like that,” he muses. “So it wasn’t really a focus to make it more of a band record; it was just a goal to make a record that all five of us that we were proud of. We wanted everyone to participate because we were all individual writers before we met.”

Having said that, there is still certainly lenience towards the core trio – Adebimpe, Sitek and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Kyp Malone. When asked which of the three Bunton personally connects with the most when it comes to songwriting, he notes that it really “depends on the song.”

“It’s pretty hard question to answer, y’know…” He pauses, then continues by stating that the band “all works together.” “It’s a little happy home… I mean, we definitely have our issues, but I’m impressed with the fact that everyone is able to keep their egos in check- that’s a part of art.

“Everyone has their different, particular talents,” he continues, focusing on particular examples. “Dave’s a really good producer, it’s something I watch and am really amazed by. And Tunde’s a fantastic melody writer. I work well with everybody with what they’re good at, to answer your question.”

If you have never experienced TVOTR live in any shape or form, you are most certainly in for a surprise. Perhaps the band’s most well-known performance is that of their appearance on Letterman a few years back, playing single Wolf Like Me. The already-dancey track was given a wild, rollicking renovation in the live environment – a credit, in particular, to Bunton’s Bonham-sized drums. Despite the impression that songs likeWolf were meant for the live environment, Jaleel explains that each song that this is simply not the case.

“I grew up studying how to play instruments; but I know a lot of people are limited by what their hands do and not what your mind is doing,” he says, elaborating on different degrees of musicianship. “When TV on the Radio writes or records, we write music to be recorded – as we want to hear it, not as we want to feel it.”

So what changes when it’s time to put the songs in front of a crowd? “It’s the exact opposite,” he states. “We’re more concerned with what it feels like than what it sounds like. This is the first time we’ve had quite a bit of live experience under our belt, making this record, so I think that’s slipped in subconsciously.”

Another staple of TV on the Radio live performances is bassist Gerard Smith’s near-obsessive refusal to face the audience whilst he plays. Jaleel laughs and describes Smith as “one of the single most puzzling enigmas on the planet.”

“There was no moment that made him the person that never turns around on stage – and if it did, it happened a long time before I met him. I will say this,” he continues as if giving an inside scoop, “I HAVE seen him,ONE time, turn around and wink at his girlfriend at the time in the audience. It lasted a matter of four seconds and it blew my mind!”

There is absolutely no doubt here – Jaleel Bunton is a charismatic, friendly and genuinely interesting man. If you missed out on tickets to any of their sideshows, and you are heading along to any of the Big Days Out, don’t miss your chance to catch Bunton in action with TV on the Radio. Hopefully, you’ll be excited as he is to be touring this festival. When asked if he was looking forward to the shows, he replies, “Are you kidding? I can’t believe I’m going to be travelling every day with Neil Young!”

INTERVIEW: Jim Ward (USA), December 2008

Posted on by David James Young in Interviews

*

Funny story about this one: I remember it was scheduled the same day as my orientation day at uni, but I was in no position to say no to interviewing Jim Ward. So, naturally, I got my lunch break and I did my interview at the Uni Bar out the front while a staff member looked on with confusion. Jim was a pensive, thoughtful interviewee; and ended up being a very lovely guy in his own right when I met him not too long after I did this interview at his show at the Annandale. That, fittingly enough, was my first ever Annandale show – I can’t believe I’ve been going to that sumbitch for nearly five years! I’ll always love Jim Ward, no matter what music he’s making. This experience simply solidified that love.

– DJY, July 2013

***

Jim Ward is no stranger to Australian shores. Each time he has come, however, he has brought something different along with him. Back in 2001, it was with genre-defying quintet At The Drive-In, holding down the rhythm section whilst the future Mars Volta leaders Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez threw themselves across the stage.

A few years later, Ward was positioned up the front as his new band, Sparta, warmed up an audience in hot anticipation of Blink 182. Earlier this year, he returned without either band to perform solo and acoustically, as both the opening act for Incubus and one of the many artists featured at the 2008 Soundwave Festival.

Now, just over six months since that appearance, Jim Ward is set to play a number of low-key, intimate shows this month. This time, however, he will be showcasing tracks from his latest project, Sleepercar, and its album West Texas.

“This is definitely music I’ve wanted to make for a while,” he comments on the album’s rootsy, country vibe. “It’s stuff that I love, both in the singer-songwriter format and the band format as well. I’ve been working on it for quite a while, and it seemed like the right time to release it, with Sparta moving into a ‘vacation’ stage… it just seemed like something I wanted to do.”

The entire record is a notable change for Ward; not only as a guitarist (favouring a trusty old acoustic in favour of his Fender Esquire) but as a vocalist. His lower-range storytelling shows scarcely any resemblance to the high-octave scream of “Cut away! Cut away!” in the classic One Armed Scissor.

“It’s stretched my limits,” Ward confesses when asked whether the solo acoustic work has challenged him as a singer. He still remains positive that the challenge of creating entirely different music from his past has paid off. “It’s a good thing to be able to learn new stuff and better yourself,” he muses.

Despite having a new backing band in Sleepercar, with which he has toured with extensively this year, Ward’s visit to Australia is on his lonesome. He makes a point of his experiences of tours without a band, and what you take in as a result of solo touring and travelling.

When asked to comment on the life of the one man show, Ward describes it as “a whole new way of seeing things,” in a slightly weary tone (quite possibly the toll of his extensive tours). “It can get a little lonely at times, but it’s also good to explore your head and think about things… it’s a little selfish to do, but I think it’s an important thing to do sometimes, just to get everything together.”

Anyone who has followed Jim’s career to its full extent will note that he has evolved further and further in independence as a musician and songwriter, developing from a key band member to band leader, and subsequently as a solo musician. Each career step, one could argue that Ward has revealed more and more of his musical identity, his soul.

“Yeah, that’s fair to say,” he responds when presented with this thesis. “I think it’s given me a chance to find myself and explore other music, which you don’t normally get to do when you’re working with other people. Over the years, I’ve definitely found more comfort in making music. It’s definitely broadened my horizons.”

Ward’s work with other musicians, of course, has not come without in-band controversy. Huge creative differences were cited as the reason for ATDI’s demise; as Rodriguez-Lopez and Bixler-Zavala went on to form the Mars Volta. Even when the dust had settled on that one, another personal blow to the Sparta camp came when guitarist Paul Hinojos jumped ship… to join his former Drive-In bandmates in the Mars Volta. Despite such potential grudges still to be held, Ward emphasises that such conflicts of his past is water under the bridge.

“I still talk to them,” he states when questioned about his former bandmates. “They played in El Paso [city of Texas in which ATD-I was formed] the other day and I went to the show. Y’know, you grow up and you move on; but it’s still nice to be reminded where you come from.”

He’s certainly come a long way since releasing Hell Paso as a seventeen year old in At the Drive-In with his college funds. However, it seems very evident from the conversation that has just passed with an intelligent, thoughtful and humble man that his creative streak is far from running out. Ladies and gentlemen, please experience Jim Ward.

INTERVIEW: theredsunband (AUS), October 2008

Posted on by David James Young in Interviews

My second interview and the first one that ever got published. They decided to hold out on the Adam Green feature so that it would get timed correctly with Meredith. I wasn’t complaining – people were gonna read my stuff, man! Holy shit. Sarah Kelly and I are… well, not friends, but we’re certainly acquaintances. Having seen her through several guises over the years – most recently with the excellent Good Heavens – I’ve always had a great appreciation for her songwriting.

She remains one of the more underrated performers in this country, but you’d never have guessed that by the way I interviewed her. I was a really big fan of theredsunband, particularly their Peapod record. Throw on any jam from that record and I’m immediately in a good place. As an interviewee, she was a little reserved and softly-spoken, but that was fine. It reflected her overall nature – and besides, I wouldn’t have exactly warmed up to some dorky teenager mouthbreathing down the phone, either.

– DJY, July 2013

***

You’d be forgiven for not remembering Sydney alternative rock trio theredsunband in 2008. Even on the band’s own terms, it’s been quite a while since they gently rocked our worlds with 2005’s Peapod. They subsequently played around the nation with countless Aussie and international acts, including one support slot for the legendary Sonic Youth. The obvious question, thus, to put to Sarah Kelly (guitarist, vocalist and brains behind theredsunband) is why exactly it had taken so long for their return in the form of their new record, The Shiralee.

“We actually recorded the album two years after Peapod ,” she explains. “It took a little longer to release, because we weren’t really sure of how we were gonna do it.” What followed was a refreshing and classically DIY mission of releasing The Shiralee: pay for the entire recording out of pocket (thanks to a lengthy 32-stop van trek across the country in 2005 and a songwriting grant) and release it independently through their own new label. “It’s been a really good experience, I’ve liked the whole thing a lot,” Kelly happily comments. “You learn a lot of different things about stuff that goes on that you don’t really notice when you’re on a record label.”

Kelly’s inspiration in her songwriting for the sophomore release stemmed from the Shiralee itself. Translating to “burden” in an Aboriginal dialect that even Kelly herself is unaware of, the book is, according to Kelly, “basically about this man wondering around in the outback.” Further independent research on the matter revealed the book’s plot to be somewhat deeper than this, depicting a man’s relationship with his child and the stressful ways of the outback Australian life. Regardless, it appears that theredsunband’s sound has mused upon the Shiralee’s environment rather than its characters.

“It’s a very spacious record,” says Sarah, before adding, “We spent a lot of time on the road, and I kind of think you can hear that on this album.” A request for further elaboration on this statement ironically presents further ambiguity. “It’s hard to explain. I don’t think you can necessarily explain why certain imagery comes into your head when you hear songs.”

True enough – especially when talk turns to what Toby Martin, singer and guitarist of long-serving Sydneysiders Youth Group, thinks of the record. “He told me that when he listens to that record, he gets a sense of a really huge, open space in the desert with lots of tiny little people walking around,” Kelly explains with a laugh. “That’s such an awesome thing to say.”

Australia will have their chance to experience this desert-sized sound for the first time as theredsunband team up with Youth Group for what looks to be one of the bigger Australian tours of this year. A double header, the tour takes the bands to a myriad of interesting regional places in addition to the capital cities – several of which neither band has ever been to.

“Neither of us has played in Wagga Wagga, or Currumbin or Noosa,” says Kelly as she tries to think of the places which the tour will take her. “I’m really looking forward to those shows and going to those places. We’ve played in quite a few unusual spots over the years, and tours like this are a really good opportunity.”

The tour was conceived after both Kelly and Martin appeared on the hugely popular SBS pub trivia show RocKwiz. The two battled it out as the guests on opposing teams, to be united later in the night with a surprisingly brilliant version of the Jesus and Mary Chain’s Sometimes Always. Martin took Jim Reid’s part, while Kelly did her best Hope Sandoval. Afterwards, discussing the touring plans for both camp’s new records (The Shiralee and Youth Group’s fourth release, The Night Is Ours, respectively), it was decided that “it would be great fun to do a tour together.”

“We’ve known various members of Youth Group for a very long time,” recalls Sarah, briefly before our conversation turns sweetly anecdotal. “I think the first time we ever played together was in 2002,” she continues. “That was [sister and keyboardist] Lizzie’s first show with the band. She was only 16 back then! Luckily, she had a fake ID under the name of Roxanne.”

‘Roxanne’ has long since grown up and established herself as the backbone of theredsunband sound, with warmly-toned organ and simple yet effective percussion such as the tambourine. It may seem a cliche to ask, but one can’t help but be intrigued as to whether it is difficult having a younger sibling on board in the band.

“People ask that all the time,” Kelly offers casually. “It’s not difficult at all. She’s a very calm person, always very cool. If anyone ever chucks a tantrum, it’s gonna be me!”