Perth Music

Tony Pilt
NiCe BoX

Q Does NiCe BoX have any recordings out or coming out? Can you tell us about the name, release, tour, and experience while recording?

NiCe BoX released their debut EP “…and where were you last night” on August 30th and was followed up by a World Tour of Perth that seen us play at Mundijong in the south to Yanchep up north and most major venues in between. NiCe BoX recorded the EP at Groovehead in Maddington recording was done by Stevie C from the Rollerskates in only 7 hours for the five tracks listed on the EP. Mick Stephens of the B Movie Hero’s did mastering. The whole recording experience was very exciting and a learning curve for us all as we had just got a new drummer Daniel Frame that had joined the band only 2 weeks before recording.

Q Can you tell us a little about the band and it’s history? Has the band changed since forming?

The band formed back in November 2002 with members Tony Pilt (guitar Vocals), Paul James (Bass, Vocals) and drummer Luke Hall. The end of November saw an ‘altercation’ between Luke and Paul resulting in the introduction of Jimmi Luxa on Bass, vocals to allow us to meet our debut show booking at the Hyde Park hotel in January 2003. March 2003 WAM nominated NiCe BoX track ‘Buy me a Pony’ for Song of the year 2003 which gave us the grounds to build the EP. July 2003 Enter Daniel Frame; former drummer of Perth band Chillum has been a welcome addition to the band.

Q. What is the songwriting process for the band? Do you write the lyrics and music together or one first then the other?

Song writing is usually done with both at once, we are all competent musicians so melodies come easy to us all. Lyrics on the other hand come a little harder, we try to write songs about everything and yet nothing at the same time. The kind of songs you will love and tell everyone about how funny it is or the same song could insult and disgust you. We have been described by critics as both a comedy act and shock rockers.

Q. When playing live shows, is it important to make every show a spectacle or does it just happen naturally. Do you feed of the crowd’s reaction or do you try to create a reaction?

Every show is a spectacle! Being a spectacle is the basis of our shows but not in the usual ‘Tuff Punk’ type shock rock manner but the ‘what the…these guys are ridiculous’ and that’s before we start playing anything. As far as crowd response is concerned we don’t ask for it we demand it. If the crowd is a little sluggish we have no problem with yelling out to them until they respond, people seem to like it, well when it comes from us anyway.

Q. Is there a story behind the name NiCe BoX? Is it from looking at too much porn or just coincidence?

I have to admit it was on a quick flick through a smut magazine at a friend’s house where I came up with the name. But it was the play on words that made it stick, it’s two common words that when placed together conjures a twisted perverted smile with interest to what it really is, and to us it’s the name of our band. What does NiCe BoX mean to you? Is the question we ask when asked why NiCe BoX.

Q. There is a lot of interest in Perth bands and Perth music at the moment, do you think there is a particular Perth sound and is it very different from bands from the eastern states?

The interest in Perth bands covers a very broad spectrum of music to say Perth has a ‘sound’ is to kill any body that is doing anything different from the ‘sound’. I don’t think that the music is a great deal different to eastern states I think it maybe it’s more about the intrigue of Perth the isolated city. In saying that I don’t remember the last time I saw a bad band in Perth, I may not like what they do at a personal taste level but the music is always performed well.

Q. What Bands have the greatest influence on you and who are your favourite bands at the moment both from Perth and elsewhere?

I don’t think that there are any particular bands that influence us, I like the crunch and grind raucous type genre, Jim man likes the more laid back acoustic reggae styled genre, whilst Dan likes the heaviest darkest music. Favourite Perth bands, well I can’t speak for the others but I can tell you I like JSP, a blend of grass roots blues and Indie rock. I also like the Magoos as they describe themselves ‘ terror core’ and also the more popular Local pricks, Rollerskates and Loo-eze De’ath.

Q. What is your favourite live music venue in Perth? Do you prefer small pub shows with a small audience or bigger shows with lots of people cheering you on?

I would have to say the Rosemount is our favourite; we always feel comfortable there and get a great response from everyone. I love the feeling of a huge crowd, the sound of a deep roar from a massive audience is priceless, but I also like the quite show where some smart arse is yelling insults at us cause that adds to our show if I can insult someone in the audience it makes everyone else take notice and in turn creates a better response to the rest of our set, people like to watch someone else be humiliated, and as I said earlier we look ‘shock/strange’ and are prepared to get on stage like it so we cannot be insulted too easily without a humorous comeback line.

Q. Do you have any gigs coming up that you would like more people to come along to?

A. Yeah we are having a little break for a couple of weeks, Both myself and Dan are having birthdays soon so we have organized a birthday bash at the White Sands on Saturday November 29th we will be playing around nine o’clock so we can get pissed and enjoy the party

Raffe Houston
Dyscord

Q. Does Dyscord have any recordings out or coming out? Can you tell us about the name, release, tour, expierience while recording it, etc?

We are pretty much in the very early stages of putting together our own demo/ep type thing at the moment. James ( Herbert, vocals) went out and bought a digital recorder which is pretty nifty and between that and various software we are finaly starting to get something together. The first song we have finnished ‘Utilitarian’ will be appearing on the ‘New Blood Rising’ compilation CD which is being released by Red Guard Records & Promotions. Its going to be kind of an alternative cd with a bunch of great local bands like SleeperX, Antistatic, Civilised & others.

Q. Can you tell us a little bit about the band and its history? Has the band changed since forming?

Technically the band started at the end of 2001 but to cut a long and boring story short we ended up with our current line up about midway through 2002. This is when Dyscord really came together because before finding Tim ( Madden, drums ) we were a different band, luckily Matto ( Herbert, guitar ) was making chicken with him at the time and as a result asked him to jam. After that we basicly set out writing originals straight away.

Q. What is the songwriting process for the band? Do you write the lyrics and music together or one first and then the other?

I think pretty much we work as a band really well so as a result its usually a colabrative thing with everyone doing their respective parts. One of us will bring in a riff or ideas for a song, usually Matto. Then we just kinda jam on it and work out all the music first then james gets it just kinda dropped in his lap. Though it I think a song can pretty much start anywhere, through a drum riff or a bass line, its the same with lyrics if anyone has any they like, ive given stuff to james before and he will work with it and adapts it to make something good.

Q. When playing live shows, is it important to make every show a spectacle or does it just happen naturally. Do you feed off the crowd’s reaction or do you try to create a reaction?

Absolutley when people go out to see a band theay are doing just that ’seeing’ a band if they just wanted to listen they could just stay at home with a CD. I think people want to be entertained and I think we like to entertain so it kinda comes naturaly, as a result we view our stage presence as a huge part of the band. We want to get up there and we want to rock out!

Q. Is there a story behind the name Dyscord?

Yeah, basically we went through heaps of names trying to find one we could all agree on and it was getting to the point where I didnt even care anymore I just wanted name. For some reason I looked up ‘disagrement’ in the thesaurus and came up with Discord, ironically it was the name that meant to disagree that we all agreed on. Then we changed the spelling to make it a little more original.

Q. There is a lot of interest in Perth bands and Perth music at the moment, do you think there is a particular Perth sound and is it very different from bands from the Eastern States?

Basicaly i think there is potential but it is starting to seem like bands are more interested in following in the footsteps of the forerunners of western australian music.

I think a more direct spectrum of acts being exposed would be more benificial to the WA scene, we have shown the world what we have in one type of music, why not surprise them with what else we have.

Q. What bands have had the greatest influence on you and who are your favourite bands at the moment both from Perth and from elsewhere?

Hmmm i think we are all influenced by different things, though their are similaritys in the heavy music we like eg: killswitch engage, machine head etc. Though ive known James to chill out to Beck and i dig KISS but as a band i think its important not to focus on the bands you really like to much or you may end up sounding just like them.

Im also really getting into the perth scene more and more latley especially the likes of Head Filled Attraction they are brutal! Speaking of brutal Diablo are a great heavy act, also im really loving SleeperX at the moment they get better every time i see them! Antistatic are another ticket band who are definatley going somewhere fast and i would have to say last but certinaly not least is band from northam who have began giging in perth recently who go by the name Vile8, check them out as soon as you can!

Q. What is your favourite live music venue in Perth? Do you prefer small pub shows with a small audience or bigger shows with lots of people cheering you on?

I would have said Rosemount without hesitation not long ago, but we just played in the WAMI heavy showcase at the Amplifier Bar and i have to say its a pretty great place especially techincaly in both lighting and sound!

Q. Do you have any gigs coming up that you would like more people to come along to?

Yeah we do actualy we are playing the Coca Cola Band Comp semi final at the La Bog Inn (Freo) on the 8th of October, also on the 18th of October at the Kitchen (Nrthbrdge) for the Tafe Certificate 4 fund raiser.The 25th of Oct is a Red Guard showcase with SleeperX, Antistatic & more.

Dyscord are:

James: Vocals
Raffe: Bass
Matto: Guitar
Tim: Drums

You can contact Dyscord at: dyscordnoise@hotmail.com

Check out our website at: www.dyscord.com

Prozac Boy
The Potato Stars

Q. Can you tell us a little bit about the band and its history? Has the band changed since forming? What is the reason for the end of The Potato Stars?

Hmm, Potato Stars, always was a very ill-conceived idea, right from the the beginning back in 1995. A grossly malformed foetus that ought have been aborted at birth. How this abomination of nature survived so long, only Satan knows. I sold my soul to him one night at the Hydey so I could be the lead singer of a punk rock band, but the bastard took my soul and lied. Said I could only be the lead singer of a fucking stupid bastard cabaret band.

Incredibly, Potato Stars never suffered a lack of co-conspirators in the mayhem the band promotes. There’ve been about 35 ‘Spuds’ to date, including members of bands of such merit and regard, I blush to mention, but won’t, for fear of forever besmirching their back-catalogue sales once the word got out.

I’m pulling the pin on Potato Stars now, mainly because I’m living in Korea and have started another band, called Spork, and I wanted to see Potato Stars off properly, y’know.

Q. What is the songwriting process for the band? Do you write the lyrics and music together or one first and then the other?

I write almost all of the lyrics, sometimes jamming, but mostly not. We don’t ‘jam’ as such. Even more rarely do we fucking rehearse. In the past we did whole new songlists with each new line-up, but it all seemed like too much effort. At one time we could play twenty five songs over two sets, now I reckon we’ve got about nine songs. Or ten, tops. Eleven if we do ‘My Sharona’. Twelve with ‘Wild Thing’.

Oh, actually, last time we played, in April at the Rosemount, we played two brand new songs, ‘Maylands To Graylands’, and another one whose name I can’t recall…

Q. When playing live shows, is it important to make every show a spectacle or does it just happen naturally. Do you feed off the crowd’s reaction or do you try to create a reaction?

Anything we do onstage happens pretty organically really, with very little planning in advance. Sure, we kinda know what we’re gonna wear that night, actually, we spend more time talking about that than rehearsing. The last line-up said they’d ‘down tools’ if they saw my bum crack or pubic hair while we were playing, so the gladwrap and gaffer tape option went out the window.

Q. Is there a story behind the name The Potato Stars?

About frigging time! At last I’ve been asked in a rock ‘zine what we (ahem) musos call “the inevitable question”. A potato star is possibly the purest form of naive art, in my eyes. You make them in kindergarten, don’tcha?

Q. I believe you have written a book of poetry. Does poetry and music go hand in hand?

The difference is, I actually make money out of poetry, whereas leading Potato Stars only costs me money, time and sanity.

I currently have two books of poetry, ‘Prozac Boy’s Emotional Baggage Carousel’, which has virtually completely sold out and is v.hard to get hold of these days , and my latest ‘Prozac Boy’s Blind’, which, oddly enough, is about when I went blind for two days during 1999. I can see now because I love my mum. No shit. Read the book.

There is another book due out early in the new year called ‘Prozac Boy Traversing The Great Sandy Desert Of Emotional Emptiness’. Oooh, heavy!

Q. What is the most astounding thing you and the band have done? Tell us some adventures you’ve had.

We broke up acrimoniously on tour in Adelaide once. That was piles, of fun.

We’ve had a few good gigs though, one of the more memorable being when we played in the Perth *cough* Cultural Centre. The pigs on horses freaked as their mounts rocked out to that freaky Potato beat. I was wearing a NSW police shirt and our DJ, Adam 12, kept scratching ‘fuck…fuck…fuck off’. That went down well.

Q. There is a lot of interest in Perth bands and Perth music at the moment, do you think there is a particular Perth sound and is it very different from bands from the Eastern States?

I’ve always thought music from Perth sounded different from anywhere else. For fuck’s sake, Perth is 2 600 k’s from the next nearest metropolitan city, there would be something very wrong if Perth music DID sound the same as the shit produced elsewhere.

Q. What bands have had the greatest influence on you and who are your favourite bands at the moment both from Perth and from elsewhere?

Dunno if anyone remembers them these days, but probably the biggest musical influence on Potato Stars would have been ‘Dave Warner’s From The Suburbs’, ~ yes that’ s the name of the band. They rocked. Pity he sucks as a writer though. I love acts like Uberfaust, any band who is daft enough to get dressed up and take the piss. The Dumb Angels were long time faves.

Q. What is your favourite live music venue in Perth? Do you prefer small pub shows with a small audience or bigger shows with lots of people cheering you on?

My favourite venue is the one I’m on stage at, basically. Or the Hydey, which doesn’t have a stage.

Q. Tell us the details of the final gigs you guys are having? Will you miss the scene?

Potato Stars are going to rock the clagged out waxy shite from the music lovers of Perth’s ears. We have the best line-up of the frigging century - admittedly only three years old, but you know what I mean. Erm, it looks like a six piece at the moment. Seven, if we can find a good triangle player.

We’re playing at the Swan Basement in Freo on Friday 28th of Nov., with Uberfaust, The Arachnids and Relinqua; and on Saturday 29th of Nov. we finally kill the beast, after eight years and one week, at the very first pub we played at, the Hyde Park Hotel, with Uberfaust, Kill Devil Hills and Maurice Flavel And His Truckload Of Hope (quite possibly the greatest band name ever!). Get yr sorry arses down to these gigs, you will be rocked, fer sher.

Joe Hawkins & Cain Turnley
Cartman

Q. What do you love about being in a band?

Joe: Hanging out with friends and playing music. And free beer.
Cain: …and also getting to meet a lot of like minded people (who we can then generally proceed to get drunk with…). What sucks about being in a band? Carrying a TON of gear around…

Q. How do you think the ‘fame’ you now experience has affected your lives, your music and you?

Joe: I’m sure this question accidentally fell into the pile. Fame? It’s nice to hear your music on the radio, and the recognition’s cool – but it hasn’t really affected me in any way.
Cain: It’s true. Joe wears nothing but mink and a smile, but then he was always a bit that way inclined… No, seriously, fame is not something we have ever really sought (or achieved for that matter!). Without sounding like a complete wanker, playing music is very much it’s own reward…

Q. Inspirations? Is there anyone out there who you think your music is similar to?

Joe: Not really. There’s heaps of bands I like though, and look up to – Beatles, Faith No More, Sound Garden, Weezer, At The Drive In
Cain: I’ve heard from quite a lot of people on Oz’s eastern seaboard that a lot of Perth music has a similar flavour, but I don’t subscibe to that point of view personally. The music that influences and inspires tends to change as the years go by, BUT The Beatles are always going to be up there, and at the moment I’m liking Coldplay, The Foofighters, and Radiohead a bucketload. Oh, and Nirvana should ALWAYS get a guernsey…

Q. What is the song that changed music for you or affected your (musical) life in some way? How?

Joe: Golden Brown by The Stranglers – Jesus Christ Pose by Soundgarden – Epic by Faith No More. All equally life altering and mindblowing in their own special ways.
Cain: For me there has been a few. The first really shattering song for me was “Hey Jude” by The Beatles. I just didn’t know music could be that GOOD until then. Then, a couple of years on came “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana, and I watched music as we all knew it change almost overnight. There were others in between, and there have been others since but those two songs really nailed me big time. Other’s that deserve an honourable mention… “3 Days” Janes Addiction, “Kashmir” Led Zeppelin, “White Room” Cream, “All You Pretty Things” David Bowie, “4th of July” Soungarden…. I really could go on…

Q. Why do you do what you do?

Cain: To keep smiling. Do what makes you smile or otherwise life isn’t worth living.
Joe: I like to do things that I enjoy, otherwise there’s no point in doing them.
Cain: Apart from green vegetables. Apparently they have hidden benefits.

Q. What do you have to bitch about at the moment?

Cain: Working too hard on my day job. The only thing worse is…
Joe: …giving up smoking. That sucks.
Cain: I was going to say something else but that is true. I didn’t know Joe was trying to quit actually… Don’t take up smoking kids. Kicking the habit is s***house.

Q. Any high school memories?

Joe: Hanging out with your friends everyday for 8 hours. That’s fun – and riding your pushy.
Cain: Yeh, for me it was all about the friends. I moved around a bit, so I got to meet a lot of different people at a few different places.

Q. Do you know of any sex god status attached to you?

Joe: I’m popular among Swedish males 25 – 55.
Cain: I’m the pin up boy for the “Young Liberals”, and last week I posed topless for Greenpeace’s “Mammal of the Month”.

Q. Now that you’re ‘famous’ is there anyone that you’re hell bent on meeting?

Joe: Mike Patton, Chris Cornell, Frank Black? (the comedian/tribute song guy), Jerry Seinfeld
Cain: While we’re rolling out a wishlist, how about Paul McCartney and David Bowie. Oh, we DID get to meet Dave Grohl while playing at the Big Day Out earlier this year. That was pretty damn cool… Got myself a photo to prove it.

Q. What’s the best thing about playing live?

Joe: The volume!
Cain: Legitimately acting like a petulant 3 year old.

Q. What do you look for in fan?

Joe: A smile.
Cain: He’s fussy. I’ll settle for a pulse.

Q. Anything good coming out of Perth for people to look out for?

Cain: Apart from the next Cartman release (ETA currently unknown!) there are three really good new bands over here which are going to be massive… “End of Fashion”, “The Avenues”, and “Little Birdy”. Keep an eye out for them, and then you can claim you were the first to know.

Q. Final thoughts?

Cain: Cartman CD’s make you more attractive to members of the opposite sex.
Joe: And they lower cholesterol. More scientifically proven benefits coming…
Cain: Best to buy a handful, just to be on the safe side.

Interview by Caiti

Horse “Leon” Simpson
Metholated

Q. Does Metholated have any recordings out or coming out? Can you tell us about the name, release, tour, expierience while recording it, etc?

So far we have released two Full Length cd’s so far. The first was released at the start of 99 titled “4U” and the second was released around August 2001 which is titled “Subject To Change”. “Subject to Change” was a much more satisfying recording than “4U” as we were only like 15 and 13 years old when “4U” was recorded and the production values were pretty raw. We sold the first cd mostly throughout the southwest but now that we are pretty much based in Perth we really pushed the second cd throughout the Southwest aswell as Perth selling it in local shops both in the southwest and metro areas aswell as at gigs.

Q. Can you tell us a little bit about the band and its history? Has the band changed since forming?

Well Metholated started out when we were like 12 years old. I met Cliffe our bass player on the first day of high school and just went from there. We started jamming with a friend of ours who played drums but laster recruited Adric our current drummer into the band around 97. So we have been together around 7 years now. Musically we are always trying to play the best we possibly can and think that desire is what keeps us going. We don’t try to write any certain style of music but just try to make sure what ever we do write is the best we feel capable of producing.

Q. What is the songwriting process for the band? Do you write the lyrics and music together or one first and then the other?

Well I usually write most of the songs but Cliffe writes a few aswell which is good cause it keeps things interesting. Personally I usually start off with just a guitar riff or something and just develop it into the point where i have the basic structure of the song including rough lyrics. Then I just add a few things to round off the song. Things like lyrics are usually finalised later on.

A little bit of colour is usually added aswell just to give it a bit of polish.

Q. When playing live shows, is it important to make every show a spectacle or does it just happen naturally. Do you feed off the crowd’s reaction or do you try to create a reaction?

I think regardless of the crowds reaction you have to do your absolute best to put on an entertaining show. I mean it’s great when you can feed off the crowd but you can’t rely on that. There are times when you really have to try and make people stop and take notice. The crowd is an important part of the show and I think you also realy have to keep it honest as the crowd regardless of the size is so essential to any band and I think if you can show that you realy do appreciate the people that have come to see you then I think everyone has a lot more fun.

Q. Is there a story behind the name Metholated?

Hmm yes and no. Ever since I was like 10 I would write songs and record them myself and I always used the name Metholated so I guess it just came from there.

Q. There is a lot of interest in Perth bands and Perth music at the moment, do you think there is a particular Perth sound and is it very different from bands from the Eastern States?

I think its justa case of Perth and WA for that matter not normally being considered part of the mainstream and now people are starting to relise that Perth has some great bands so there sort of like hey hang on whats going on there. I think there might be a different sound but it could also be the attitudes that come across in Perth bands music i think. I think alot of bands and musicians style of playing has alot to do with attitude than anything else.

Q. What bands have had the greatest influence on you and who are your favourite bands at the moment both from Perth and from elsewhere?

Personally its always been alot of old stuff like AC/DC that has really influenced me. I listen to alot of stuff like zeppelin Black Sabbath and Deep Purple aswell. I’ve always loved all that stuff. Maybe it’s cause I’m a guitarist but yea. As far as more current bands go there is too many to name really that have influenced me. I like pretty much everything. Perth bands I really enjoy are Imprint, Local pricks, Heavy Weight Champ, Josivac, and El horizonte, and Love you dead. Gosh theres too many to name really but thats just a few i like.

Q. What is your favourite live music venue in Perth? Do you prefer small pub shows with a small audience or bigger shows with lots of people cheering you on?

It totally depends i think. I think you can make a show with 25 people as enjoyable as a show with 525 people at times. There are alot of factors involved and for me personally the size of the audience doesn’t usually make me prefer one type of show to another. An audience is and audience and it is important to try your best to entertain them regardless of the size. If you can see people having a good time along with you the that can give you a pretty good buzz also.

Q. Do you have any gigs coming up that you would like more people to come along to?

Yep at this stage where playing on the 24th at the Whitesands Tavern the 7th of nov at the Carlton hotel and the 12th at the Rosemount so that would be greatly appreciated if you came along for a look. Thanks

Pete Sykus
The Meaning Of

Q. How is the debut album coming along? Can you tell us about the name, release, single, experience while recording it, etc?

We have finished mixing the album a few weeks back now and head into the studio to master in a couple of weeks. Finally we would have completed it. It has been 6 years since our first attempt and this is now our third, but thankfully it’s done. Not too sure what will be the single as yet, we have decided to wait till it’s finished and get a few opinions on what some people outside of the band felt. Then we would sit down and make the final decision.

We recorded it at Barking Ted Studios (Russell Smith – Crawlspace) Russ has been a good friend of the band for a few years and we knew he had a good idea of the sound we were after and the style of music that we play. We recorded all the tracks at Elite Studios, basically live, and have gone back to BT Studios for the vocals, samples, percussion and mandolin. The actual recording stage of the album was done almost a year ago.

Q. Can you tell us a little bit about the band and its history? Has having the band between Perth and Sydney been a challenge? Has the band changed since forming?

The band has been around since 1996, and was originally known as The Iron Youth. The Iron Youth released 1 disc, “Man Bled Impure Breath” in 1997. After spending the initial 2 years of the bands life in Perth developing a strong local scene with the likes of Dirty Whittler, Greenroom & T-Cells, The Iron Youth were asked to head east and join that leg of the Vans Warped tour with Pennywise, Deftones & Suicidal Tendencies. The band decided a permanent move east was what needed to be done and relocated in 1998. Spending 2 years in Sydney saw The Iron Youth gain a strong local following regularly sharing the stage with likes of Frenzal Rhomb, Toe to Toe, Neo Ezi & Front End Loader.

Due to unforseen circumstances the band had to return to Perth in 2000, and after playing a huge comeback show took a break due to the health problems of one of its members. With this situation in the band things slowed immensely and an acoustic act was formed, The Meaning Of, which kept most of the members of The Iron Youth on the stage. It was during this time that Raz (didgeridoo) joined the band. The Iron Youth took the stage a couple of times with help from good friend Hobbsi (End of Fashion, Greenroom) helping out on drums. May 2002 was the final chapter in The Iron Youth story. I got a phone call that my best mate and drummer, Gaz had passed away. The band hit the lowest of lows. Losing a friend and brother in the most tragic of circumstances, this wasn’t only the hardest time in the bands 5 year history, but the hardest times in our own personal lives. A pact was made in The Iron Youth, that if the line-up ever changed for any reason, so would the band name.

Here was where The Meaning Of really began. After an extremely extensive search, Lee joined the band on drums and things were slowly moving forward again. In this last year, The Meaning Of have enjoyed sharing the stage again with the likes of Dirty Whittler, Karnivool, Greenroom, HWC, Headshot, Tragic Delicate, HFA, BTP, EOF…. Too many to mention! And recorded our debut album, “What is Your Excuse?”, which we release on December 19th.

Q. With 2 brothers in the band is there any family rivalry or any family favourtism? Did Mike and Pete grow up playing music together?

There has never been any rivalry between Mike and myself. We have amazingly for brothers, been almost best mates all our life. It was only when Mike got back from the Institute of Music in Sydney that we started seriously playing music together. We had always grown up listening to the same music so it was kind of natural for us to start writing together. Its actually very complementary with the way that we both write.

Q. What is the songwriting process for the band? Do you write the lyrics and music together or one first and then the other?

We have no set way that we write songs in the band. Usually it is either Mike or myself that present the band with a ‘skeleton’ of something that we have been working on and it grows from there with every member writing their own particular parts. Lately we have been writing a lot more in the rehearsal room. Whether it be Lee with a drum idea, Craig with a bass riff. We lease our own space, so we can head in there with an idea anytime of the day. This has been great getting everyone contributing from the embryo stages of the songs. The back catalogue of songs in TMO is quite ridiculous. I think we are somewhere around 150 songs at the moment. Kind a good if we go through a dull period where we write nothing!

Q. When playing live shows, is it important to make every show a spectacle or does it just happen naturally. Do you feed off the crowd’s reaction or do you try to create a reaction?

I think any musician would be lying to say they don’t feed of the crowd. Getting a positive reaction from the punters is I think the main purpose to playing live, and when there is an energy between the 2 it’s a great feeling. Depending on what type of a band you are, will determine the type of show you put on. I personally feel that as long as its entertaining it’s worthwhile, no matter what it is that you do.

Q. Is there a story behind the name The Meaning Of? Do you prefer The Meaning Of or TMO?

The Meaning Of was the acoustic name that we had used when The Iron Youth was still together. And actually The Meaning Of derived from an older duet, The Meaning Of Sadness, that never actually left the rehearsal room. I personally prefer The Meaning Of, but as long as people recognise one or the other, I don’t mind.

Q. There is a lot of interest in Perth bands and Perth music at the moment, do you think there is a particular Perth sound and is it very different from bands from the Eastern States?

There are far too many genres of music for any city to have a ‘sound’ as such. The difference between the East Coast and the West Coast is population and opportunities. There are a lot more bands there, but that just means there are more good bands and also a lot more shit bands. The opportunities on the East Coast are excellent with all the touring acts, festivals and being in such close proximity to other states and capital cities. The main let down is the pokies that original bands are contending with, thankfully not in WA, and this is having venues close everywhere, and it has been happening a long time. Overall, I don’t think the music differs that much, you just have to sift through a lot more bands on the East Coast to find the good ones.

Q. What bands have had the greatest influence on you and who are your favourite bands at the moment both from Perth and from elsewhere?

As a band we have a diverse range of influences, Mike and myself grew up listening to a lot of 80’s rock, Craig loved the Pixies, Raz loves his Dr.Octagon and Lee grew up on Nirvana. I wouldn’t say they are the bands that had an influence in our writing but definitely an influence in us deciding to play music. Some of my favourite bands would be Janes Addiction, Muse, Tool, RATM, Soulfly, Massive Attack and lately Lamb. Perth has a lot of good bands, and had a lot of good bands aswell. Dirty Whittler, T-Cells, Greenroom, Karnivool, Headshot, HWC, Tragic Delicate, Subtruck, HFA, Local Pricks. That would just be scraping the surface.

Q. What is your favourite live music venue in Perth? Do you prefer small pub shows with a small audience or bigger shows with lots of people cheering you on?

Personally my favourite music venue was the Swanbourne Hotel. When it got knocked down it was a dark day for what was an excellent venue. Nowadays, I like The Globe and The Lookout. They both have great stages and can fit a few people. Small pub shows I like because of the intimacy with the crowd, but its an awesome feeling when a large crowd is in attendance. But most definitely in doors where the sound cant get washed away.

Mick W
The Volcanics

Q. Does The Volcanics have any recordings out or coming out? Can you tell us about the name, release, tour, expierience while recording it, etc?

The band has done some demo recordings but we are heading back into Bergerk! studios to work on material for a compilation CD and our debut single which will hopefully be out in the summer. The sessions will be produced by us and Dave “Shakey” Brody with Dr Alien Smith engineering. So we are really excited and keen to get some material out real soon. Several originals on the compilation CD and a single on CD and 7″ Vinyl.

Q. Can you tell us a little bit about the band and its history? Has the band changed since forming?

The Volcanics formed out of the ashes of previous local bands around 18 months ago and we have been gigging around town for a year or so. We have had one or two lineup changes since. The current lineup is John -Vocals, Mick - Guitar, JT - Drums and Jason - Bass.

Q. What is the songwriting process for the band? Do you write the lyrics and music together or one first and then the other?

The Volcanics are very much a band that jams and many of our songs come out of that jamming. Everyone writes their own parts, we don’t have a chief songwriter, we all contribute to the writing process with lyrics often being written alongside the music and then later refined.

Q. When playing live shows, is it important to make every show a spectacle or does it just happen naturally. Do you feed off the crowd’s reaction or do you try to create a reaction?

We want every show to be enjoyable for us to play. Things happen naturally though, we don’t really have a “show”, we just do what the music and the audience make us feel like doing. Nothing is put-on to create a spectacle. The music makes us react on stage. If the crowd is good we definitely feed of that energy, I think all bands do, that when it really starts smokin’!

Q. Is there a story behind the name The Volcanics? Is it the fact that you just play really hot music?

The name The Volcanics come from wanting something that reflected the type of music we wanted this band to play. High energy, explosive, white hot rock’n'roll.

Q. There is a lot of interest in Perth bands and Perth music at the moment, do you think there is a particular Perth sound and is it very different from bands from the Eastern States?

Nah, I don’t think there is a particular Perth sound, there is all kinds of music being played in this town. Maybe there is a certain sound in Perth bands that get signed to major labels but that doesn’t really reflect the diverse amount of music being played around. I don’t thinks it’s any different from bands in the east or bands from anywhere for that matter, great bands can come from anywhere.

Q. What bands have had the greatest influence on you and who are your favourite bands at the moment both from Perth and from elsewhere?

Our current favourite Perth bands are M-16s, The Fuzz, Jed Whitey,Rockin’ Hendy and the Roaring Mongrels and The Coffins. Some of our current favourite bands from anywhere are The Hellacopters, The Hydromatics, Asteroid B-612 and The Datsuns. Our all time favourites and bands that have been influential on what we do include The Stooges, MC5, The Ramones, The Rolling Stones, The Faces, Urge Overkill, The Rockets ( seminal 80s Perth band), Led Zeppelin, The Sonics, Neil Young, The New York Dolls, Flamin’ Groovies etc. Too many to list. We are all big music fans, there is always some old record being played by one of us whenever we are together.

Q. What is your favourite live music venue in Perth? Do you prefer small pub shows with a small audience or bigger shows with lots of people cheering you on?

Our favourite live venues in town are The Hydey and Amplifier. Big shows can be great, supports for example but for us often our best gigs seem to be in front of smaller crowds that are all really digging the music.

Sam & Leo
Relinqua

Q. Does Relinqua have any recordings out or coming out? Can you tell us about the name, release, tour, expierience while recording it, etc?

We have just recorded a two track Demo at Witzend Studios. The two songs were ‘Living On the Upside’ and ‘Millionaire’ which are available for download on our website or if you ask us at our shows.

The recording was done over a few hours by Alan Dawson. He was a champ, very chatty and was completely obsessed with footy (the finals were on at the time of recording). It was very rewarding but a long day, and really we spent less time recording than we did sitting around watching Alan twiddle knobs and pushing buttons.

Hopefully we can record an EP some time next year. I dont know what songs we’re doing, but we’ve got a few new songs which are pretty cranking.

Q. Can you tell us a little bit about the band and its history? Has the band changed since forming?

We started jamming in late 2000. That was Sam, Leo and Kim sitting in our lounge room writing a few songs. It took ages to get a full band together, but John joined in late 2001, as well as a drummer for a few months, but he left. Then we went back to the lounge to write and contemplate things, before Ryan joined and kicked us into gigging action in late 2002.

Q. What is the songwriting process for the band? Do you write the lyrics and music together or one first and then the other?

Sam writes most the guitar riffs and makes a basic structure, Leo writes most of the keyboard parts and some guitar, but the songs always change when its brought to the rest of the band. These days the whole band is having more input into the writing process.

Kim writes all the lyrics and vocal melodies, except one or 2 early songs which Leo wrote the lyrics for. Then we bring all our parts together and jam until we’re all happy with it (and learnt the parts!)

Q. When playing live shows, is it important to make every show a spectacle or does it just happen naturally. Do you feed off the crowd’s reaction or do you try to create a reaction?

We try to make it a bit interesting. Leo always has some funny rock antics going on. We try to concentrate on the music more than show, as we want the songs to sound as good as possible. The live show tends to come naturally, and as we get more experience it’ll become bigger i guess.

Q. Is there a story behind the name Relinqua?

A week before we had our first gig at the Grosvenor we didn’t have a name. Kim looked in a Latin dictionary and found ‘relinquo’, meaning relinquish. We liked that but thought the ‘O’ on the end was a pit poxy so we changed it to an ‘A’ to make ‘Relinqua’

Q. There is a lot of interest in Perth bands and Perth music at the moment, do you think there is a particular Perth sound and is it very different from bands from the Eastern States?

I don’t think there is a particular Perth sound, it is just that the bands that have been recognised nationally over the last few years seem to have that indie rock, triple J flavour. However, if you look around town there is plenty of different styles being played by bands.

Q. What bands have had the greatest influence on you and who are your favourite bands at the moment both from Perth and from elsewhere?

Well this is Leo and Sam doing the interview so we only really speak for ourselves. HIM, Opeth, Katatonia, Anathema, Entwine, generally goth rock/metal bands from europe have been the biggest influence on our style. Locally I’d say Civilised, Heathcliffe and Fourth Floor Collapse. We also really like Josivac and Kim likes Nathan Gaunt.

Q. What is your favourite live music venue in Perth? Do you prefer small pub shows with a small audience or bigger shows with lots of people cheering you on?

Our favourite venue to play at is the Rosemount, but we really miss the Grosvenor. We’ve only played small pub shows so far, but I’d love to play big rockstar shows too..