Perth Music

Having released 6 studio albums and selling over 25 million albums worldwide, the band many consider the founders of Nu-Metal, Korn came upon a few stumbling blocks. Their 11 year/6 album contract with Sony Records had finished and guitarist Brian “Head” Welch decided that he had “…chosen the Lord Jesus Christ as his savior, and would be dedicating his musical pursuits to that end”. To overcome all of this the band decided to do something unheard of in the music industry - They signed a $25 million contract with EMI Music in exchange for a share in profits of their next two albums, including tours and merchandising. In the middle of their world tour to promote their new album “See You On The Other Side“, guitarist James “Munky” Shaffer gave Justin Middleton this exclusive interview.

I asked Munky if, after 11 years, recording albums was getting easier or harder. “Well, it is definitely still a challenge to create something new and exciting. The creating bit is difficult, the recording bit is easier. We love trying something new and that is why we signed the partnership with EMI. It has given us freedom to do what we want and know that our record company has complete faith in us. In the past record companies would give bands money to create an album and if they didn’t make money from that then that would be it. We hope that with deals like the one we have with EMI it can create a model that other artists can look at and consider. It is a partnership where both parties can profit.”

With music that is so intense and full of sound it was a big shock to the band that guitarist “Head” decided to leave and a challenge to the recording process. “Well when Head left and I became the only guitarist for the band, it put a lot of responsibility on me as a musician. I had to come up with a way of creating Korn music with one guitar instead of two. It was very daunting at first and when we started recording I was only thinking of creating songs with one guitar due to playing them live. After I realised that when we tour and need to play our older songs we would have to have a touring guitarist, it made it much easier. I allowed myself to create different guitar tracks for songs and they sounded great.”

“When creating new songs for the album we tried a different strategy than usual. I started with a drum loop in the studio and just played until I found a fitting riff. We then used that riff to create the songs verse and chorus which then produced the melody of the song. ‘Fieldy’ then layed down the basslines, Dave (Silveria) went over the drum loop with proper drums and Jonathan (Davis) put lyrics in last. Usually we create the songs with a more live process. This new way was harder for me but let everyone in the band be a lot more creative.”

Korn’s current world tour includes North America, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and then North America again. Along with all this Korn have decided that the rock festival they created - The Family Values Tour - will be coming back this year. “We’ll be doing that tour again along with The Deftones, Stone Sour, Flyleaf and Dir En Grey. This time we’re gonna have a second stage which will have different stuff on it - maybe some Hip Hop or something.” I asked Munky whether The Family Values Tour will ever make it down to Australia: “I’d love to see it come here but there is so much overhead in a tour like this that I can’t see it happening in the near future.”

On a personal note I asked Munky what he has coming up in the near future. “When we get to Europe in a few weeks I hope to start recording some stuff for a solo album. It has been brewing up for a while now and I usually bring a small recording rig on tour so I’ll probably do some recording then. It’ll most probably be an instrumental album, a little experimental and I still don’t really know how it will come out. It could be just 3 fifteen minute songs or a whole bunch of different sounding songs.”

Interview by Justin Middleton

Korn’s new album “See You On The Other Side” is out now through EMI, with the second single “Coming Undone” out now with 2 exclusive B-Sides. For more info visit Korn on EMI Australia or Korn’s official site.

The Veronicas aren’t the only set of identical twin Australian singers. Perth based duo The Tall Poppies have a unique sound and fresh outlook on music, travel and what it takes to make it in the industry.

Q. Tell us a little bit of history about yourselves as singers/songwriters. How did you start out and what have you achieved?

Cath and I have always written song together since we were nine or ten. We’d use an old organ with a fake drum beat given to us by our grandmother. When we were seventeen we invested in our first acoustic guitar. The bloke at the guitar shop had the nerve to recommend the cheapest, “You’ll want a surfboard next week”. The guitar collection grew and so did our song collection.

We were writing songs separately most of the time and then we realized we could play as a duo. Once we had a set of solid material we got on a plane and played around London, never having played live in our home town. We learnt a lot in that year and had a blast.

I returned home to finish my degree and Cath came back after recording a song with a producer in London. Since then we’ve recorded our own album in Perth and have made a video that has been broadcast nationally and internationally.

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

I suppose the bands that have the greatest influence are the one’s we listened to as impressionable adolescents; Pulp, Lush, The Divine Comedy to name a few.

At the moment I’m listening to Paolo Conte, an Italian jazz singer. “He’s wonderful, he’s wonderful.”

Q. What helps in writing new songs? Do you need solitude to get inspiration?

Our best songs have been written incidentally during conversation. ‘Funky’ was written after I got my hair cut and Catherine felt she had to complement it while she happened to have the guitar in hand. “Goodnight Catherine” was written when Catherine was going to bed and I happened to have the guitar in hand.

Other times we might just jam out a new chord progression and then make up the lyrics together over a cup of tea. Solitude plays a part. We even have a song called ‘Solitude’. It was written in solitude.

Q. I believe both of you have travelled around quite a bit. Has this travel helped in your music, both lyrically and musically?

Oh for sure. Travelling is a very inspiring thing to do. One’s senses and emotions are heightened and I think that spills over into our song writing. A lot of the songs on our album were written during or immediately after a holiday. For example, the tune and theme for ‘Drinking Life through a Straw’ was developed with the exilerating experience of a ski holiday in mind.

Q. Do you think that The Veronicas beat you to the female identical twin spot in Australian music? Do you like The Veronicas music or would you rather kick their asses?

Yes, they beat us with that old marketing trick so Cath and I have decided to become just good friends or maybe spread the rumour that we are a lesbian couple, but I think Ta Tu beat us to “that spot” in international music. I wouldn’t buy The Veronicas’ CD but then again I don’t buy many.

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

I liked playing the Kashmir club in London. The best gigs are when you can hear yourself playing well with a nice mix and the audience listens. Any people cheering, whether on a small or large scale is good. It’s like when you tell a joke and somebody laughs. Anybody will do. Although, having said that, having the whole audience cheer encore in unison is the best.

Q. What is your song writing process? Do you write the lyrics and music together or one first and then the other? Do you have a psychic ability to write songs simultaneously?

Our song writing process varies. They usually start with a guitar chord progression and vocal melody. Sometimes the piano or bass line come first. There are quite a few songs with my verses and Catherine’s choruses stuck together. The lyrics are always written second to the melody. We write the lyrics together so that they’re not too introverted and abstract. This is usually done in a pleasant setting like a café or in the garden. We like to have songs about things we both want to sing about.

As for psychic abilities, we did write the same song at the same time whilst in different countries. I’d written the bass line and Catherine had the same chord progression so we already had the tune. Didn’t take long to add the lyrics and voila, we had ‘Chamelleon’ sorted.

Q. What is your take on the Perth Music Scene at the moment? Do you think it is thriving or is it a bit of over-hype?

There are a lot of good musicians in Perth but there aren’t so many people listening. At the moment there are a lot of Perth bands doing well in Australia and that’s brilliant.

Q. What plans do you have for the next few months?

Cath and I are just getting ready to go back to the UK in May. Alex is staying behind to study. Hopefully Alex will join us later but in the meantime Cath and I are going to release ‘Time Machine‘ as a single and do a few shows there. Before we leave we’re filming a video for ‘Drinking Life‘. Really looking forward to it.

Interview by Justin Middleton

The Tall Poppies play upstairs at The Leederville Hotel on Sunday 7th May. For more info visit www.thetallpoppies.com

Wolfmother will finally return home in July for their first Australian shows since they tore up the Big Day Out back in January. Tickets for all concerts go on sale at 9am today.

The Sydney trio are currently criss-crossing the globe to help spread the word about their acclaimed, self titled, debut album.

The group is also being embraced by international radio with their song “Woman” being the #1 most added song at the Alternative and Active Rock formats in the US over recent weeks and Radio 1 in the UK playlisting the band.

Wolfmother’s Australian tour will be slotted among performances at some of the worlds best festivals including Coachella and Lollapalooza in the U.S., Reading and T In The Park in the UK, Fuji in Japan, and a coveted spot on the famous Roskilde Festival in Scandinavia.

As far as Australia goes, the news just keeps getting better. With their debut album verging on triple platinum sales, Wolfmother have cemented their status here by picking up a swag of awards in Australia’s Rolling Stone critics poll; being named Best Band, Best Rock Artist, Best New Artist and Best Hard Rock / Metal Act. Their album also received the inaugural “J Award” as the best release of 2005 and they had a record six songs voted into Triple J’s “Hottest 100” list.

From the well loved “Dimension” and “Woman” to the epic “Minds Eye” and the latest single ‘White Unicorn”, Wolfmother live are an unmissable experience.

Their special guests on all their Australian dates will be influential Swedish rockers Dungen. Dungen’s (pronounced Doon-yen) contemporary masterpiece of 70’s inspired psychedelia, jazz, and rock, “Ta Det Lungnt” (which loosely translated means “take it easy”) has been met with critical acclaim worldwide, including a spot in the Top 50 albums of 2005 lists for Rolling Stone USA, NME, The Times, Spin, Uncut and many more. Opening the shows will be up and coming local indie band and original fantasy rockers the Tucker B’s, out on the road in support of their latest and greatest release “Chubby”.

You can catch Wolfmother, Dungen and Tucker B’s live at the following Australian venues:
THUR 13 July – Thebarton Theatre, SA
SAT 15 July – Festival Hall, VIC
SUN 16 July – Challenge Stadium, WA
THUR 20 July Hordern Pavillion, NSW
SAT 22 July – The Riverstage, QLD

With her debut EP on the way, Perth girl Leena is set to take the Australian music scene by storm. She gave us this exclusive interview.

Q. Tell us a little bit of history about yourself as a singer/songwriter. How did you start out and what have you achieved?

I started playing music when I was 5 living in Tasmania, working out how to play songs that I heard on tv on my great grandmother’s beautiful old upright piano. After 10 years of painful and regimented classical piano and flute training I decided to act on my instinct and start writing my own tunes on piano and then later, on guitar. I was always into writing and found that it was a very easy way to express complicated teenage feelings, that made no sense what-so-ever till I saw them on paper or heard them in my songs.

After I finished high school I decided to blow off uni for a while and go and check out my father’s home country, Thailand. For about 4 years there I explored Thailand while making visits to europe and the states where I had a boyfriend. I was making a living from playing shows then and when I came back to perth to study politics at uni I realised that I wanted to put all my energy into writing and performing music. Since that decision I have become a pretty hard worker and live from performing my own songs, something I never expected to happen. I’ve been lucky enough to play with a bunch of incredible musicians and to play hundreds of fantastic shows, in regional w.a. and in Perth.

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

Soundgarden, Queens of the Stone Age, Elvis Costello and The Beatles have had huge influences on me. My favourites at the moment? Black Rebel Motorclycle Club and Bob Evans.

Q. What helps in writing new songs? Do you need solitude to get inspiration?

Yes I do, in a big way for the most part. Recently I’ve been writing with Perth band Eskimo Joe, and it’s a welcome change to be collaborating, especially with people i trust musically.

Q. Favourite AFL team?

None.

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

I perform differently depending on the vibe of the venue and the crowd size and participation, but the indescribable feeling is always the same no matter how big or small the audience. I love playing to crowds that you can read enough to make them laugh and feel involved in the show. Writing music for me is all about people identifying with a feeling or a moment described in a song and i think there is a real art in being able to portray that through performance.

I love playing the Paddo because of the high stage and the awesome sound engineer! To watch music, I like any venue that isn’t too claustrophobic and over packed.

Q. What is your song writing process? Do you write the lyrics and music together or one first and then the other?

The better songs that I write always just come in one hit, like a steam train. There are others that exist as poems, riffs or half songs for years till you finally give them a bit of love. Songs are definitely weird creatures that have a life of their own.

Q. What is your take on the Perth Music Scene at the moment? Do you think it is thriving or is it a bit of over-hype?

If there is over hype, I would take that as a complement to Perth music. There are bucket loads of original and talented bands here and I think it’s fantastic that they are getting the national recognition they deserve. In the end people can work out what they like for themselves, regardless of hype.

Q. What plans do you have for the next few months?

I recently received a grant from artswa to record and release my first studio EP. I’m in preproduction at the moment and will launch the first single by august this year. I also have a lot of residencies, local shows and tours coming up so I have a lot on my plate at the moment.

Interview by Justin Middleton

For more info on Leena visit www.leena.com.au

Local gem Pippa Drysdale showcased her talents at this years WAMI festival and is on their compilation CD. She plays at different venues in and around Perth and can heard quite often on local radio stations. So far she has over 2000 fans (Australia and overseas) and that figure is surely rising. Next month she’s going on tour with Melbourne band Kanvas Grey but before that venture she gave us this interview.

Q. Tell us a little bit of history about yourself as a singer/songwriter. How did you start out and what have you achieved?

Well, I started playing guitar while I was living in New York, six years ago. I taught myself off the internet (with no speakers, which made things kind of hard…lol). It took me about 6 months to realise that I was reading TAB (guitar music) upside down, that discovery definitely made things sound a whole lot better : ) I really only picked up the guitar to write songs.

What have I acheived? Ummm…I’ve written, recorded and released two albums, “Print of My Hand” and “Helium“, I’ve played live on the radio quite a bit, “Print of My Hand” got a couple of really nice reviews, one of which was from the States and resulted in quite a few sales and some life long fans and “Helium” was RTR’s feature album of the week some time in March. But more than anything I’ve learnt so much as a musician and songwriter and gotten to play with some pretty cool people : )

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

Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, Joni Mitchell, Suzanne Vega, Joni Mitchell, Dar Williams, Ani Difranco, Jewel, Sarah Mclachlan…the list goes on. At the moment I’m really into Cindy Lauper - a very good songwriter..

Q. What helps in writing new songs? Do you need solitude to get inspiration?

I need HEAPS of solitude. Not so much for getting inspiration, that comes from everyday life, but for the actually writing process. Anyone who knows me well will tell you how cranky I get when I don’t get enough time alone to write. I can’t even have someone else in the house. Don’t know why, that’s just the way it is : )

Q. Favourite AFL team?

The one that’s losing.

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

Definitely small venues where I can really interact with the audience. My favourite? Not sure, probably the Swan Acoustic Lounge.

Q. What is your song writing process? Do you write the lyrics and music together or one first and then the other?

Generally I write it all together in one fell swoop. Most of my songs just pour out of me in the space of about an hour, but then, there are others that I walk around trying to write for ages before they come out right.

Q. What is your take on the Perth Music Scene at the moment? Do you think it is thriving or is it a bit of over-hype?

I think Perth artists are getting more attention interstate than in the past, but I haven’t noticed live music taking over every bar/pub/restaurant. So I’m not really sure about that one.

Q. What plans do you have for the next few months?

I’m going over east to play a few shows with Kanvas Grey (a Melbourne band) in May which should be really cool. After that I’m not really sure, I’m thinking of touring overseas later this year or maybe early next year, so we’ll see.

Interview by Justin Middleton

For more info visit Pippa’s official site.

A Decade Today are a melodic/post hardcore rock band from Perth who have been playing music together for several years. A Decade Today has an original sound consisting of melodic passages coloured with vocal and guitar harmony, heavily contrasted with brutal, disjointed sections of carefully structured chaos, delivered with raw, honest intensity. Soon to be recording their first EP, Perthmusic caught up with guitarists Wayne and Damian for a chat.

Q. So where did the name for the band come from?

Damo: It came from my tattoo, which I got for my Grandpa who died. Later I was explaining to the boys that it was a decade that day since he had died, hence the band name A Decade Today.

Q. What bands have had the greatest influence on you and who are your favorite bands at the moment?

Damo: I think the bands that have influenced us all as a group is Beloved, Thrice, Thursday, well myself and our singer/bass player Steve anyhow.
Wayne: Yeah, the bands that have influenced our sound the most would be those three, but as for favorite bands, they probably wouldn’t sound much like what the band sounds like and the list would be really long.

Q. Ok, your ultimate gig to play? Who would you play with, where would it be, and who would you be playing to?

Wayne: I’d like to play to a crowd of midgets, just to make myself feel really big.
Damo: I’d like to play at that castle the Chilli Peppers played at…
Wayne: Slane Castle…
Damo: Yeah… with Beloved, Thrice, Metallica and the Dixie Chicks
Wayne: Yeah… the Dixie Chicks…

Q. What plans do you have for the band in the upcoming months?

Wayne: We’re going to be recording an EP soon and we’re playing a few festival shows down south as well as organizing a small tour to Geraldton with a few bands that we play with and organize shows with a lot. Then we are playing a show on a boat on the Swan River, ‘Revert On The River’. Should be an interesting couple of months…

Q. If you could have written any song, what song do you wish you had written?

Damo: I wish I had written Stairway to Heaven because everybody knows that song, it’s one of the most famous songs ever.
Wayne: I wish I’d written Classical Gas, because its just so cool.

Q. What are some of your favorite venues in Perth to play?

Wayne: The Swan basement is good, and Mojos.
Damo: I really like playing at castlerock, the kids down there fucking rule man..
Wayne: Yeah anywhere down in Rockingham, the kids go nuts….

Q. What is you favorite A Decade Today Song?

Damo: A new song called ‘Abigale’ otherwise, ‘Strange Turn Of Events’.
Wayne: Yeah, ‘Strange Turn Of Events’, or ‘For We Are Not Here’. They are good songs to play live because they have energy and the crowd gets into it more.

Q. How often do you write songs? What percentage of those do you end up keeping? What’s the song writing process like?

Damo: I write songs whenever I pick the guitar up, it’s a matter of liking what comes out enough to keep it.
Wayne: We jam on a lot of new stuff all of the time and filter out what doesn’t fit into the song we’re trying to write and maybe save it for another song.

Q. Anything you’d like to add or plug?

Wayne: Revert On The River, May 27th , $25, Streetlight, Anime Fire, A Decade Today, SixteenSixteen and Pride Before Fall. All on the swan river. Value for money! www.revertentertainment.com for more details.
Damo: Also check out our Myspace www.myspace.com/adtband. Leave us a message and maybe you’ll be lucky and get a free breast massage!

Interview by Mandy Jones

With her debut EP coming out in a few months local talent Claire Clarke told Justin Middleton more about what makes her tick and why you should be listening more to local music.

Q. Tell us a little bit of history about yourself as a singer/songwriter. How did you start out and what have you achieved?

In 2000 I sang an Australian classic in memory of my father and was overwhelmed by the connection I had with people on a sincere emotional level. With a little encouragement from my teacher my music career began.

I focused all my energy into writing lyrics and vocal melodies, learning the theory of music and vocal techniques and disciplines. At the end of 2005 I was accepted as one of the youngest contemporary vocalists at the prestigious WA Academy of Performing Arts. I am very excited to perform my repertoire of original songs at Perth live music venues and am looking forward to releasing my debut EP Alter Ego, the first chapter in my career as a recording artist

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

I must admit solo artists such as; Natalie Imbruglia, Missy Higgins, and Avril Lavigne have been my greatest influences. I don’t have a favourite band per se, though I do have great admiration for Perth bands and independent artists. I guess I’m just a little biased. J I listen to a really diverse range of music and I love it all. Currently Alanis Morissette’s collection is getting a good workout in my CD player.

Q. What helps in writing new songs? Do you need solitude to get inspiration?

I’m usually alone when I write and this typically occurs at night time. I guess it’s the solitude which holds no boundaries and provides free reign.

Q. Favourite AFL team?

In risk of getting my ass kicked, I’m a rugby union girl all the way. I don’t dare enter the Eagles/Dockers battle!

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

The Paddo has really been a stand out for me. The vibe is awesome, I love it. In saying that though I enjoy all the original music venues in Perth, for different reasons. The Hydey is very intimate and I adore that punters can literally be at your feet and in your face. It’s great!

Big shows are unbeatable, I love to feed off a huge audience, especially when the listeners are getting into it as much as you.

Q. What is your song writing process? Do you write the lyrics and music together or one first and then the other?

I write lyrics all the time and usually have a melody in mind. Other times I record melodies that pop in my head and add the lyrics after. I’ve never had a ‘formula’ as I find it limits me creatively.

Q. What is your take on the Perth Music Scene at the moment? Do you think it is thriving or is it a bit of over-hype?

Being born and raised in Perth I love the Perth scene. There is a genuine sense of ‘reality’ about Perth, its people and music. I think the Perth music scene is definitely thriving with bands like End of Fashion, Eskimo Joe, Gyroscope, Little Birdy, The Panics, Schvendes, and then of course there are the solo artists like John Butler, Nathan Gaunt and many more I haven’t mentioned. The proof is in the pudding we have an amazing bunch of talented musicians.

Q. What plans do you have for the next few months?

I have just been contacted by Nova 93.7 for an interview and feature my music on WA Made. This is very exciting! I’m releasing my Debut EP Alter Ego 1st July 2006. My website claireclarke.com is being updated to sample and sell my music. I have been performing my songs acoustically and am really looking forward to performing with my band very soon. I am especially looking forward to reaching a wider audience and raising my profile.

Bob Evans (AKA Kevin Mitchell from Jebediah) has a new single, soon a new album and a new lease on life. The new single “Don’t You Think It’s Time?” will be available in stores May 13 and his second solo album “Suburban Songbook” will be available June 12. Justin Middleton asked him a few questions about his sophomore album and he gave us this interview:

Q. Tell us a little bit about the new album “Suburban Songbook”. Did you approach this album differently than “Suburban Kid” and was it a harder album to write?

Suburban Songbook is a timeless romantic suburban fairytale. I recorded it in Nashville, in September/October 2005. I approached it similarly to Suburban Kid in that I spent every free day I had in my backroom demoing however this time round I had better equipment and I also bought a synthesiser to demo string, brass and piano arrangements because I wanted to make an album heavy on varied instrumentation, so in that regard it was very diiferent to the stripped back, rawer Suburban Kid. It was a harder album to write in a way cos my standards had risen a little and also creatively my inspiration was demanding a lot from my brain.

Q. Who are your favourite bands at the moment and has your touring the UK and US shown you any bands you absolutely love but had never heard of before?

I really loved Tegan and Sara when I toured with them just before going to the US. I saw a cool band in Goteborg, Sweden that played the middle slot between me and Architecture in Helsinki but I can’t remember their names! They were very cool…like the Hives but with a female singer and minus the suits. Oh, I discovered Mary Gautier when I was in Nashville. I went to a bar cos Missy Higgins was playing and I’d never seen her before but I got there late and only saw 2 songs. Then the woman Missy was supporting came on and she was amazing. Like a lesbian Johnny Cash. I bought her album. I got in to Ben Kwellers album recently. Josh Rouse’s Nashville album. I’m digging Josh Pykes mini album. I like the Faker album. Oh, I really fell in love with Lucinda Williams “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road” too while I was Stateside. A bit of Gram Parsons. I really like the new Sigur Rios record too.

Q. How has it been releasing the new album on a major record label (EMI) compared to the independant Redline Records which released your first album?

Well, it’s still early days yet, the album doesn’t come out til June so we’ll see. But obviously everything is done on a bigger scale. It’s kinda like what it was like being on Murmer with Jebs before Sony swallowed it up.

Q. Can the Eagles go all the way this year?

Definitely. We were the best team last year but it is very difficult for any side to maintain that kind of form for 26 weeks or whatever. We dropped off toward the end. We still haven’t solved our tall forward situation and we need greater results from Hansen, Staker and Lynch. I think we can forget about Gardiner for now. I hear we have one or two good kids that might debut this year but I aint seen ‘em in action yet. Ofcourse our midfield once again will dominate. Remember we had to lose to Hawthorn in 91 so we could win it the following year. The experience we gathered from all those finals and some good performances at the MCG last year will carry through to this year. I also like the Saints and the Western Bulldogs this year.

Q. Will there be any special guests or surprises on the new album you can tell us?

Not really. The best thing on this album on that front is that the drummer is Ken Coomer who used to drum for Wilco. That was a real thrill. And Brad Jones, who produced it, plays bass and is just an awesome player.

Q. Tell us a little bit about the first single form the album “Don’t You Think It’s Time?”. What is it about, is it an indication of the album and what can we expect for the new video for it?

I’m not saying what any of the songs are about for this record. I want to lay the whole album bare for interpretation. It’s definitely one of the most stripped back songs off the record. The second single that comes out just before the album, when combined with the first one, will give a pretty good idea of what the whole album sounds like. The new video plays with the concept of time and is the video makers interpretation of the song.

Q. What is your take on the Perth Music Scene at the moment? Do you think it is thriving or is it a bit of over-hype?

It is a little hyped but who cares? I think Perth really deserves the attention it is getting cos I genuinely believe we have a lot of really good bands here and the hype won’t last much longer so bands should be milking it while it lasts. I also reckon the hype has produced some really positive results creatively, because bands seem way more ambitious musically than they were before. It’s like The Sleepy Jackson caused some kind of seismic shift amongst indi rock bands. It’s a real blessed time for lovers of guitar bands here in Perth I think.

Q. What are you doing over the next few months?

I think I’m going to be on the road a fair bit actually. Touring with The Black Keys, then Josh Pyke then there will be the album tour and other things yet to be confirmed. And when I’m home I’ll be writing a new Jebs record with the other guys.

For more info on Bob visit his official website.

On May 27th Revert Entertainment, ConciousImage and Vendetta Clothing present Revert On The River. This gig will feature local bands Streetlight (return gig), Anime Fire, A Decade Today, SixteenSixteen and Pride Before Fall on the party boat The Riverboat Gambler.

Tickets are also available by calling 0402619164 or by emailing flea@revertentertainment.com