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What have been your musical epiphany moments?
Epiphanies sometimes show up too late. I spent years in a prog rock band in the beginning. It took a while for me to work out what kind of music I really enjoy creating. It eventually happened, but sometimes I wish I could go back and tell myself to change what I was doing earlier. It makes me feel like “Captain Hindsight” from “South Park”.
Talk to us about the song-writing process for you. What comes first, the idea? A riff? The lyrics? How does it all fall? How was the recording and writing process?
I have to be in a certain mood/mindset to write, which is hard to describe. The first thing that happens is a melody turns up in my head. I start by humming it into my phone’s voice recorder. If I listen to it the next day and I still think it has potential, I go to my little studio here at home, record it on a track in Pro Tools, then work on the instrumental tracks, starting with the guitars. Although I work the drums out last, they obviously get recorded first when I’m ready to do the proper demo. Lyrically, I’ve always written about some experience, whether it was recent or from the past. I can easily spend an entire day working on a song without noticing. Sadly, I don’t often get whole days because I have a day job.
Once I’ve finished the demo, I call my studio contact and upload all the finished songs so they can have a listen. I’ve always given the studio the songs ahead of time because I think it allows the producer to fully understand what we’re going to be recording, so we both know exactly what we need to do before we even start.
When I get in there and start recording, everything is played as it was on my demo. I don’t hand my demo in until I am 100% confident that it’s what I will be recording. The only things that may vary are drum fills and guitar solos. Sometimes, in the moment, what I improvise can turn out better than what I had previously.
Who has influenced you the most?
From a vocal perspective, it’s Chris Cornell. I’ve been listening to everything he has done for years, and I’m still in awe of his ability. I actually didn’t feel well for a week when he passed away. From a songwriting perspective, it’s Dave Grohl. I’m amazed at how he constantly churns out memorable tunes.
Where do you look for continuing inspiration? New ideas, new motivation?
I don’t actually go looking for anything. I find it pointless. I can’t force ideas any more than I can force my hair to grow faster. Ideas can come while I’m driving and listening to something, while I’m riding trails on my mountain bike, even while I’m sleeping. A number of songs have come from ideas I get while sleeping, then waking up long enough to reach over to my phone, quickly humming it into the voice recorder then going back to sleep.
We're all a product of our environment. Tell us about the band's hometown and how that reflects in the music?
Where'd the band name come from?
I was a big Radiohead fan back then. I still am. At one point, someone I worked with mentioned how they still listened to ABC talk radio on the way to work and I thought it would be funny if someone was referring to a band every time they said “talk radio”. I decided to make it one word, to mimic “Radiohead”.
You have one chance, what movie are you going to write the soundtrack for?
Oh wow, now that’s an unexpected question. Um… I was actually gonna say Pulp Fiction, but the soundtrack is already perfect, so I can’t do that. Hmm… maybe “Mad Max: Fury Road”. That’s a good one because it had a score, but no soundtrack really.
You now write for a music publication (The Ripple Effect?). You're going to write a 1,000 word essay on one song. Which would it be and why?
Spoonman by Soundgarden. I could probably go on for more than 1000 words on why I love that song, so I’d better leave it at that.
Come on, share with us a couple of your great, Spinal Tap, rock and roll moments?
Oh geez, most of the unexpected on-stage rock and roll moments that just flashed through my head would not be PG rated, so I’d have to leave those out. The one thing that was a constant in my first band was the volume wars between my two guitarists at the time. You’d better believe these guys were trying to go way beyond “11”. The sound guy would tell them to please leave their amps at the volume that he had set for them. Over the course of the night, one would sneakily bump his amp volume up, then the other would do the same. They would keep doing this throughout the gig until we were just a wall of noise and the sound guy had no control anymore. After the gig they would start yelling at anybody they could about how bad the sound had become. It sounds comical now, but back then it would make me wanna tear my hair out. Now that I think about it, that was very “Spinal Tap”.
Tell us about playing live and the live experience for you and for your fans?
Playing live is one of the only things in my life that is mentally relaxing for me. It’s like my form of meditation. Even if I’m jumping into the crowd with a wireless mic (I used to do that in the “Rage Against The Machine” days), it’s still one of the most relaxing things I do in my life. I suffer from Tourette’s Syndrome. Performing live is one of the only times my symptoms go away. Even just playing guitar at home stops the symptoms. Given I can’t play my original songs live by myself, these days I play live in cover acts. At the moment I gig regularly in an acoustic duo. It’s always very satisfying having audience members coming up to me during a break telling me how much they are enjoying the show. Knowing I’m having a positive effect on people’s evening is like the proverbial icing on the cake.
What makes a great song?
A memorable melody and a great vibe. That’s it really. If you look at all the truly “great” songs throughout history, those are the things they have in common. Not similar song structures or any particular chord structures. It just needs to invoke a positive emotional response. You can’t teach anyone how to write something that does that. I think it just happens.
Tell us about the first song you ever wrote?
That would have been a song for my prog rock group. I was co-writing with either the guitarist or bass player. I really can’t remember which song was first. All I know is we were trying to write stuff that was complicated, both musically and vocally. It’s fun to play that sort of stuff but, in the end, it can get tiring to listen to.
What piece of your music are particularly proud of?
My latest album is my proudest achievement. If I were to pick a specific song, I would say “Down”. Making the idea sound cohesive was always going to be hard, because from the beginning I knew it was going to be mellow in the verses and loud everywhere else. Even so, it needed to feel like the same song throughout and if I go by many of the reviews I’ve read about it globally, it sounds like I achieved that.
Who today, writes great songs? Who just kicks your ass? Why?
Foo Fighters. Do I really need to say why??
Vinyl, CD, or digital? What's your format of choice?
Digital is horrible. Always has been. I love Vinyl (I still have some) but, for me, the practicality of a CD is too hard to ignore. It can be 10 times better quality than digital, not as fragile as vinyl, and I can also play it in my car. I think it’s the best compromise anyone has ever come up with.
Whiskey or beer? And defend your choice
Neither. I pick wine. I never used to drink at all. I was always the designated driver when I used to go out with my mates. It never used to bother me either. I love good food and I just think wine can enhance the flavour of food, and vice versa. Sometimes the wine tastes so good with food, I keep drinking after the food has finished. I’ve only ever been drunk once (20 years ago), but I did it reeeeeeally well (2 scotch and cokes, a bottle of white wine and half a bottle of Cinzano in one evening). I was so sick the next day, it put me off getting drunk for good.
We, at the Ripple Effect, are constantly looking for new music. What's your home town, and when we get there, what's the best record store to lose ourselves in?
I live in Melbourne. Sadly, I haven’t seen a music store to get lost in for a very long time. Even the music sections in stores that used to be about music have shrunk to almost nothing. It’s depressing. There may be something out there somewhere, but I haven’t seen it.
What's next for the band?
I’m already writing for my next recording. I think I will be back in the studio next year.
Any final comments or thoughts you'd like to share with our readers, the waveriders?
I’d just like to thank you for the opportunity, and thank everyone who actually took the time to read through this. It means a lot.
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