It’s an indie rolecall and surprisingly,
no-one’s playing hooky! The Essential Festival is here and
has inspired the followed talk from the following bands…
Q. One of your
band members decides to follow in the footsteps of former Shins
guitarist Neal Langford and pursue their love of professional hot
air ballooning. What would the essential criteria be for their replacement?
Midnight Juggernauts: A replacement
team must fit criteria set forth in our Midnight Juggernaut franchise
package, i.e. Prospective applicants must treat this franchise as
a business rather than a band. If they combine our business model
and management experience with their own work ethic, motivation,
and enthusiasm for the sale then they’re well on their way
to success.
Ben, I Love Space: After such a cruel blow to the inner circle,
and to prevent further emotional slides into abject misery, we would
be forced to create a robot band member assembled from pre-fabricated
components suitable for self-replication (which would have been
obtained from each current band member when they were not looking)
then basing a memory architecture on the band’s back catalogue,
favourite albums and bars, and recollections of their most embarrassing
moments to create a synthesized band experience.
Skye, Devoted Few: Must be: 1. Able to talk shit and listen to inane
banter. 2. Good natured about being the victim of a spontaneous
7 person “stacks on” in the middle of a street at 4
in the morning. 3. Familiar with the term ‘Fletcher-ing the
load’ (Fletcher ‘disappears’ whenever we have
to load in or out of a venue, he manages to get out of carrying
anything)
Bluejuice: Arms and legs… unless they’re a vocalist,
in which case, just legs.
Q. Three essential
tracks and artists on your latest, greatest mixtape?
Andy, Further: Blacklevel Embassy – ‘John’, Tucker
B's – ‘The Turning’, Big Black – ‘The
Model’.
Ryan, Regular John: ‘Dragonaut’ by Sleep, ‘Tomorrow
Never Knows’ by The Beatles, and ‘Maggot Brain’
by Funkadelic.
Bluejuice: Curtis Mayfield – ‘Pusherman’, Bow
Campbell’s Bloody Hell – ‘I Don’t Remember’,
Rufus Wainwright – ‘Cigarettes And Chocolate Milk’…but
not necessarily on the same tape.
Q. Your music
has no doubt evolved since you first picked up your first real six-string/two
turntables and a microphone /drunk underage groupie at an RSL gig.
What are the essential elements that have not changed?
Andy, Further: Loss of income, the scent of beer and cigarettes,
tinitus, 1-2-3-4 count in's, major labels that screw up the integrity
of talented artists, disgruntled in-house engineers that make everyone
sound like they're playing at a stadium.
Ben, I Love Space: We still get lost quite often. We have been psychologically
damaged from an early age through being raised by android nannys
so now social implication prevents us from asking directions or
advice from strangers. We still find our way out of cardboard boxes
and we remain less often perceptible than not. We can still tell
real sheep apart from papier mache ones made to fool us when trying
to ask for directions.
Q. You fall in
love. What are the essential qualities that define the object of
your affection?
Ben, Grafton Primary: Must be rounded, as sharp corners are
against nature. Must be responsible to itself first and foremost.
Must be self-sustaining, provocative and hilarious. Must come with
own soapbox.
Ryan, Regular John: It is 12 inches, black, circular and has nice
cover art.
Liam, Belles Will Ring: Fascinating, strange, sexy, dangerous, haunting
- the same things apply to music.
Q. Essentially,
what makes you do what you do?
Ben, Grafton Primary: We believe that there is a finer world, the
perfect image of this one, just beyond the current illusions that
exist. We want to show others this world, and tell its stories.
Midnight Juggernauts:
Ever since we hit our first kid in the head with a drumstick at
kindergarten, we’ve loved making music. Must also add that
this would have happened when we were also kindergarten age, it
wasn’t recent.
Liam, Belles Will Ring: I've thought about this and I don't really
know. I think I need to do it rather that it just being a decision
I made. Writing, performing, and recording songs is really all I
know and all I care about committing myself to at this stage of
my life. So there.
The Essential Festival takes
over Surry Hills on Tuesday April 25 (Anzac Day). For more details
and ticket info see moshtix.com.au
Georgia Clark
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