Alex Lloyd (07/11/2013)
Ahead of the Urban Wilderness tour, The 59th Sound chats with singer-songwriter Alex Lloyd.
Hey, it's Alex Lloyd here.
Hey, how are you?
I'm good and you?
I'm great. Let's talk about the new album Urban Wilderness. Where did that name come from?
It comes from a few places actually. One was that I felt that way when I was writing it, like I was in the wilderness (laughs) I was living in London at the time. Another way is looking at the world like we are the wilderness, like the people inhabiting the urbanisations that are growing against the city and stuff like that. Also, the different groups of people living side by side but they maybe never having anything to do with each other.
What was the recording process like for it?
The recording was excellent. I came back (to Australia) and I had a bunch of songs that I'd written over the past five or six years and while I had a load of them I wasn't sure if I had an album. I gave them all to a friend of mine (singer-songwriter) Shane Nicholson who lives on the central coast and I asked him if he thought I had an album and he seemed to think I did so we started recording in his studio. Everything kinda fell together and it was a really good process. Even the songs I wasn't so sure about fell together in a good way.
You mentioned Shane Nicholson, on the new album there's a song with his now ex-wife Kasey Chambers. What was she like to work with?
I've known Kasey and Shane for years and she's a wonderful person to work with. She's very giving musically and in life generally. It was very nice of her to agree to do that.
When you are writing for an album what influences you?
Everything. Everything around me. There's a lot...well, not a lot but there's a couple of songs about my kids on this record. I can get influenced by a really great movie or something that moves me emotionally, whether it be happy or sad.
You mentioned earlier that you've just moved back from London where you lived for about six years. What was that experience like?
I loved living in London! It's got be the most multicultural city in the world. It's probably the one place where you could talk to someone from almost anywhere in the world, even some micro-country in the middle of nowhere that you've never heard of (laughs) I love that about it. Where we were living I had some really good friends that were really creative people that worked in various creative fields like film and television and it was great to talk with like-minded people. We had a really good life there, it was a great time.
What was the reason for the move back to Australia?
We kept expanding as a family (laughs) and I just think that ultimately it's about a lifestyle for the kids here. They can only go outside two weeks of the year in London (laughs) but here they can pretty much do it all year round. Family caused it as well. We really want the kids to have a relationship with their grandparents and their aunties and uncles and that became a really important thing for us.
That's fair enough. I heard while you were in London you worked with British singer Passenger, is that true?
Yep! I wrote a lot of songs with Passenger over in the UK. I went through a big period where I was writing for a lot of different artists but Passenger is probably the most notable here in Australia.
Let's move onto the upcoming tour which is your first Australian tour in five years. Are you nervous about that?
Well I was up until about two weeks ago when I did a show in Caloundra in north Queensland and it was great! It was such a good response and the audience was awesome and it made me feel really confident and excited about playing with a band again. It's been about five years...actually it has been five years since I played with a full band (laughs) I can't wait.
Are there any songs that you're really keen to start playing live again?
I'm really keen to play Slow Train off Good In The Face Of A Stranger because I've never, ever done that with a full band. I did it acoustically on the Mad Bastards tour but the electric version has never been played on a stage before (laughs) so I'm really keen to get that one going. I really enjoy playing all the songs that people enjoy so it's all good with me.
Are there any songs off the new album that you're really keen to play live?
This is probably the first album in a few albums that I would love to play the whole thing from start to finish actually but I don't think I'll be able to fit it all (laughs). I'm really looking forward to playing Bring It On, Good Thing and Better The Less You Know just to pick a few.
When you were growing up what bands and artists inspired you to be want to be a musician yourself?
In my house there was a lot of (David) Bowie, (Bob) Dylan and Led Zeppelin and The Beatles box set was a big part of my life also. When I was in my late teens I really loved blues, like I was a big blues head. Muddy Waters, Lightin' Hopkins and Robert Johnson and people like that.
What bands are you currently to?
There's a lot of pop music that I'm really enjoying at the moment. I don't really discriminate at all when it comes to music. I love classical, pop...maybe kids music is a genre I could do without (laughs). There's a lot I like about different styles but at the moment I like a lot of what's on the radio but that's probably because I'm forced to listen to it in the car on the way to school (laughs). I really like that Summertime (Sadness) track by Lana Del Rey. I've been writing stuff like this for the last week and a half and now nothing else is coming to me (laughs). I basically just listen to anything but it's hard for me to find an album I like, the last album that did that for me is The Black Keys Brothers record.
You've mentioned your kids a few times now and you have a son called Elvis. I've got to ask, is he named after The King?
I love Elvis Presley but I love Elvis Costello too, probably equally as much actually so it's just I love the name. I think it's a cool name (laughs) and it has the rock and roll connotation to it. I almost called my first son Elvis but when he came out he looked more like a Jake so yeah it's just a name that I've always loved (laughs).
Do your kids love that your a musician?
I think they do, yeah. They don't really give much away my kids (laughs). I think they appreciate it. My first boy (Jake) is learning the violin and the bass guitar and my second boy (Issac) is on the drums and the other two aren't quite there yet so they're not doing anything like that although Elvis is pretty good at telling me which songs he likes on my records and which ones he doesn't (laughs). He might be a critic one day (laughs).
What would you say is the best and worst thing about being a musician?
It's not a nine to five job where you get a set wage every week you're working from record to record basically so there's that risk involved with not knowing how things will turn out. What I love about it is it's what I love doing. It's great doing something that I love.
What advice would you give to aspiring musicians?
I dunno, I guess it depends on what they were looking for.
What about what advice would you give all the young musicians trying to break into the industry?
Well that boils down to how many likes you have on Facebook. I've worked with a lot of younger artists and record companies seem to respond, well if you're looking for a record deal, they seem to respond to how many likes you have on Facebbok or how many hits you have on YouTube. Coming up with a clever video or something (laughs) which is easier said than done is probably the way forward these days. The other thing is going on The Voice I guess (laughs).
Reality TV shows seem all the hype for the music industry these days.
That seems to be the easiest road in (laughs).
We'll make this the last question. After the upcoming tour what's next for Alex Lloyd?
I've got a few ideas but nothing set in concrete at the moment. We're talking at the moment about going to Perth and Adelaide early in the new year as they've unfortunately been left off the tour at this point so we're hoping to organise something a bit special for that. I also like the idea of opening up a studio and doing some writing and producing for younger artists too.
That sounds like a great idea.
Thanks a lot.
We'll wrap the interview up there. Good luck with the album and the upcoming tour.
Cheers, take it easy, mate.
Matt Barton
Alex Lloyd - Urban Wilderness Tour
Wednesday, 13 November Entrance Leagues Club, The Entrance, NSW
Thursday, 14 November Hoey Moey, Coffs Harbour, NSW
Friday, 15 November Yamba Bowling Club, Yamba, NSW
Saturday, 16 November Springwood Hotel, Brisbane, QLD
Sunday, 17 November Lismore Workers Club, Lismore, NSW
Thursday, 21 November The Studio, Sydney Opera House, NSW
Friday, 22 November The Whitlam Room, Revesby Workers Club, NSW
Saturday, 23 November The Small Ballroom, Newcastle, NSW
Sunday, 24 November Hornsby RSL, Hornsby, NSW
Thursday, 28 November Wellers, Kangaroo Ground (Melbourne), VIC
Friday, 29 November The Kelvin Club, Melbourne, VIC
Saturday, 30 November Ferntree Gully Hotel, Ferntree Gully, VIC
Sunday, 1 December Thornbury Theatre, Thornbury, VIC
Hey, it's Alex Lloyd here.
Hey, how are you?
I'm good and you?
I'm great. Let's talk about the new album Urban Wilderness. Where did that name come from?
It comes from a few places actually. One was that I felt that way when I was writing it, like I was in the wilderness (laughs) I was living in London at the time. Another way is looking at the world like we are the wilderness, like the people inhabiting the urbanisations that are growing against the city and stuff like that. Also, the different groups of people living side by side but they maybe never having anything to do with each other.
What was the recording process like for it?
The recording was excellent. I came back (to Australia) and I had a bunch of songs that I'd written over the past five or six years and while I had a load of them I wasn't sure if I had an album. I gave them all to a friend of mine (singer-songwriter) Shane Nicholson who lives on the central coast and I asked him if he thought I had an album and he seemed to think I did so we started recording in his studio. Everything kinda fell together and it was a really good process. Even the songs I wasn't so sure about fell together in a good way.
You mentioned Shane Nicholson, on the new album there's a song with his now ex-wife Kasey Chambers. What was she like to work with?
I've known Kasey and Shane for years and she's a wonderful person to work with. She's very giving musically and in life generally. It was very nice of her to agree to do that.
When you are writing for an album what influences you?
Everything. Everything around me. There's a lot...well, not a lot but there's a couple of songs about my kids on this record. I can get influenced by a really great movie or something that moves me emotionally, whether it be happy or sad.
You mentioned earlier that you've just moved back from London where you lived for about six years. What was that experience like?
I loved living in London! It's got be the most multicultural city in the world. It's probably the one place where you could talk to someone from almost anywhere in the world, even some micro-country in the middle of nowhere that you've never heard of (laughs) I love that about it. Where we were living I had some really good friends that were really creative people that worked in various creative fields like film and television and it was great to talk with like-minded people. We had a really good life there, it was a great time.
What was the reason for the move back to Australia?
We kept expanding as a family (laughs) and I just think that ultimately it's about a lifestyle for the kids here. They can only go outside two weeks of the year in London (laughs) but here they can pretty much do it all year round. Family caused it as well. We really want the kids to have a relationship with their grandparents and their aunties and uncles and that became a really important thing for us.
That's fair enough. I heard while you were in London you worked with British singer Passenger, is that true?
Yep! I wrote a lot of songs with Passenger over in the UK. I went through a big period where I was writing for a lot of different artists but Passenger is probably the most notable here in Australia.
Let's move onto the upcoming tour which is your first Australian tour in five years. Are you nervous about that?
Well I was up until about two weeks ago when I did a show in Caloundra in north Queensland and it was great! It was such a good response and the audience was awesome and it made me feel really confident and excited about playing with a band again. It's been about five years...actually it has been five years since I played with a full band (laughs) I can't wait.
Are there any songs that you're really keen to start playing live again?
I'm really keen to play Slow Train off Good In The Face Of A Stranger because I've never, ever done that with a full band. I did it acoustically on the Mad Bastards tour but the electric version has never been played on a stage before (laughs) so I'm really keen to get that one going. I really enjoy playing all the songs that people enjoy so it's all good with me.
Are there any songs off the new album that you're really keen to play live?
This is probably the first album in a few albums that I would love to play the whole thing from start to finish actually but I don't think I'll be able to fit it all (laughs). I'm really looking forward to playing Bring It On, Good Thing and Better The Less You Know just to pick a few.
When you were growing up what bands and artists inspired you to be want to be a musician yourself?
In my house there was a lot of (David) Bowie, (Bob) Dylan and Led Zeppelin and The Beatles box set was a big part of my life also. When I was in my late teens I really loved blues, like I was a big blues head. Muddy Waters, Lightin' Hopkins and Robert Johnson and people like that.
What bands are you currently to?
There's a lot of pop music that I'm really enjoying at the moment. I don't really discriminate at all when it comes to music. I love classical, pop...maybe kids music is a genre I could do without (laughs). There's a lot I like about different styles but at the moment I like a lot of what's on the radio but that's probably because I'm forced to listen to it in the car on the way to school (laughs). I really like that Summertime (Sadness) track by Lana Del Rey. I've been writing stuff like this for the last week and a half and now nothing else is coming to me (laughs). I basically just listen to anything but it's hard for me to find an album I like, the last album that did that for me is The Black Keys Brothers record.
You've mentioned your kids a few times now and you have a son called Elvis. I've got to ask, is he named after The King?
I love Elvis Presley but I love Elvis Costello too, probably equally as much actually so it's just I love the name. I think it's a cool name (laughs) and it has the rock and roll connotation to it. I almost called my first son Elvis but when he came out he looked more like a Jake so yeah it's just a name that I've always loved (laughs).
Do your kids love that your a musician?
I think they do, yeah. They don't really give much away my kids (laughs). I think they appreciate it. My first boy (Jake) is learning the violin and the bass guitar and my second boy (Issac) is on the drums and the other two aren't quite there yet so they're not doing anything like that although Elvis is pretty good at telling me which songs he likes on my records and which ones he doesn't (laughs). He might be a critic one day (laughs).
What would you say is the best and worst thing about being a musician?
It's not a nine to five job where you get a set wage every week you're working from record to record basically so there's that risk involved with not knowing how things will turn out. What I love about it is it's what I love doing. It's great doing something that I love.
What advice would you give to aspiring musicians?
I dunno, I guess it depends on what they were looking for.
What about what advice would you give all the young musicians trying to break into the industry?
Well that boils down to how many likes you have on Facebook. I've worked with a lot of younger artists and record companies seem to respond, well if you're looking for a record deal, they seem to respond to how many likes you have on Facebbok or how many hits you have on YouTube. Coming up with a clever video or something (laughs) which is easier said than done is probably the way forward these days. The other thing is going on The Voice I guess (laughs).
Reality TV shows seem all the hype for the music industry these days.
That seems to be the easiest road in (laughs).
We'll make this the last question. After the upcoming tour what's next for Alex Lloyd?
I've got a few ideas but nothing set in concrete at the moment. We're talking at the moment about going to Perth and Adelaide early in the new year as they've unfortunately been left off the tour at this point so we're hoping to organise something a bit special for that. I also like the idea of opening up a studio and doing some writing and producing for younger artists too.
That sounds like a great idea.
Thanks a lot.
We'll wrap the interview up there. Good luck with the album and the upcoming tour.
Cheers, take it easy, mate.
Matt Barton
Alex Lloyd - Urban Wilderness Tour
Wednesday, 13 November Entrance Leagues Club, The Entrance, NSW
Thursday, 14 November Hoey Moey, Coffs Harbour, NSW
Friday, 15 November Yamba Bowling Club, Yamba, NSW
Saturday, 16 November Springwood Hotel, Brisbane, QLD
Sunday, 17 November Lismore Workers Club, Lismore, NSW
Thursday, 21 November The Studio, Sydney Opera House, NSW
Friday, 22 November The Whitlam Room, Revesby Workers Club, NSW
Saturday, 23 November The Small Ballroom, Newcastle, NSW
Sunday, 24 November Hornsby RSL, Hornsby, NSW
Thursday, 28 November Wellers, Kangaroo Ground (Melbourne), VIC
Friday, 29 November The Kelvin Club, Melbourne, VIC
Saturday, 30 November Ferntree Gully Hotel, Ferntree Gully, VIC
Sunday, 1 December Thornbury Theatre, Thornbury, VIC