John Scott - The Mark Of Cain (21/03/2013)
Hello John, how are you?
I’m good man, thanks. How about yourself?
Yeah I’m good, what have you been up to since your album launch in Early November?
We’ve just been rehearsing mainly; our main focus is on getting ready for the tour. We haven’t played anything yet, it’s a matter of working with the guy we’ve got for the tour. John’s not playing. We’re just getting everything up to scratch.
Your latest album “Songs of the third and fifth” has been received very well by different media outlets and fans alike. Were you excited to release this album as you were for your first record lords of summer?
Ah yeah! Definitely. By the time it came up to release date I just really wanted to get it out there. It’s like anything, whatever you are working on, whatever you are putting your energy into. I just wanted to get it out there. But yeah, the response it’s gotten has been great.
I read that you guys have been recording this album since 2008, with a bit of a break due to some personal reasons. How much do you think your mood and personal life influences the music that you are writing?
Everything I have written has been from personal experiences and my life. But during this time I had problems with my relationship, I had a split up. I left work and through a lot of hassle. Most of the music was written in 2008 and maybe two or three of the lyrics were set then. It is differently linked to that time for sure.
How did you approach the recording of this album? Did you do anything different or did you refine the style of music you have been playing for over 20 years?
When we recorded, we didn’t go in thinking we’d do the same thing. John Stanier really liked our older stuff which had a little bit more melody, so that’s something I did try to do. After we wrote all the songs we’d record when we had the chance, when John was in Australia. When we had a week spare we’d get together and record. Um and I’d work on that in the meantime, but if anything I tried to put in more melody when I can. The hardest part for me was trying to avoid just talking/yelling through songs.
How did you meet John Stanier?
Through Helmet. Helmet came through in… oh god… 90-something? The very first time they came through we were playing in Australia and we got along really well with them. Every time they came to Adelaide we caught up with them, also Henry Bawson the bass player. It was just one of those gratuitous things. When we were looking for a drummer on the internet… Actually I think it started with an internet rumour. It started with an internet rumour and he picked up on it. Obviously the rumour wasn’t true but he contacted us and said he would play or do anything for us, so then the internet rumours did become true.
With John not playing on your March tour because of commitments with Tomahawk, do you think this will affect your live dynamic at all?
No not really. I mean, it’s different with anybody. Mark of Cain has extensively always been Tim and I. Having John with us for the last ten years has been a blessing, but we knew there would be a time where either he won’t be able to play on the tour or even he would be so busy that it won’t be possible for him to play at all. But he wanted to play, the problem was that our tour and his tour with Mike Patton and Tomahawk occurred at the wrong time and we needed to commit to something and go out there and push the album. We had to make the decision with John not available on whether we hold off or whether we go ahead and play. I’m confident with the guy we’ve got Eli, he’s from Adelaide and has a shitload of experience on him. He has an importance on himself that works. It’s a little different, but it’s still like smacking heads together. It’s fine!
I read on your blog that you never wanted to leave Adelaide because of its atmosphere. Was it always this way though? Did you ever wanna pursue your music career in Adelaide or other countries?
I lived overseas for a few years when I was younger, like, I lived in the Middle-East. Nah, it’s weird I’ve never really… I mean before I went overseas I wanted to live overseas and we wanted to move to Sydney with the band. But the way things panned out, Tim was overseas in the United States and I was in Israel and when we came back we settled back into our own respective lives and kept the band going. Um, I suppose if someone offered me to live somewhere for a while I probably would do it, I’d deal with it ok. I’ve got a daughter now and I don’t want to pull her out of school or anything.
Can I ask why you lived in Israel?
Yeah, yeah! I used to work in defence. I was an engineer, well I guess I am still an engineer I’m just not doing at the moment. There was a contract over there for two years with an Israeli manufacturer that were outfitting our air force. The job was to go over there for two years and work.
So you were juggling this defence job and the band at the same time?
Yes, always. This was the first time: the last two years with the big split up, that I said fuck it to everything and I left work. This is the first time I’ve left work in the last 20 years; my brother still works in defence. He is still way high up, he’s like a managing director and he just came back from Florida and England in the last two weeks so he’s still balancing it as well the family.
So if you were in defence, would this be the basis for a lot of your music?
Yes and no. I never wanted to work in defence. I had a few conflicting morals about that, I certainly would never work on something like a bomb or anything. Our defence here is pretty much just defence so that was my rationale to be working in that sort of area. I was designing radar equipment to detect an incoming missile and I think that’s a good thing. You know, you aren’t designing a missile, that’s what I wouldn’t do. Um, I guess I’ve always had an interest in things military, mainly in history though. Whether it’s Napoleonic war, Boer Wars, World War 1, World War 2, Vietnam, anything ; I take some interest in.
How long have you produced your own music for and how did you pick up these skills?
Probably from the beginning we did our own production because we weren’t in the position to have a producer. We had people like Andy Gill from the Gang of Four produce and Phil McKellar and obviously Henry Rollins mixing it. Production gets easier as you go along because you know what you want your music to sound like. I think a producer can be anyone you can call up to throw ideas at and see whether they think it’s cool but you don’t need to listen to them if you love what you are doing. When a band is really keen on making it, I think that’s a really big distinction. We play because that’s what we wanna do, it’s our art whatever and blah blah blah. However, Some bands who wanna do well and become big get a producer in to essentially look at the songs they’ve got and then the producer will hone them and maybe even get an arrangement on strings, or say “put a hook in the song” to make it even more catchy. That’s a lot of what producers do as well as look at the overall picture of the album. The mixer is the guy that’s pretty much pulling the sound up and making it sound good.
What’s the future for you, as well as the band after this Australian tour?
Tim will go back to work; I’ll be looking for a job. But then John Stanier who we will be catching up with when he comes down for Soundwave, will be doing a video with us while he is here and we will organise our next tour that will be with John after four or five months.
I think that’s all the questions we’ve got time for, I’ll let you go
No worries, thanks for the questions I enjoyed that. I don’t always get the good ones so thanks for that Ryan.
No problems and enjoy your tour
Thank you very much, take care!
Ryan Hyde
Follow me on Twitter - @RyanHyde93
I’m good man, thanks. How about yourself?
Yeah I’m good, what have you been up to since your album launch in Early November?
We’ve just been rehearsing mainly; our main focus is on getting ready for the tour. We haven’t played anything yet, it’s a matter of working with the guy we’ve got for the tour. John’s not playing. We’re just getting everything up to scratch.
Your latest album “Songs of the third and fifth” has been received very well by different media outlets and fans alike. Were you excited to release this album as you were for your first record lords of summer?
Ah yeah! Definitely. By the time it came up to release date I just really wanted to get it out there. It’s like anything, whatever you are working on, whatever you are putting your energy into. I just wanted to get it out there. But yeah, the response it’s gotten has been great.
I read that you guys have been recording this album since 2008, with a bit of a break due to some personal reasons. How much do you think your mood and personal life influences the music that you are writing?
Everything I have written has been from personal experiences and my life. But during this time I had problems with my relationship, I had a split up. I left work and through a lot of hassle. Most of the music was written in 2008 and maybe two or three of the lyrics were set then. It is differently linked to that time for sure.
How did you approach the recording of this album? Did you do anything different or did you refine the style of music you have been playing for over 20 years?
When we recorded, we didn’t go in thinking we’d do the same thing. John Stanier really liked our older stuff which had a little bit more melody, so that’s something I did try to do. After we wrote all the songs we’d record when we had the chance, when John was in Australia. When we had a week spare we’d get together and record. Um and I’d work on that in the meantime, but if anything I tried to put in more melody when I can. The hardest part for me was trying to avoid just talking/yelling through songs.
How did you meet John Stanier?
Through Helmet. Helmet came through in… oh god… 90-something? The very first time they came through we were playing in Australia and we got along really well with them. Every time they came to Adelaide we caught up with them, also Henry Bawson the bass player. It was just one of those gratuitous things. When we were looking for a drummer on the internet… Actually I think it started with an internet rumour. It started with an internet rumour and he picked up on it. Obviously the rumour wasn’t true but he contacted us and said he would play or do anything for us, so then the internet rumours did become true.
With John not playing on your March tour because of commitments with Tomahawk, do you think this will affect your live dynamic at all?
No not really. I mean, it’s different with anybody. Mark of Cain has extensively always been Tim and I. Having John with us for the last ten years has been a blessing, but we knew there would be a time where either he won’t be able to play on the tour or even he would be so busy that it won’t be possible for him to play at all. But he wanted to play, the problem was that our tour and his tour with Mike Patton and Tomahawk occurred at the wrong time and we needed to commit to something and go out there and push the album. We had to make the decision with John not available on whether we hold off or whether we go ahead and play. I’m confident with the guy we’ve got Eli, he’s from Adelaide and has a shitload of experience on him. He has an importance on himself that works. It’s a little different, but it’s still like smacking heads together. It’s fine!
I read on your blog that you never wanted to leave Adelaide because of its atmosphere. Was it always this way though? Did you ever wanna pursue your music career in Adelaide or other countries?
I lived overseas for a few years when I was younger, like, I lived in the Middle-East. Nah, it’s weird I’ve never really… I mean before I went overseas I wanted to live overseas and we wanted to move to Sydney with the band. But the way things panned out, Tim was overseas in the United States and I was in Israel and when we came back we settled back into our own respective lives and kept the band going. Um, I suppose if someone offered me to live somewhere for a while I probably would do it, I’d deal with it ok. I’ve got a daughter now and I don’t want to pull her out of school or anything.
Can I ask why you lived in Israel?
Yeah, yeah! I used to work in defence. I was an engineer, well I guess I am still an engineer I’m just not doing at the moment. There was a contract over there for two years with an Israeli manufacturer that were outfitting our air force. The job was to go over there for two years and work.
So you were juggling this defence job and the band at the same time?
Yes, always. This was the first time: the last two years with the big split up, that I said fuck it to everything and I left work. This is the first time I’ve left work in the last 20 years; my brother still works in defence. He is still way high up, he’s like a managing director and he just came back from Florida and England in the last two weeks so he’s still balancing it as well the family.
So if you were in defence, would this be the basis for a lot of your music?
Yes and no. I never wanted to work in defence. I had a few conflicting morals about that, I certainly would never work on something like a bomb or anything. Our defence here is pretty much just defence so that was my rationale to be working in that sort of area. I was designing radar equipment to detect an incoming missile and I think that’s a good thing. You know, you aren’t designing a missile, that’s what I wouldn’t do. Um, I guess I’ve always had an interest in things military, mainly in history though. Whether it’s Napoleonic war, Boer Wars, World War 1, World War 2, Vietnam, anything ; I take some interest in.
How long have you produced your own music for and how did you pick up these skills?
Probably from the beginning we did our own production because we weren’t in the position to have a producer. We had people like Andy Gill from the Gang of Four produce and Phil McKellar and obviously Henry Rollins mixing it. Production gets easier as you go along because you know what you want your music to sound like. I think a producer can be anyone you can call up to throw ideas at and see whether they think it’s cool but you don’t need to listen to them if you love what you are doing. When a band is really keen on making it, I think that’s a really big distinction. We play because that’s what we wanna do, it’s our art whatever and blah blah blah. However, Some bands who wanna do well and become big get a producer in to essentially look at the songs they’ve got and then the producer will hone them and maybe even get an arrangement on strings, or say “put a hook in the song” to make it even more catchy. That’s a lot of what producers do as well as look at the overall picture of the album. The mixer is the guy that’s pretty much pulling the sound up and making it sound good.
What’s the future for you, as well as the band after this Australian tour?
Tim will go back to work; I’ll be looking for a job. But then John Stanier who we will be catching up with when he comes down for Soundwave, will be doing a video with us while he is here and we will organise our next tour that will be with John after four or five months.
I think that’s all the questions we’ve got time for, I’ll let you go
No worries, thanks for the questions I enjoyed that. I don’t always get the good ones so thanks for that Ryan.
No problems and enjoy your tour
Thank you very much, take care!
Ryan Hyde
Follow me on Twitter - @RyanHyde93