Strangers (08/02/2013)
Hi guys! My name's Josh, thanks for taking the time to chat to The 59th Sound today.
First off, how important is it to you to have that connection with your fans where you can talk to them and have a drink after a gig in a small bar atmosphere?
We like to think of ourselves as pretty social dudes, so why should playing a show change that? There's nothing better than coming off stage, dying of thirst, and having someone who you've never met say "That was a killer, can I buy you a beer?!". We've met some of the funniest, craziest, nicest people after gigs all over the country, maybe that's because rock n roll fans are usually the most down to earth.
Strangers did a residency in Sydney and a residency in Melbourne at the same time last year, whats the band's favourite thing to do to pass time when travelling?
SLEEP! The residencies were at Cherry Bar in Melbourne every Wednesday and The Lansdowne in Sydney every Thursday, so for us to get to Sydney in time for the show we had to leave straight after the Melbourne gig and drive through the night. We did this every week for two months which was a total blast, but at the same time we learnt every corner of that mind numbing Hume Highway like the back of our hand. Stopping in at Tumblong Pub and Holbrook Bakery for a drink and a feed is definitely a highlight of the trip for us.
You've played with some pretty big names so far, Grinspoon, Shihad, Closure In Moscow, to name a few, who else is there on Strangers wish list of bands to tour with?
Nirvana, Zeppelin, Hendrix, and The Doors would be amazing, however I'm not too sure if it can be arranged. Of course there are the bands like AC/DC, Motorhead, and Queens Of The Stone Age which are at the top of every rock bands "to tour with list", just as long as we get along with the bands and crew and have a rad time.
Strangers have a big 9 show national tour coming up, what are you looking forward to the most about it? And can we expect something new to the Strangers live show?
We've just finished the NSW leg of the tour and it was been so much better than we could have hoped for. The Annandale hotel was sold out which was such a milestone for us personally. It was also Barneseys 26th birthday which made for quite a celebration. The Dead Love and Born Lion who joined is on this leg are killer musicians and top dudes which always helps. As far as the show goes, it's totally different every night. We're mixing some of the songs up a bit and taking them completely left field. We tend to think that if you want to hear the songs exactly as they are on the record, stay home and press play. There's also a couple of covers we may chuck in for good measure and you're bound to see Timmy vomit at some point during the set.
2013 is shaping up to be a big year for Strangers, national tour to kick it off, Sxsw after that and we've seen a teaser photo to let us know you're working on some new material, what can you tell us about that? What direction is it taking? How does it differ from persona non grata? Who does it draw influence from?
We've been in the studio writing and recording demos since before we even released Persona Non Grata. I guess it's like anything, if you take time off from doing something it becomes a lot harder to get back into the swing of things so we just thought "fuck it, might as well keep writing hey?". The next record is already shaping up to have a much more "live" feel to it. There's still the pop style structure to a lot of songs, but we're also experimenting with new sounds and ideas that we wish we explored in Persona. In this record we're really trying to just close our eyes and vomit up as many different ideas and not second guess anything to see where it takes the songs.
What inspires/motivates/drives you to make music?
Pretty much our lack of ability to do anything else! What other job can you travel the country, get covered in beer, blood, sweat, and make other people almost deaf, have them enjoy it, and get paid to do it? It's simply the best.
What's the writing/recording process like for you guys?
Having five members in the band, and with such a vast individual taste in music, it's sometimes hard to get everyone to agree on one particular idea when we're writing. We don't have one songwriter who brings whole songs to rehearsal and says "hey guys, this is how the song goes", we all sit there with our instruments and just jam for hours and hours until our ears prick up and it feels like a song. When we recorded Persona, we went into the studio with about 50 ideas, whether they be a verse, a chorus, a riff, or a groove and tried to piece all those ideas together into whole songs. In hindsight, it probably wasn't the easiest way to make an album but we're so proud of the final result. Now we've been spending a lot of our time writing full songs to try and make the recording process a little smoother.
How do you feel about the state of music currently, both underground and mainstream
It's becoming increasingly difficult for musicians to get by, whether it's pokies or venues closing, or people just not giving a shit about buying records anymore, it's a real struggle. As much as we play music for the love of it, we'd still like to eat once in a while, you know?.
What's the craziest thing you boys have gotten up to on tour?
What happens on tour, stays between us and our doctors.
Strangers are a band that you can hear each individuals fingerprints on the songs yet still manage to be cohesive and meld together all the parts seamlessly, has the band Always naturally worked like this or did it take a while to get to this stage?
We're definitely a mixed bunch when it comes to musical taste, and I guess you can hear that in our music. We each listen to anything from 70's metal to hip hop , so when we listen back to one of our songs it's kinda like "woah, where did that come from?!". We write/rehearse in the studio five days a week, so spending all this time together has certainly shaped our sound into what it is today.
Is there anyone you try and channel when you're singing or is it just all you?
A big soul sister.
Thanks for your time today, and best of luck with the tour!
Josh Grech
First off, how important is it to you to have that connection with your fans where you can talk to them and have a drink after a gig in a small bar atmosphere?
We like to think of ourselves as pretty social dudes, so why should playing a show change that? There's nothing better than coming off stage, dying of thirst, and having someone who you've never met say "That was a killer, can I buy you a beer?!". We've met some of the funniest, craziest, nicest people after gigs all over the country, maybe that's because rock n roll fans are usually the most down to earth.
Strangers did a residency in Sydney and a residency in Melbourne at the same time last year, whats the band's favourite thing to do to pass time when travelling?
SLEEP! The residencies were at Cherry Bar in Melbourne every Wednesday and The Lansdowne in Sydney every Thursday, so for us to get to Sydney in time for the show we had to leave straight after the Melbourne gig and drive through the night. We did this every week for two months which was a total blast, but at the same time we learnt every corner of that mind numbing Hume Highway like the back of our hand. Stopping in at Tumblong Pub and Holbrook Bakery for a drink and a feed is definitely a highlight of the trip for us.
You've played with some pretty big names so far, Grinspoon, Shihad, Closure In Moscow, to name a few, who else is there on Strangers wish list of bands to tour with?
Nirvana, Zeppelin, Hendrix, and The Doors would be amazing, however I'm not too sure if it can be arranged. Of course there are the bands like AC/DC, Motorhead, and Queens Of The Stone Age which are at the top of every rock bands "to tour with list", just as long as we get along with the bands and crew and have a rad time.
Strangers have a big 9 show national tour coming up, what are you looking forward to the most about it? And can we expect something new to the Strangers live show?
We've just finished the NSW leg of the tour and it was been so much better than we could have hoped for. The Annandale hotel was sold out which was such a milestone for us personally. It was also Barneseys 26th birthday which made for quite a celebration. The Dead Love and Born Lion who joined is on this leg are killer musicians and top dudes which always helps. As far as the show goes, it's totally different every night. We're mixing some of the songs up a bit and taking them completely left field. We tend to think that if you want to hear the songs exactly as they are on the record, stay home and press play. There's also a couple of covers we may chuck in for good measure and you're bound to see Timmy vomit at some point during the set.
2013 is shaping up to be a big year for Strangers, national tour to kick it off, Sxsw after that and we've seen a teaser photo to let us know you're working on some new material, what can you tell us about that? What direction is it taking? How does it differ from persona non grata? Who does it draw influence from?
We've been in the studio writing and recording demos since before we even released Persona Non Grata. I guess it's like anything, if you take time off from doing something it becomes a lot harder to get back into the swing of things so we just thought "fuck it, might as well keep writing hey?". The next record is already shaping up to have a much more "live" feel to it. There's still the pop style structure to a lot of songs, but we're also experimenting with new sounds and ideas that we wish we explored in Persona. In this record we're really trying to just close our eyes and vomit up as many different ideas and not second guess anything to see where it takes the songs.
What inspires/motivates/drives you to make music?
Pretty much our lack of ability to do anything else! What other job can you travel the country, get covered in beer, blood, sweat, and make other people almost deaf, have them enjoy it, and get paid to do it? It's simply the best.
What's the writing/recording process like for you guys?
Having five members in the band, and with such a vast individual taste in music, it's sometimes hard to get everyone to agree on one particular idea when we're writing. We don't have one songwriter who brings whole songs to rehearsal and says "hey guys, this is how the song goes", we all sit there with our instruments and just jam for hours and hours until our ears prick up and it feels like a song. When we recorded Persona, we went into the studio with about 50 ideas, whether they be a verse, a chorus, a riff, or a groove and tried to piece all those ideas together into whole songs. In hindsight, it probably wasn't the easiest way to make an album but we're so proud of the final result. Now we've been spending a lot of our time writing full songs to try and make the recording process a little smoother.
How do you feel about the state of music currently, both underground and mainstream
It's becoming increasingly difficult for musicians to get by, whether it's pokies or venues closing, or people just not giving a shit about buying records anymore, it's a real struggle. As much as we play music for the love of it, we'd still like to eat once in a while, you know?.
What's the craziest thing you boys have gotten up to on tour?
What happens on tour, stays between us and our doctors.
Strangers are a band that you can hear each individuals fingerprints on the songs yet still manage to be cohesive and meld together all the parts seamlessly, has the band Always naturally worked like this or did it take a while to get to this stage?
We're definitely a mixed bunch when it comes to musical taste, and I guess you can hear that in our music. We each listen to anything from 70's metal to hip hop , so when we listen back to one of our songs it's kinda like "woah, where did that come from?!". We write/rehearse in the studio five days a week, so spending all this time together has certainly shaped our sound into what it is today.
Is there anyone you try and channel when you're singing or is it just all you?
A big soul sister.
Thanks for your time today, and best of luck with the tour!
Josh Grech