“If you put 80 per cent in, you’re going to get 80 per cent back,” Frasca says assuredly. “If we put all our fucking love and passion into working on this album then we’re going to get those results. The Beatles used to write in their tour van before going on stage. How the hell did they write so many great songs? It’s because they never stopped writing.”
The album she refers to is her band’s third, after 2009’s Not For Love or Money and Sound Painter in 2012. Sound Painter contained the foot-stomping All My Love, which Frasca entered into the International Songwriting Contest (whose judging panel comprised Ozzy Osbourne, Tori Amos, Janelle Monae, Tom Waits and Basement Jaxx) and won herself third place. There were over 16,000 entries that year. You can bet there’s going to be some similar gold on the upcoming record.
“Since we got back from Europe at the start of the year we’ve been … treating it as a bit of a day job, like nine to five,” Frasca explains. “And I think there’s a lot of bands that do it: Nick Cave, Crowded House. For us, it’s about the song; it’s the core element of what the band’s about. Our dream is to write that fucking song that really resonates with people. And it might help them, or take them somewhere else, or have some kind of effect.”
The progress the trio has made since Sound Painter and its success isn’t something Frasca appears worried about. She believes that dymamics and influences are fluid in music, like anything else.
“The last album we spent two years working on, and with this one we’re really starting to lay down the foundation. It’s been two years since we finished writing the last one, and the band’s evolved and come a long way as songwriters and performers, and also where your head’s at and what you’re writing about, things like that.”
The most manifest evolution since the last release has been a new drummer – a pretty recent occurrence and one that Frasca is clearly stoked with. Zane Rosanoski was the long-time drummer for Melbourne hard rock group Mammal (who disbanded in 2009). “We’ve always known Mammal, and loved watching Zane,” Frasca says warmly. “He was just like, oh my God, wow. Look at him. Then we were looking for a new drummer for our European tour; Zane’s name popped up and we went, ‘Imagine what that would do to our band, having him amongst the group’. We had the first jam a few weeks ago. It’s like we’ve finally found the last piece to our musical partnership in this band. Pretty cool.”
The third member of Frasca’s band is Jeff Curran, who shares guitar duties with Frasca. The two have known one another for quite a while, and they got together in another little bout of good ol’ musical serendipity. “Jeff’s probably got a very different version of the story,” Frasca laughs. “I was doing a residency about seven years ago … Jeff’s described it as I had these dreadlocks flying everywhere and I looked like a hippy playing these slave damps in a little pub. I’d started this solo project and Jeff walked into the bar, and somehow, I must have had a set break, he ended up on stage. And I was like, [gasps] ‘Who are you!’ We ended up jamming all night and the rest is history.”
The magic hasn’t faded, either. “It’s amazing you know, every time I play music with Jeff I still have that same feeling,” Frasca says. “I’m very blessed to have such great musicians in my life, and also good mates. It’s like a great lover. I mean, Jeff’s definitely not my lover but he’s my musical partner in crime. You just know on some different kind of level with certain people, and it doesn’t come along very often.”
The tours are coming thick and fast for the group, with just one show this year in Melbourne at the Rock N Load Festival at The Espy before they head off across Europe for a bunch of shows, including supports for Patti Smith and Earth, Wind & Fire.
“You’ve got to be careful who you tour with, it comes down to that,” Frasca laughs. “I’ve been through all of that with bands in the past. There’s so many big wonderful personalities on the road and sometimes it doesn’t always work. There’s never a dull or negative moment when you’re touring with Jeff. We’ve toured around the world, we’ve slept on couches, top and tailed in beds in the early days. It’s not for everybody, touring on the road. You have your moments, but we’ve all got the same vision at the end of the day and I think that definitely drives us.”
BY ZOË RADAS
