Hamish Mills (The Charge) asks Shanon Trottman (Bugdust)
What was the concept behind your latest album Beyond Blues?
It’s a bit of a chronological take on a crazy night out, from the getting ready to go out stage, to the having a few pre drinks somewhere then getting to a gig and then completely writing yourself off on drugs or booze.
Where and/or who do you draw inspiration from when writing songs?
We generally draw inspiration from each other, just jamming out or improvising and letting the natural things take over what we’re doing. The themes of the music generally come after the music, I might write something and start to take it in a certain direction and then Colesy will come in and see it in a completely different context and then the final product is just kind of there in the end
What have been some highlights during your time in Bugdust?
There are continual highlights for us just gigging and networking in Melbourne. We are forever meeting new people and new bands and seeing new venues and bookers pop up around the place and it’s just a really humbling thing to be a part of. Bigger gigs like playing at Falls Festival a couple of years ago was a highlight too, and of being able to record an album overseas and playing to packed-out venues in New York were some of those pinch yourself moments.
What are your plans for the future?
Our plan is just to stay alive as a band, we’ve been a band for a long time and we just want to continue what we’re doing on our own terms. We not here to play the competitive kind of game, we’re all great mates and have a really good thing going and we intend to keep it that way.
Shanon Trottman (Bugdust) asks Hamish Mills (The Charge)
How would you describe a Charge show?
Lots of energy, sweaty, thumping, electric, driving and noisy!
What song of your own are you most proud of so far and why?
Out of all the songs that we play I think one of our new ones called This Machine is my favourite. It’s heavy, driving and it has good elements of light and shade throughout it. It’s also easily digestible, meaning someone who doesn’t generally listen to a lot of heavy/hard rock music would dig it.
You guys have done a little bit of travelling lately, how has The Charge been received interstate?
Crowds interstate have been awesome to us, you certainly notice the difference in people from different cities or towns but it’s a really cool thing for us to be able to travel and play. It’s all about the networking and just working for something, people from other states wont travel down here to see us so we take it to them. We’ve met some awesome people along the way and will be continuing those relationships for as long as we can.
What are your plans for the future?
We’ll eventually start piecing together another album, but for now it’s just going to be about staying strong to our goals, keeping up with shows and pushing Red Flags to its limits. There’s some whispers of doing a couple of more video clips as well which should be pretty cool.
