Define your genre in five words or less:
Electric dream music.
What can a punter expect from your live show?
We have had reports from many different sources that after seeing The Lovetones live, some people swear they have awoken to a new understanding of the universe, similar to how Huichol Indians enter parallel dimensions after peyote ceremonies in the desert. I, for one, just feel a little bit tired and emotional and want to be at home watching Friday night crime on the ABC.
Do you have any record releases to date? What are they? Where can I get them?
Yes, there have been many. Throughout the ’90s my band Drop City released five albums, (Universal Records had the bright idea of deleting them all, so no, you can’t get them), then there were five Colorsound albums (still available), and there have been five albums by The Lovetones (all available through Undercover Music in Aus). This month we have released our Anthology Provenance – Collected Works, which has tracks from all five albums and a live DVD. I am currently working on my next record which will be my 17th album.
When, and why did you start writing music?
I started writing music when I got my first guitar at 15. I thought anyone can play the guitar but not everyone can write a song and fewer still can write a good song. This has been an ongoing concern of mine now for the past 25 years. How does one actually write a good song? I think now, 25 years later, I am finally getting the hang of it.
Name an interview question you wish someone would ask you, and answer it.
I wish someone would ask me if I think Karl Marx’s theory of alienation is still relevant in today’s technology driven society, and I would answer that even though everyone has a smart phone now and we all seem to be autonomous and independent, our decisions and actions are still determined by class structure, the never ending race for the dollar and what ‘the man’ wants!
How do you balance making and playing music with your other commitments?
Like most other musicians I vacillate between the dole queue, random cash in hand work and casual employment to supplement the great dream of one day making a living from my music. Its more of a enduring trial than a balancing act really
THE LOVETONES play The Workers Club this Saturday June 23.
