PUNK - CALIFORNIA // LAGWAGON
What People Say When You’re in a Band
“…Every show you play it feels like the greatest thing and it feels like this amazing moment…” it’s gonna, that’s what’s important – it’s gonna change the world, man!” says Lagwagon’s Joey Cape on why their latest album, I Think My o“Well, Older Brother Used to Listen to Lagwagon, is going to change the world, as claimed by their promotional literature. “The most important thing
is that it’s most likely going to bring the partisan politics of the people here in America, together,” he continues, improbably. “It’s gonna bring all the mavericks and the Obama-lovers together.”
We wonder how the album will achieve this momentous feat. “Just the overall sound of unity, and just the fact that we’re such a household name here in America. [We’re] especially popular with the right-wing religious right…” Joey says, the sarcasm running deep. “Well, there’s always that context with interviews that go to print or email… Sarcasm doesn’t always work out, [but] we have no delusions of grandeur in our band, man. I mean, we just make music, y’know?” Sarcasm noted. It’s a very interesting title, nonetheless. It kind of says that you’re now old enough to be spanning generations. Joey begs to differ. “I don’t know that we really thought it through that much, but the honest truth is that it’s just a direct quote. It’s something that we’ve heard hundreds of times from people we meet. You know, a lot of people we meet when we’re on tour will ask us what band [we are] and we tell ‘em and they go, because they’ve heard of us – I guess people always feel that they have to say one of three things - they either say, ‘I’m a big fan!’ and they
know one of your songs, or they say, ‘Oh, I think my older brother used to listen to you in high school!’ or they say – and this is my favourite – ‘Yeah, uhm, I have that record that you guys made. What was that record called?’ And they name the title of your first record or your second record.” “But, you know, that’s part of the thing,” he continues. “If you’re in a band that isn’t really a household name, and hasn’t really gone mainstream, that’s the way it goes. I don’t take it personally or even care. We were making a t-shirt, and the t-shirt design was done and the bass player and I, who does all the graphic art stuff, were looking at it and I just said, ‘That’s our album cover! That’s it, it’s perfect!’ And we just sent it to the band and everybody liked it and that was that, y’know? That’s how all our album covers always go – they’re always riiight at the last minute.” We don’t think that Joey should be too insulted that they’re not a household name, especially in the ‘States
when there are surveys done of people and they’re asked things like, ‘Where is Australia?’ and they point to Europe. “I believe that’s most likely very true. It’s true of a lot of the world but we might hold the ring on that one, on ignorance,” Joey agrees, regretfully. “But, you know, the music - I would never have any delusions of grandeur to think that there’s any parallel with that kind of ignorance on that level, or people not knowing a small band. I mean, there’s so many bands, and if you get into music with the idea that your shows reflect anything on a mainstream level, then you’re gonna be disappointed. Every show you play it feels like the greatest thing and it feels like this amazing moment and everywhere you go in the world, there are a whole, whole lot of people who have no idea that it’s happening. So… that’s how it is being in a band. It’s only about that synergy, you know?” “The world, in general, doesn’t have much of a longterm memory. It’s much easier if you go through life knowing that, and not having any of those kind of
delusions. I don’t think it’s depressing at all. I honestly, really believe that we’re so fortunate to have been able to do what we’ve done. That title is just really, purely funny. It’s hard to come up with a title for a record or an artwork - it’s the hardest thing. Because, what one thing really represents of you at that moment, and collectively of five people who are very different… that’s a question that I don’t think any of us have really answered with any of our covers or titles. You just kind of find something that everybody doesn’t hate,” he laughs. sINTERVIEW BY DAVID WILLIAMS ARTICLE BY CHRIS RATTRAY
Listen to the band your older brother used to listen to! 0 November 23 @ The Republic Bar Listen to more at www.sauce.net.au
PUNK - AUSTRALIA // THE GO SET
Caution, Wind Thrown Together on NewAlbum sort of at a point right now when I don’t wait for the moment when someone from the media calls it credible. I used to rely on that a lot,” says o“I’m Justin Keenan of The Go Set’s recently released, fourth studio album, Rising. “Now, I just know. You know when you write a song whether it’s good or just a pile of shit. I think that, with this album, we’ve just simplified the whole process. Instead of spending a lot of time arranging things and adding lots and lots of instruments, we just tried to play it live and did it in a very similar way to our first album.” He barely pauses for breath as he continues…
“The problem The Go Set’s faced is that the live shows are really high energy and a lot of people come to see The Go Set for the live show. It’s very difficult when you’re a particularly energetic live band to replicate it on an album. So, we just thought what we’d just do is strip it right back and just play it, just play the songs. We were really lucky on this one because we had a US producer by the name of Jonathon Burnside, who’s in Melbourne now for a couple of years, he came in and worked on it in a production role and, yeah… it was awesome. I think it’s fair to say that he has a different approach to producing records to any of the Australian people that we’ve worked with. He throws caution to the wind and takes a lot of risks, really went with the vibe, and mixed it less ‘safely’.” “I think that there’s a tendency in Australia, because we have a smaller population, the music fraternity is essentially controlled by a couple of different sources of media only. There are so few media outlets that, to get national airplay, you really need to conform to a certain playlist. Bands and producers start making records that conform to the playlist. The thing I loved about working with Jonathon is he said, ‘F*ck it. Let’s make a great album within its own right, and if media accepts it or if radio accepts it, that’s great, and if they don’t, well that’s no different to where we were a year ago!’” Bands like Iron Maiden follow that philosophy, having just flown their own plane to Australia and toured the world. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I really think you have to cut your own path with making albums. It’s taken me a while to realise that,” agrees Justin. “The thing WWW.SAUCE.NET.AU
things at a rate of knots and have no idea of the trail of destruction that we leave behind. So the things that get a rise out of me are generally those sort of things… individualism, consumerism, and lack of respect for the environment and people’s issues.”
“…We consume things at a rate of knots and have no idea of the trail of destruction that we leave behind…” that I love now about being in The Go Set is that we really play the music that we feel passionate about, and that comes naturally, and we make records and carve our own path with the music that we’re making. It certainly feels that way, y’know?”
that’s all about them. They can literally go into a room and communicate virtually with anyone in the world but not be held accountable for any of their actions or the food that they consume, or the products they consume or the waste they leave behind.”
So what gets a “rise” out of Justin lately? “The thing that gets a rise out of me the most, I think, is environmental issues, and probably humanitarian issues. You know, the way the world has developed, where we’re so interconnected and we’re so able to talk to people so far, far away that we all talk over the top of each other. It’s become such an ‘I’ generation that kids, in particular, are being born into a society
“That sort of stuff is where the album title comes from. It basically comes from a line… I wrote a big poem that, funnily enough, didn’t go on the album - because it was a poem that was meant to be a song – and the poem was And From Within the Storm We Rise, and it’s just talking about how the overindulgent ‘I’ generation is getting fatter and fatter, and half the world’s starving and half the world’s on a diet, so to speak. We consume
Speaking of lack of respect for the environment, I’d read some of their tour diary from a recent European tour and there was a small story there where some of you guys were caught weeing off a bridge in Germany… Justin laughs. “Well, we had a fantastic show in Nuremberg. And the Germans don’t do things by halves. They look after their bands in such a way that it’s very different to rocking up to your local pub in Australia where they give you a carton of beer and want you to play. The Germans fill you full of any sort of grog you want, and they’re so good at making beer and spirits that, being Australia, being grogmonsters, you can’t help but overindulge, so we felt obliged to drink the rider. After a couple of nights we thought, it’s not humanly possible… We were going for a walk to go and get some more alcohol, funnily enough, and we got pulled over for having a little wee off this bridge, out of town a bit! The police said, ‘How much cash have you got on you?’ I had the gig money in my pocket, and we looked at each other and my heart raced. I was shitting myself. I said, ‘Ten euros!’ We pleaded ignorant and said that we couldn’t speak German. They let us off.” sCHRIS RATTRAY
Pay less than ten euros to see The Go Set: 0 November 6 @ The Brisbane Hotel Rising is out now. Listen to more at www.sauce.net.au . ISSUE 80 . OCT 29 - NOV 11 2008
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