1. Growing Up

My parents were really into music: my Dad played guitar and had guitars lying around everywhere. When I was little parties always wound up with my parents and their friends singing and playing music together and me getting to stay up past my bedtime.

2. Influences

I spent a few years listening almost exclusively to instrumental music. Then, almost as an antidote to all that, I got really really into Leonard Cohen. His songs are so powerful and there’s often a lot of funny lines hidden in the middle of all the tragic romance. I also love Brian Eno – especially his pop records – Lee Hazlewood, Nancy Sinatra, Nico, John Cale… All those classic records with really interesting production ideas and blown-out recording budgets.

3. Your Band 

My band is full of some of my closest friends and my wife so I’m pretty lucky. I’ve been playing music with most of them … for years. I play with Lia Tsamoglou (Melodie Nelson), Ben Morgan (Cameras, Service Bells), Jon Hunter (The Holy Soul), Robin Dixon (Melodie Nelson) and Ben James (Terza Madre, Devotional).

4. The Music You Make

Everything is built up around basic elements and lyrics, so folk and country are probably the closest things in terms of genre. We get pretty noisy at times and the arrangements can be strange. We have some songs we never play the same way twice.

5. Music, Right Here, Right Now 

There’s lots of great music happening in Sydney and a real shortage of great venues. In some ways it’s good because people have to really work to get their music across in some less than ideal environments. It kind of brings it back to what music’s meant to be about, which is communication and feeling.

Singing Skies play Golden Age Cinema And Bar on Saturday June 3 at 9pm.

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