Jeremy Neale is – in a twist that surprises absolutely no-one – in a fantastic mood. “I just saw Mad Max!” he proudly announces. “It was amazing, man! I loved how it was still so Aussie – like, every third word in the background was ‘g’day’ or something. They’re already working on a sequel – I’m psyched!”
The baby-faced Brisbane native never makes interviews seem like a task – to him, it’s just a chance to chat about whatever’s going on at the time. It’s this that has allowed Neale to become one of the most notoriously lovely people in Australian music – few can match his enthusiasm, his charm and his work ethic.
After a spell of touring with both the dozen-strong Velociraptor and surf-pop side project Teen Sensations, Neale is back to work on his own solo material, beginning with a cracking new single, ‘Hold On Together’, which features former Go Violets singer Phoebe Imhoff on guest vocals. “I’ve got an EP in the works at the moment,” Neale says. “I’ll hopefully have it out by late August, and it’s going to have the two singles I’ve put out so far, along with four other tracks I’ve been working on. I’ve already started writing for the album, too. That’ll be all new, and it’ll be out in the world in 2016. I wanted the EP to establish that I want to move around stylistically under my own name. At this point, I feel like people just think of me like, ‘Oh, that Jeremy, he’s just a rock dog.’ I am, for the record – but I’m also other things! Sometimes, I’m a New Romantic dog. The ’80s rule, man!”
‘Hold On Together’ allows Neale to embrace his inner ’80s pop star, complete with a tempo kick-up and some Kenny Loggins-worthy guitar and wailing sax. It’s certainly a far cry from the garage-dwelling jangle he’s often associated with, which begs the question as to whether he writes with a particular project in mind or if he’s a free bird in that sense.
“I’m a constant daydreamer, so I’m never short on ideas of what I want to do,” he says. “I like to just do a bit of everything. Whatever I think is possible, I’ll push myself to make it happen. I get too distracted if I’m writing specifically, though. If I start writing for Velociraptor, I could get maybe two songs in before I start wanting to turn them into my solo songs. I guess I just write a bunch of songs and then divvy them out when they start to take form a bit more.”
Neale and his backing band will be playing a quick run of shows in support of ‘Hold On Together’, which includes the standard set of east coast capitals – and then, for whatever reason, a stop in Maroochydore on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Despite it sticking out like dog’s bollocks on a tour schedule, Neale insists that it’s turned into quite the surprise package for touring artists.
“There’s a guy that runs Sol Bar that has done an amazing job of fostering a live music scene in an area that has never really had quote-unquote ‘indie’ coming through,” he says. “It’s this amazing vibe there now – the shows are always great; the people there always make it worth however long the trip is.”
As for what people can expect at a Jeremy Neale show? “Just a coupla rock dads cuttin’ loose.”
It couldn’t get much more convincing than that.
Jeremy Neale, and Flowertruck, play Waywards onFriday May 29.
