1.Growing Up
I’ve always grown up in a household where music is encouraged. I have a super vague memory of being nominated as a piano player’s page turner. I was young, couldn’t read music and my rigid transition between sheets often saw them on the floor. The seemingly meaningless notations on the page had a sense of chaos to them that made music super appealing to me, and I continued to invest a greater interest in it from there.
2.Inspirations
If I could roll a few songwriting inspirations into one, I would take the earnest nature of Bob Dylan, the work ethic of Ben Cooper, the craftsmanship of Justin Vernon, the cacophony of Kurt Cobain, the intentionality of Brian Wilson and topped off with the expression of Dave Hosking. The list could go on really.
3. Your Band
Gostwyck is made up of Gus, Joe, Kerr, Will and Swanny along with myself. As cliché as it sounds, our friendship is what really ties us all together, as hard and easy as that is at times. Our music is a real reflection of our reality and the ways in which life ebbs and flows. Our songs are expressions not purely of what one particular person is experiencing, but how we collectively endure these experiences together.
4. The Music You Make
We’ve drawn on a lot of bands who we collectively dig for stylistic variation and nuance. Bruce Springsteen’s music shapes our guitar tones, The Paper Kites and Boy & Bear for our stuff on drums, and many, many more. We recently recorded our debut EP at Jungle Studios with Lewis Mitchell, who we really can’t thank enough for his tireless effort and failure to respond to our poor jokes. At our live shows you can expect honesty through our lyrics but also a lot of energy that stems from the kick we get out of playing together.
5. Music, Right Here, Right Now
There are so many killer venues in Sydney. I’m a sucker for small, gritty intimate spaces where music feels like it’s being spoon-fed to you. Despite all that’s happening in regards to the various reformations of cultural policy and the lockout laws at the moment, I just hope people continue to support live music and appreciate artistic expression for what it is, because there really are few greater thrills.
It’s All A Dream is released independently, have a listen here. Catch Gostwyckat The Vanguard on Wednesday March 9, with Stockley and The Gypsy Scholars.
