1.Growing Up
I was more into engineering and building shit as a kid: my old man had a record player and I was just fascinated by the mechanics and how the thing worked. I’d play the same LP by some average ’80s punk band every night just to watch it spin around under the stylus.
2.Inspirations
One day on the way to work I heard over the radio that Fiji had won its first gold medal at the Olympics in the rugby sevens. To celebrate they formed a circle in the middle of the field and sang ‘E Da Sa Qaqa’, a traditional gospel song. I tore the internet apart and managed to track down the full recording: it hit me right in the guts. They sang with no ego and their voices were powerful, humble and authentic.
3.Your Band
We’re proper musos – we’ve all done our time in pit orchestras, big bands and touring groups. We’ve done our fair share of festival gigs too, along with shit weddings and all-night party gigs. We can all read music and play at least two instruments. We’ve played with everyone from A-grade hacks to B-grade celebrities and we’ve blown every cent we earned in the process on beer, whisky, video games and motorbikes.
4.The Music You Make
Blues done the punk way, with stories told the long way about lessons learnt the hard way. No drum machines, no samples, no synth, no loop stations… No bullshit.
5.Music, Right Here, Right Now
I don’t like how inoffensive music has gotten. Music now is like Hollywood actors that have had too much botox and can’t show any facial expressions. The emphasis is on production, effects, smoke and mirrors, all at the expense of substance. Nonetheless, you will find some of the finest musicians in the world living here in Sydney: people like Aaron Flower, Tim Firth, James Muller, and Rai Thistlethwayte. There are some cracking bands here too: groups like Ocean Alley. They’re crews who can write top music and have the prowess over their instruments to finish the job. They are a dying breed, which is why we need to back them when they come along. Do your part: shun venues that put on shitty DJs and go see a live band, or else we’ll cancel Christmas. I mean it.
Harry Coulson plays the Old Growler onFriday September 30 as part of hisThe Blue Dogs album tour.
