- Growing Up
I grew up in a pretty musical family. Mum got to grade seven in classical piano (that’s pretty a pretty decent level, I think) and Dad pretended he could play the ukulele. We thought he was great but he wasn’t really playing any chords [laughs]. His dad was a crooner on the radio though, so we had the genes on both sides.
- Inspirations
I think Keith Moon was someone who always inspired me. The craziness and raw untutored talent really appealed. I didn’t listen to any Syd-era Floyd in my childhood but a little later that would become a huge influence in the way I would construct melodies. There was a sort of backwards quality to his melody and delivery like when you flip a reel-to-reel tape and listen to it in reverse. Also listening to old stretched cassettes; that wonkiness resonated with me for some reason.
- Your Band
We are The Meanies. We’ve had a couple of members (Tas Blizzard and D.D) but are currently myself (Link), Wally Kempton on bass and BVs, Mark (Ringo) Hobbs on drums and Jordan (Jaws) Stanley on guitar. I’ve always written all the songs so there hasn’t been any major conflicts about musical direction. Only about which songs to choose and tracklisting, et cetera.
- The Music You Make
It’s The Meanies, it’s not rocket science. It’s ultimately fast rock’n’roll with melody. I’m happy with any name you wanna give it. You can expect a band that always attempts to give 100 per cent. You can expect a decent chance of me injuring myself [laughs]. It takes longer to recover these days.
- Music, Right Here, Right Now
I think there’s pros and cons with the music industry today. It’s great that there’s so many musical options for the punters but I think it makes it harder for bands to get noticed. Also, it’s so driven by social media that if you don’t have that on a string you could end up feeling like a leper. Sometimes it feels a bit like the music is secondary.
Re: Sydney, I honestly don’t know where to go there any more with so many of the great venues closed. Stupid, ignorant laws have really harmed the Sydney scene. It used to be incredible. The Lansdowne getting back on track is exciting. Can’t wait – we used to play there a lot in the early ’90s along with bands like the Hard-Ons, Tumbleweed, The Psychos, Spiderbait, et cetera.
The Meanies’ Last Tour For Who Knows How Long arrives at the Lansdowne Hotel on Friday July 7 and Saturday July 8.
