When did you first have an interest in doing music?
From birth! I was one of those hideously annoying kids that never shut up. I spent hours glued in front of the TV watching the OBC tape of Stephen Sondheim's "Into The Woods", learning all the songs, dreaming of singing on Broadway. Then when I was 11 a bunch of snot-nosed surfer kids by the name of Silverchair came along and I realised rock music was what I really wanted.What artists would you say influenced you most musically?
Myself personally, I would say Elvis. He just had this innate charisma and swagger that was unprecedented, and his voice is just a dream. Lyrically I would say Tom Waits, the way he plays with and manipulates English as a language is just magical.
What do you want people to take away from your live shows?
Merch hahahaha!
How would you describe the rock music scene in Australia?
It's good here, we're very lucky particularly here in Melbourne to have such a rich and varied music culture. I think as a performer you need to not get comfortable in the "scene"... make sure you keep gigging with new acts, get interstate, tour and whatnot.What is your ultimate goal for The Scarlets?
Germany. I want to move there but I don't know about the others in the band! Our music is heavily influenced by German punk-rock, acts like Die Toten Hosen, Böhse Onkelz, Der W, Die Ärzte etc, we already have a growing fanbase in Germany and I really do believe they "get" our music over there.
Tell us a little about the video your about to premier.
"Bombshell" is a celebration of gorgeous women, inside and out. I wrote about the woman I wanted to be: sassy, sexy, confident, smart- sort of like an alter-ego for when you're feeling down. I wanted girls to be able to put this on in their headphones and just strut their shit, guys to hear it and go "Damn, who IS this woman and where can I find her?!"
The video was directed by multi-award-winning Australian horror director Stuart Simpson, and features us (obviously), our good mate Gaz from celt-punkers The Ramshackle Army and our very own bombshell Nicole Gregurek. It gets pretty saucy without being exploitative and the girls still come out on top.
What bands are your currently listening to?
Right now I'm listening to alot of Social Distortion, Der W, Cherry Poppin' Daddies and as always, Elvis!
Share This
