Interviews
Interview with a gothic person
We have all laughed at them. We’ve seen them out and about and wondered just what in the hell they’re thinking. We’ve seen them made fun of on South Park. We’ve all heard the crazy misconceptions and second hand, twisted stories. Now it’s time to go direct to the source; to get inside their heads and find out once and for all what in the hell is going on. I present to you dear readers: INTERVIEW WITH A GOTHIC PERSON.
First of all, who are you? Tell me about yourself. Do you consider yourself a goth? How long have you been involved with all of this?
Who am I? I'm a 34 year old female. I'm married and have one son.
Nintendo Police interview
Back in 2008 I did an interview with Dave from Sydney hardcore band Nintendo Police for a zine I was doing. The zine was never finished so the interview was left idle. With the band having just released a new album it seemed like a good idea to dust off this old interview and let it see the light of day (even if some parts of it may be out of date). Hopefully you'll enjoy it.
The Duderocket also has the first Nintendo Police album I Suggest We Don't Fuck Around available to download for this weeks free music friday! Click here to get in on that shit!)
The new N-Police album Artificial Suns is out now! You can order a copy on the internet from Paperbag Music.
Interview with Dave (aka Rex) from N-Police (aka Nintendo Police).
What were the origins of N.P? What were the influences and beginnings of the band?
Shogun and I started the band in high school. We'd just discovered punk, we were young and full of ideas, and naturally we wanted to create something of our own. Our influences then were a lot of the bands we were listening to at the time: DRI, FYP, Bad Brains, MDC. Looking back we were so passionate about what we were doing... we really believed in it like a religion... we felt we had something so special and unique to give to the world, and I still think we did, although the final product was always clumsy. But we put so much love and care into those songs each one took an age to write, probably too long actually. The other thing about Nintendo Police thats maybe only alluded to sometimes in our songs is that we would laugh and laugh about everything. At that age, when you're first finding yourself, and first finding out that all the shit youve been taught so far is bullshit, you start to rebel. And the way we rebelled was by laughing at everything as we rolled around the burbs on our skateboards. We had a great time. Thats why punk suited us; it was just perfect for that time of our lives.
N.P came from the Hornsby punk scene. What was it like playing and growing up in it? Also, how has it changed over the years?
I dont claim to be around at the dawn of time, but when i started going to shows the hardcore scene was microscopic. It was really just a few handfuls of people and we all knew each others business. Back then Resist was a skateboard shop on king street and tours from overseas hardcore bands were next to non-existant. Amongst our friends a few bands were formed: Nintendo Police, Spastic Van, Worse Off, Meataxe... We lived in and around Hornsby, and some of our friends put on regular shows at hornsby pcyc so this is how we were labelled for convenience. There wasnt a hornsby scene as such, it was just the same people travelling up and down the train line going to these shows from wollongong to sydney to newcastle. It certainly wasnt trendy to be into hardcore like it is today. Growing up in that environment at that time i felt blessed. I felt like I was part of something special, and secret even. The scene has changed obviously..hardcore has been whored out and at a show youre just as anonymous as at a nightclub or the big day out. I'm not bitching though. I mean its inevitable isnt it that anything good will be discovered then ruined. But im really not interested in the scene now in whatever form it might take. Im not trying to sound too cool for school, im just too old for that shit now, and im pretty suspicious of anyone my age who isnt.
Interview with Sophie Koh
Sophie Koh is a person who makes music of some variety. I haven't actually listened to any of it, but she has a great bio that talks about how she is a Triple J Unearthed winner, and how she has recently appeared on television shows such as Neighbours and Spicks & Specks. It talks about how Ben Lee co-wrote some of her new album, and how she is great friends with Claire Danes! The most impressive mention on her resume, in my opinion, is her Nescafe Big Break win!! WOOP WOOP!
Have you ever taken a hip hop dancing class?
Wow, have you been stalking me? How did you know I'm in a dance class? Am in one right now! I love it.
Dead Letter Chorus - EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Dead Letter Chorus are a folk/indie rock band who are making massive waves across Australia right now, especially in the insurance ad scene. The Dead Letter Chorus are most noteworthy for being the first band to feature a horse on percussion and backing vocals...that horse being the extremely talented Mr Cuddlestein.
The band will be releasing their second album Yearlings on August 26. You can probably read about it on their website (here).
Duderocket was approached to exclusively feature the Dead Letter Chorus in an exclusive feature interview, so the Duderocket team of writers came up with some questions that bass player T-BIZZLE was cool enough to take some time out of his day to answer.
Tell us about your childhood.
We all were brought up either in the suburbs or the country, so as you can imagine it was full of fun and a lot of room to do what normal children do. Played a lot of sport including t-ball and karate (if you can call it a sport, maybe ask our drummer about that). All in all we had a magnificent childhood!!
What size shoes do you each wear?
5, 12, 11, 11, & 9... I think?
Kev and Nick Wilson - Exclusive Interview
I'll forgive you for not knowing who these guys are by name, but if you've ever seen some of Edgar Wright's films you should be able to recognise twin brothers Kev and Nick Wilson. They started out as zombie extras in Shaun of the Dead and were cast as a pair of sinister, small-town butchers in Hot Fuzz. They also appeared in Edgar Wright's mock-trailer for Quentin Tarantino's Grindhouse project, the hilarious Don't!, as a pair of fecal-smeared coprophiles.
Interview with Mr DNA
Mr DNA is a DIY and punk rock influenced Melbourne hip hop artist. He's recently dropped his first release in a mixtape entitled The Chronic of Nania. He was awesome enough to take some time to answer some questions for Duderocket. Click here to check out the mixtape. Or click here for Mr DNA on the facebook.
You're a hip hop artist who is influenced by DIY and punk rock ethics. Tell us a bit about your background.
Well it all started when I was birthed into this world as we perceive it!
H-Block 101 Interview
All-round great guy Rick Munro once allowed me to interrogate him in the pokie's room at Sydney's Excelsior Hotel for a short-lived zine I did at the time. That was 2005 when his band H-Block 101 were touring as reggae aficionados Jimmy Spliff & The Weedkillers. Unfortunately for us all, their last ever show was at the Arthouse Hotel in Melbourne on NYE that same year.
Now to signal the closure of that very same (and much loved) pub, this amazing institution of Australian punk rock history are playing another last ever show! Hallmarking this renaissance, the original interview is now available with an -authorised- download of their excellent swan song EP, Brain On Automatic. Check that out by clicking here.
The interview:
I’ve noticed H-Block 101 have been touring a lot lately. I thought you guys were dropping off a little over the last couple of years, but I think since about this time last year you’ve toured up here (Sydney) maybe three or four times. Is there any reason for this?
We don’t play Melbourne a lot. I suppose the main reason is trying to write songs and get an album together. We’re back to very much a DIY operation, so that means we’ve got more thought and time to put into songs – and most of the band members have computers and things now, so we can do home recording and try stuff out more. In a nutshell, we’ve been to Sydney more than we ever have before, but that’s only because that’s the only other thing we do. So if you don’t want to be playing Melbourne too much, like if someone goes “Look do you want to play Sydney?” you go “Oh yeah, we’ll do that.” See that’s the difference to playing Melbourne. We’re perfectly happy to play Melbourne when we get it, but at the moment we’re not actively searching for gigs in Melbourne.
Jen Buxton Interview
Jen Buxton is a singer/songwriter from Newcastle, NSW. Jen has spent the last six or so years as a member of the ridiculously amazing, but sadly recently disbanded Like...Alaska. However over the last few years steam has picked up with the solo thing, which right now has culminated with the release of her debut full length album Don't Change Your Plans which was released a few days ago on Melbourne label Poison City Records.
On top of answering these interview questions, Jen was awesome enough to let us host some of her old demo material for folks to listen to. Check that out by clicking here. Also, big thanks to Red Ruby Pics for the photos!
Onto the interview...
Okay, so you've got a new record—a solo record at that—about to drop. How do you feel?
It's wrong to say terrified, right? I am very excited, but like anything that you do by yourself it does feel a little bit scary to put it out into the world. My only other experiences with releasing music has been in bands with a lot of other people to kind of absorb the responsibility; these songs are very close to me and it's always a bit daunting to think they have to stand up on their own. That being said, I have worked very hard and had a hell of a year, and am pretty proud of this offering. And I never think anything I do is much chop, so that must mean it's at least okay!
Dogs at the Shops
Dogs at the Shops is a blog where people send in photos of dogs at the shops. It's the kind of wonderful thing that makes the internet worthwhile, and it's creator, James Macek, was more than happy to answer some pertinent questions about it
Tell us a bit about your blog? How did it get started?
I went to the shops on the way to work and saw a border collie outside Woolworths and took a photo of it. As I walked to work I thought about how great it would be if there was a blog just full of these dogs. When I got to work I discussed the idea with my friend and as soon as I got home it became a real thing.
Do you feel sorry for the dogs?
I don’t think I feel sorry for the dogs. I think some of them would probably enjoy sitting there, seeing different people walk past, smelling different smells, maybe people coming up to them to say hello and give them a pat. It’d be great.
How often do you pat them when you see them in real life?
I have never given a dog at pat at the shops. Though there’s one dog at the shops near work that I see every now and then and I want to pat the absolute shit out of it.
Do you sometimes give the dogs names and invent a backstory for them? EG. I think I will call that one Fluffy O'Fluffagans and she comes from a long line of Irish owners who feed their dogs spicy sausages.
Hahaha when my friend sends me dogs he usually includes the dog’s backstory including the owner’s occupation and reason for being at the shops. Sometimes I try to work out who the owner could be while I’m in the shop.
Tom/Hobbledehoy Records
Hobbledehoy Records is a small independent label founded and run by one Tom Majerczak. The thing I like most of all about Hobbledehoy (not including the actual released music itself), is that the guy just gets it... whether it's the extra effort making sure that releases are presented nicely, his forward thinking ways of dealing with people accessing music online, or just the friendly note that comes with your mailorder, he gets it. In a time when other record labels are freaking the fuck out about their CD sales dropping, and retaliating by partaking in activities like sending their goons to music blogs to send the message that sharing music is not okay, Tom would probably more likely be popping by to say thanks for the interest and asking what folks thought. That's pretty great I think, and awesomely enough it seems like his friendly but smart approach is paying off.
Hobbledehoy has put out releases by Arrows, Blueline Medic, oh messy life (the solo project of Adam from Lungs/Staying At Home), The Leap Year, Jamie Hay (that bearded bloke from the mighty Conation, A Death In The Family and Fear Like Us), and others.
Tom recently answered some questions about the label.
Double baco cheeseburger. It's for a cop.
