Push to Fire: Grinspoon Interview

IT'S HARDLY A COMEBACK, IF YOU'RE NEVER GONE
by Meghan Player
Grinspoon press shot
Love them or hate them, Grinspoon have been one of Australia’s premier acts for the last 15 years. Having toured America, Canada, New Zealand and the UK, they still show no signs of slowing down. Push To Fire writer Meghan Player spoke to frontman Phil Jamieson about touring, dance moves and sharing the stage with KISS.
Grinspoon have come along way since their ‘discovery’ in 1999. They tempted fate by moving to a more mainstream sound with 2003's ‘New Detention’, progressed through to a polished sound with ‘Thrills, Kills And Sunday Pills’, then won over a new audience with 2007's melodic ‘Alibis And Other Lies’.
Over the years, the band have crossed many musical paths and gone down many collaborative roads, and latest release ‘Six To Midnight’ is no exception. The album retains a large part of the bands’ original, grungy sound - but front man Phil Jamieson insists the move wasn’t "that calculated."
"We don’t sit down and go ‘oh this is the direction we’ll head’, or ‘this is going to be great’...it’s a bit more natural than that."
The singer also explained that this natural progression will continue when writing the next album. "I don’t even know what the next album will sound like. It will probably sound like us, which is sort of grungy anyway."
"Six To Midnight" saw the band create their first record out of a recording contract, but the singer suggests that it didn’t allow the band more creative freedom when recording the album.
"It just means that we didn’t have any money," he laughs, "we just had a lot less of a budget to work with."
However he believes that the smaller budget suited the type of record the band were making this time around.
"I think for all the material we wrote for ‘Six To Midnight’, it was appropriate for the kind of record we were making, in such a short space of time. It’s a raw record."
The album, whilst only released in September last year, has seen the band embark on the ‘Takes One’ tour, play various festivals across the country (including the Big Day Out last month), announce the ‘Six To Midnight’ tour for March 2010, and secure a short tour in the UK in May.
After all the years of touring, the singer still seems surprised by the reaction to their music - and how positively people respond to it.
"We kind of really didn’t know what to expect," he says about playing the Big Day Out, "At the same time [we were playing], Powderfinger were on the other stage. So we just thought we would get no one to watch us. But we actually had a really good show. Probably one of the best shows we’ve ever had at the Big Day Out."
"It’s such a great feeling to have people watching us, and still liking us."
However it hasn’t always been smooth sailing when it comes to playing live. Having shared the stage with KISS, the band have experienced first hand what it’s like to feel intimidated.
"Yeah I guess I was intimidated playing with KISS. The KISS army are very parochial, so they kind of only want one thing, and that’s KISS. They didn’t want Grinspoon," he reflects, "we kind of struggled through a bit on that show. Hopefully they got caught up in it and pretended we were KISS or something."
That being said, Grinspoon has always been described as a band that people either love or hate - with no in between. Jamieson believes it has something to do with the band being "not particularly mediocre".
He goes on further to explain that the music he creates and plays with the band, is also a reflection of his own musical inclinations.
"I like the kind of music that emotes me in any way. Whether it causes great happiness or great sadness, or anger because I hate it."
"I don’t like music that is ‘meh’. Music that is ‘meh’ to me, exists with no purpose at all. That’s the kind of music I make too... I want people to have a reaction. People will either embrace it, or absolutely dislike it."
"And dislike it with a passion, so it’s alright," he quickly adds with a laugh.
In May this year, Grinspoon will have the chance to gauge reactions overseas, when they turn their touring attention to the UK.
While the band haven’t toured there since 2003, the opportunity to return has been welcomed by the singer.
"I really wanted to go back there because I had such a great time last time. I guess it’s awesome to travel..[and] to travel and work too. Well not even work, just play some tunes for people. The opportunity to get back there and do more of that is really attractive to me."
Though as far as plans for what the UK show will be like, Jamieson is quick to dismiss any plans at this stage.
"That’s a very good question," he laughs. "I dare say there will be me. I’ll sing some tunes. Dance a bit. Maybe jump up and down. I’ll try this new crazy leg kick thing I’ve got happening. [Set list wise] I don’t think it would be too dissimilar to what we did at the Big Day Out, because we try to encompass most of our tunes in our set list."
While the band are content to keep their Australian ties, they haven’t ruled out the possibility of breaking into the UK or US scene in the future.
For Australian bands, this can generally be a hard task - bands such as Silverchair have managed to thrive in the US scene, and more recently The Living End have had success in both the US and Europe.
Grinspoon, whilst being festival favourites here, have had limited album releases in the US and UK.
"I would like to break into the UK, just primarily to enjoy playing to different people, and hopefully they will enjoy the tunes," he explains, "but if no one is going to like the tunes, then I don’t see much point. And I don’t really feel like bashing them over the head, making them interested either, if you know what I mean?"
However, the singer describes the experience the band had in the UK previously, would be welcomed this time around too.
"The response to the music I think was positive," he laughs, "I hope it’s not any different this time. I would think that, hopefully, there is the same amount of enthusiasm and passion for the music. We have travelled a long way to be there, so I don’t know what the reaction will be, but hopefully there will be people there."
"Show me where the stage is, and I’ll sing."
With talks of the UK Tour, the clear drive the band still have, the enjoyment they still get out of playing live, and the endless possibilities as far as their sound goes, Grinspoon are still alive and kicking.

Thanks to Phil Jamieson for speaking to Meghan. Photo courtesy of the band's management. Find more info and music clips on their MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/grinspoon. Grinspoon tour Australia in March and will head to the UK for a handful of dates in May 2010.

IT'S HARDLY A COMEBACK, IF YOU'RE NEVER GONE by Meghan Player Love them or hate them, Grinspoon have been one of Australia’s premier acts for the last 15 years. Having toured America, Canada, New Zealand and the UK, they still show no signs of slowing down. Push To Fire writer Meghan Player spoke to frontman Phil Jamieson about touring, dance moves and sharing the stage with KISS. Grinspoon have come along way since their ‘discovery’ in 1999. They tempted fate by moving to a more mainstream sound with 2003's ‘New Detention’, progressed through to a polished sound with ‘Thrills, Kills And Sunday Pills’, then won over a new audience with 2007's melodic ‘Alibis And Other Lies’. Over the years, the band have crossed many musical paths and gone down many collaborative roads, and latest release ‘Six To Midnight’ is no exception. The album retains a large part of the bands’ original, grungy sound - but front man Phil Jamieson insists the move wasn’t "that calculated." "We don’t sit down and go ‘oh this is the direction we’ll head’, or ‘this is going to be great’...it’s a bit more natural than that." The singer also explained that this natural progression will continue when writing the next album. "I don’t even know what the next album will sound like. It will probably sound like us, which is sort of grungy anyway." "Six To Midnight" saw the band create their first record out of a recording contract, but the singer suggests that it didn’t allow the band more creative freedom when recording the album. "It just means that we didn’t have any money," he laughs, "we just had a lot less of a budget to work with." However he believes that the smaller budget suited the type of record the band were making this time around. "I think for all the material we wrote for ‘Six To Midnight’, it was appropriate for the kind of record we were making, in such a short space of time. It’s a raw record." The album, whilst only released in September last year, has seen the band embark on the ‘Takes One’ tour, play various festivals across the country (including the Big Day Out last month), announce the ‘Six To Midnight’ tour for March 2010, and secure a short tour in the UK in May. After all the years of touring, the singer still seems surprised by the reaction to their music - and how positively people respond to it. "We kind of really didn’t know what to expect," he says about playing the Big Day Out, "At the same time [we were playing], Powderfinger were on the other stage. So we just thought we would get no one to watch us. But we actually had a really good show. Probably one of the best shows we’ve ever had at the Big Day Out." "It’s such a great feeling to have people watching us, and still liking us." However it hasn’t always been smooth sailing when it comes to playing live. Having shared the stage with KISS, the band have experienced first hand what it’s like to feel intimidated. "Yeah I guess I was intimidated playing with KISS. The KISS army are very parochial, so they kind of only want one thing, and that’s KISS. They didn’t want Grinspoon," he reflects, "we kind of struggled through a bit on that show. Hopefully they got caught up in it and pretended we were KISS or something." That being said, Grinspoon has always been described as a band that people either love or hate - with no in between. Jamieson believes it has something to do with the band being "not particularly mediocre". He goes on further to explain that the music he creates and plays with the band, is also a reflection of his own musical inclinations. "I like the kind of music that emotes me in any way. Whether it causes great happiness or great sadness, or anger because I hate it." "I don’t like music that is ‘meh’. Music that is ‘meh’ to me, exists with no purpose at all. That’s the kind of music I make too... I want people to have a reaction. People will either embrace it, or absolutely dislike it." "And dislike it with a passion, so it’s alright," he quickly adds with a laugh. In May this year, Grinspoon will have the chance to gauge reactions overseas, when they turn their touring attention to the UK. While the band haven’t toured there since 2003, the opportunity to return has been welcomed by the singer. "I really wanted to go back there because I had such a great time last time. I guess it’s awesome to travel..[and] to travel and work too. Well not even work, just play some tunes for people. The opportunity to get back there and do more of that is really attractive to me." Though as far as plans for what the UK show will be like, Jamieson is quick to dismiss any plans at this stage. "That’s a very good question," he laughs. "I dare say there will be me. I’ll sing some tunes. Dance a bit. Maybe jump up and down. I’ll try this new crazy leg kick thing I’ve got happening. [Set list wise] I don’t think it would be too dissimilar to what we did at the Big Day Out, because we try to encompass most of our tunes in our set list." While the band are content to keep their Australian ties, they haven’t ruled out the possibility of breaking into the UK or US scene in the future. For Australian bands, this can generally be a hard task - bands such as Silverchair have managed to thrive in the US scene, and more recently The Living End have had success in both the US and Europe. Grinspoon, whilst being festival favourites here, have had limited album releases in the US and UK. "I would like to break into the UK, just primarily to enjoy playing to different people, and hopefully they will enjoy the tunes," he explains, "but if no one is going to like the tunes, then I don’t see much point. And I don’t really feel like bashing them over the head, making them interested either, if you know what I mean?" However, the singer describes the experience the band had in the UK previously, would be welcomed this time around too. "The response to the music I think was positive," he laughs, "I hope it’s not any different this time. I would think that, hopefully, there is the same amount of enthusiasm and passion for the music. We have travelled a long way to be there, so I don’t know what the reaction will be, but hopefully there will be people there." "Show me where the stage is, and I’ll sing." With talks of the UK Tour, the clear drive the band still have, the enjoyment they still get out of playing live, and the endless possibilities as far as their sound goes, Grinspoon are still alive and kicking.
Thanks to Phil Jamieson for speaking to Meghan. Photo courtesy of the band's management. Find more info and music clips on their MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/grinspoon. Grinspoon tour Australia in March and will head to the UK for a handful of dates in May 2010.