Not sure what to do this Saturday? This is the answer.

James S. Doyle - Raygun Mortlock

Raygun Mortlock have a pretty distinctive sound. How did you develop this sound, and was it difficult to get where you are now in terms of such a strong identity as a group? The sound came quiet naturally, the point has always really been to keep everything as raw as possible, with very little technical gloss. This, combined with, well... our "Strong Identity" as you put it haha, definitely made things hard, especially coming from somewhere like Murwillumbah

So being an emerging band in Murwillumbah, has it been pretty difficult to get people to catch on when you're obviously about much more than just playing whatever's "in" at the time? Well, I have always tried to steer the band clear of any sort of "Trend" or "Scene", but that's not to say people have not caught on. The fact that we don't really fit anywhere seems to be one of the things that has attracted people. The situation has always basically been that pubs wouldn't give us a gig because we wouldn't play "Popular Pub Rock Favorites", I have no interest in playing music like that. First and foremost I make music for myself… if other people enjoy it that's cool, but I don't play just for the benefit of some greedy publican . And I never will.

That's really good, to see a band more focused on their own goals and their own images than what a venue might want to see. Because when it comes down to it, a bar manager can't speak for the whole music industry. Publicans and Club owners, especially in an area like the tweed coast and gold coast, are of the opinion that all their patrons want to hear is the same mindless, middle of the road, generic rubbish. So it hard for someone trying to do something different to get a break, that's why i started doing the self-promoted shows at the bowls club at Condong, and surprisingly we got a wide range of people from all age groups and walks of life interested in us.

You have a pretty broad spectrum of influences, but which of those would you say really stand out for you guys when you’re making music? Well I can’t speak for everyone in the band. My main influence comes from a lot of underground noise rock stuff, The Jesus Lizard, Big Black, The Birthday Party. And some more commercial stuff like early Marilyn Manson. I have also drawn a lot of influence from non-musical artists, such as Authors like William S. Burrough, David Lynch films.. all that good stuff.

With Severe Noise Entertainment and the upcoming “Great Banana Barn Dance”, you’re obviously pretty big on collaborative gigs. Do you think that’s an important part of local bands being able to really push themselves and get their names out there? I like to see everyone playing. I like to encourage young bands who haven't done their first gig yet to come and play at the shows that I organise. It’s my goal to let everyone and anyone have a go. And if only 10 people turn up to watch that's fine. It’s not about money to me, or numbers or anything like that. It’s just about everyone having somewhere to play without the hassles of pub managers and club owners telling them what they can and cannot do.

So it's obviously not all about competition, then? There is no competition at all, it’s nice to see the bands get acknowledged for their efforts and have a few people show up, sometimes we pull really big crowds at those gigs which is great. But that's not really even the point. Its more about just having somewhere to play. Which can be impossible at times if you are an artist trying to do something that is a bit different .

That's really good. Speaking of live gigs, yours can be pretty full-on. Do you think it's easier to convey the core of what you are as a band through live performance, as opposed to recordings? Raygun Mortlock has never and will never be a "Good time party rock band"… It is in essence a vehicle for expressing my own disgust and frustrations with a variety of subjects ranging from Apathy, Right-wing conservative government, Domestic Violence, Substance abuse... there is a huge list of themes but I try to make the point as clear as I can whether it be through music, live performance or interviews like this. But the live gigs are getting more full-on, also we are slowly breaking our way into the Brisbane scene, so there is a fair chance the gig will grow more abrasive and even violent as they get bigger.

Wildest gig you've ever played?

There has been a lot of good ones, lots of bodily fluids and constant threat of violence.. ranging from playing at bikie club houses, being spat on, urinating in beer glasses.. good times.

What advice would you give to other young musicians who hope to make it big in the music industry? Well, no one really makes it "big" anymore unless you are extremely lucky. But for personal success, it’s best to just play what you want, don’t follow a trend or a try and join a genre scene just because a heap of people told you that it is cool at the moment. Scenes and trends die as quickly as they are born. Play what makes you happy and in a genre that gives you the space to express yourself comfortably. Art is about freedom, not following some fashion or stylistic criteria.

Slow Riots

Mudgereebah three-piece Slow Riots are well on their way to cementing a successful career as talented musicians. Currently in their final year of high school, the band strives to stand out from the crowd and are focused on being successful in their own right. I spoke to guitarist and vocalist James Hilan to discuss their recent successes and future goals. 

Describe Slow Riots in two words. 

Noise Gaze.

With influences such as The Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth, Tool and My Bloody Valentine, you've obviously got a pretty strong identity as a group. Was this difficult to achieve as a band, starting out?
We started out as 12 and 13 year olds playing stuff that was influenced by indie and semi-mainstream alternative. At that age, it's very difficult to develop your own sound, especially within the rock genre, partly because there's just so much stuff you haven't heard. We found that with every discovery of a great new genre or band (like the ones you mentioned) our sound took a step forward in maturity. But it certainly took time for that to happen.

Many young bands allow trends to override unique creativity, but you guys seem to steer clear of that path. Are you glad to have made such a decision? 

Of course. We couldn't deal with playing stuff that sounded too samey, or too much like any other band. People say we remind them of all sorts of different bands, so I guess it's working. It's more beneficial in the short term for a local band to play trendy stuff, but our resistance to that is paying off. Every new song has been the result of challenging ourselves to write something better and more unique, and we're glad to have stuck to that over the past 5 years.

How has the release of your EP, "Bored" affected you as a band? Have you found it to bring about a greater level of public recognition for yourselves?
'Bored' took over a year to record, because of lazy engineers, promises made by recording studios, lack of money, etc. The songs were fairly old by then anyway, so we were very tired by the end of it and just wanted to put the CD out. Eventually we got to a great studio and managed to breathe new life into the recordings, so that got us excited about it all again. We're hoping it will be received well when we start distributing it on iTunes and in independent stores in Australia, but since it's only been out for a month there haven't been any great leaps in recognition for us yet. Hopefully we can sell a fair few copies at our next show in Condong and really make a name for ourselves in that area.

What should the crowd expect from Slow Riots at the upcoming "Great Banana Barn Dance"?
A lot. This will be our first show since the start of June and our first with new bassist Shannon Kelly, who is by far the most talented musician we've played with thus far. We'll be playing a new song with him that nobody has heard before, and it really shows how well we all gel together as a band now. Of course we are also known for throwing ourselves around and being a bit psychotic at certain parts in our songs, so everything people have come to expect from past Slow Riots shows will be back in full force.

How do you feel generally about collaborative events such as this one? Do you feel it's important for local up and coming bands to support each other more often in this way?
They've pivotal to the development and continuation of any sort of musical scene. The Great Banana Barn Dance will be especially great because, unlike most other local festivals, it combines many different sub-genres of rock and metal. James Doyle from Severe Noise Entertainment is responsible and he's doing a lot more stuff like this in the future, so we're eternally grateful to him for that because it will give alternative music a major kickstart. Something's got to knock hardcore off the podium eventually.