When did the band form ? Tell us the story of how it came together .
All good band stories start with someone being kicked out . And that person was me . Ha ha . I grew up playing in various Alternative Rock influenced bands as the guitarist and songwriter . I moved from a small town in Australia to join a band who were relocating to Sydney . Everything was pretty good , except for the small problem that I didn ’ t have the required patience to deal with the singer ’ s ego . A conflict in personalities and musical direction is how the press would describe these situations , but the end result is that they let me go . My disappointment in them didn ’ t last long because from then on I knew that the best way for me to be an artist was to perform my songs without the hindrance of others .
What are your musical influences ?
Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits is my biggest influence . His songwriting and guitar work is simply stunning . I even named my first ever dog Knopfler after him , or Knoffie as he was called . I grew up listening to Alternative Rock bands like Pearl Jam , Tool , The Smashing Pumpkins , The Tea Party and Muse and I love current rock bands like Biffy Clyro , Savages , Wolf Alice and Royal Blood . From a songwriting point of view I am influenced by artists such as Bruce Cockburn , Freddie Mercury , Harry Nilsson and Dave Grohl .
1Your debut album , Intox , is set to drop in early 2017 . How excited are you to finally share your music with your fans ?
I have invested so much time , energy and emotion into these songs that I am extremely excited , and I am also very anxious . There is a certain amount of fear of not meeting expectations which can be overwhelming . These are mostly self-inflicted expectations , but you know what , I am very proud of these songs and I really believe in them . I ’ m prepared to take the necessary risks despite the fear that many musicians have . The title ‘ Intox ’ is tentative but I like it because some of the songs relate to the human obsession with being intoxicated and others are about being brainwashed by modern society . In French , ‘ Intox ’ translates to ‘ Brainwashing ’.
That ’ s very clever , I like it . Any set release date yet ?
The album will certainly be ready for the Northern Hemisphere summer . The lead single , ‘ The Devil Is Innocent ’ is due for release in the early part of this year .