Alibi
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Interview With Matt From Alibi By Chris 13/4/06
Alibi are an up and coming rock band from
Australia.
After hearing their music on Starburst Sound Check I was
hooked.
They write and play fantastic music and well are going to
be huge.
So read on folks and find out what your missing
1. How did the band form?
We all went to school together and have played with each
other for ages, but the band really didn’t ‘form’ until
later, when we were at Uni.
2. What were your major influences?
Our major influences are probably U2, Coldplay. Matchbox 20
was up there at the start as well…
3. If you could have a three-band bill who would they
be?
For me personally, U2, Robbie Williams and The Killers at
the moment…
4. What has been the highlight of your career so
far?
Our highlight so far was probably the recent launch of our
latest EP ‘Before the Early Beyond the Late’ at the
Princess Theatre in Brisbane. The show was packed and we
hada great time.
5. Have you had much response from any record labels or
radio?
Back home in regional Queensland, our stuff gets played all
the time on radio, which is really encouraging and great,
but we have not had any commercial radio play as yet.
6. Why did the band enter Starburst
Soundcheck?
Exposure primarily, and something to work towards as well.
The prize wasn’t the appealing really, but it was great
exposure and a good opportunity.
7. Did that help the band in anyway?
It helped generate some hype; we also made some good
contacts down in Melbourne… It also gave us a great
opportunity to see Melbourne and travel together as a
band.
8. Were you happy with the response from it?
Yeah we couldn’t have been happier really, considering that
we ranked 3rd Nationally out of over 400 artists, we were
really encouraged and motivated by that result.
9. What are your thoughts on file sharing and the mp3
format?
I think Mp3s are useful for what they are… A
compressed form of a recording… They are certainly
useful for artists to distribute and present music online.
Illegal downloading is an obvious example of how technology
can and is abused. I personally think that the format
itself has now become so widely accepted that artists and
companies need to accept it and work on ways to promote and
present their music through that medium effectively. I
Tunes is a good example of a good use of the Mp3 or AAC
format.
10. Do you think the Internet is good for helping
artists get known?
Yeah, we wouldn’t be known by half the people that we are
if it wasn’t for the internet. Things like band websites
and myspace are growing in popularity every day. The
Internet is a useful medium to promote yourself.
11. What bands/artists are you listening to
lately?
I have been listening to The Killers latest album ‘Hot
Fuss’ as well as a few Australian bands. Faker, Gyroscope
and The Hot Lies I have been getting into recently.
12. Who has helped you out the most?
God.
13. What has the response been to your music on the
web?
We get a great reaction from our Myspace, and the Starburst
competition last year was a good indication of the way the
web has helped us as a band.
14. How did the recording of the new EP go?
Long. It was a really long and tiring process. We did it
ourselves with my small home studio setup. A lot of hours
and work, but it was worth it and we are happy with the
result.
15. Have you guys had much response from radio or record
labels?
Not as yet, but we’re hoping to with this new EP
16. What is next for Alibi?
We really want to focus on our live stuff for the rest of
this year, hopefully land some support shows, play the
festival circuit early next year and tour up north and down
south by the end of this year.
