Drawn From Bees
Drawn From Bees are a talented queensland band who are doing things. They are releasing some new material and I wanted to know more so please read on.
1. How did the band form?
At the end of a bottle of Whisky at Brisbane’s Troubadour early one Sunday Morning.
2. What was the inspiration for the latest album?
We spent about two years in the recording process and it changed a lot over that time, so I cannot recall what our original intention was other than to challenge ourselves. Each song on the album is a narrative of sorts – some are political, others are about love and loss; some of them come from experiences in our normal day-to-day lives. Then we patched it together in about May this year and it seemed to have a cohesive shape. I think albums have some life of their own beyond the creators’ intentions.
3. What was the recording process like compared to the last albums?
It was a much longer process but I (Raven) enjoyed it. For about a year I was in Melbourne, separate from the rest of the band, and we would email ideas back and forth. It was an unusual way to work – sometimes the isolation from the rest of the band helped and other times I missed having someone in the room to bounce ideas off.
4. How did it feel to get a touring grant to tour the album?
Great! Qho could not be thankful for the support and opportunity to tour the East Coast?
5. What is The Ballad of Running Bear single about?
It is Drawn from Bees’ answer to Johnny Preston’s original of the same name. However, we wrote an entirely different song and approached the narrative in a different way. It is a great story; a timeless myth.
6. Who have you enjoyed playing with recently?
We haven’t played for a long time but we did a gig with Emperors recently, which was really great and we played with our friends, The Slow Push, at our single launch a few months back. Both great bands!
7. What was the idea behind having a special performance if you spend $200 get all versions of the album?
We wanted to do something different – the launch is going to be a narrative with projections and a mini-orchestra. It is an experiment we look forward to (hopefully) pulling off.
8. How does social networking help the band?
It gives my horse, Johnny Snow, a break from the extensive letter box drops we did in the pre-My-Twitter-Face era. He just chills out in his paddock now and we ride for fun these days.
9. If you could work with any one who would it be?
Terry Gilliam – I would like to play a weirdo in one of his moves. If I was restricted to musicians then I would like to write some songs with the Ghost of Rowland S. Howard.
10. Any plans to go overseas and tour?
Not on the horizon at present but we’ve done it before and had the time of our lives. We’d love to get back to the UK, Canada and the States.
