The Spindrift Saga
The Spindrift Saga is an Alternative/Indie band hailing from the South Coast in Australia doing good things. I liked what I heard and an interview was a must so please read on.
https://www.facebook.com/thespindriftsaga/
1. Are you happy how things have gone for the band so far?
One of the most challenging things we have had to face as a band trying to ‘make it’, is our geographical location. We are 2 hours from the nearest city (Canberra) and 4 hours from Sydney. This has made it very difficult to get the ‘exposure’ we feel we deserve at times. We couldn’t be happier with what we have achieved over the last three years, but we are happy to concede that the far south coast is a bit of a ‘musical wilderness’ at times. We have spent a lot of time in the band van and clocked up a lot of miles. Over the last 12 months or so, we have really started to feel a resurgence in original live music and more opportunities have presented themselves. Our 2012 EP release ‘300 Hours and Counting’ received significant community radio play in every Australian state which really helped the bands profile. We can feel the ball rolling at the moment and are super keen to see what will come of this tour of our new single ‘Marvin’.
2. What inspires the band when writing music?
Our main inspiration when writing music is to create tunes that reflect exactly where the band is at any given moment. We like to write stuff that is potentially commercially viable but we work hard to include really interesting and complex sections and parts. As all three of us are university trained musicians, we like to have those moments that have the ‘real musos’ at the back of the room saying "Man, these guys can play". We have no interest in overcomplicating things, but we love throwing in the odd bit of ‘musical chops’. mMstly our music is inspired by the alternative bands that the three of us grew up listening to. All of us love the alternative greats of the 90’s and we tip our hats to those guys.
3. What is your latest song about?
Our latest single ‘Marvin’ is about a cheeky little fox terrier who our lead singer saved from immanent doom. Unfortunately, however, this particular little puppy dawg has a bad habit of getting up to serious mischief. He particularly likes causing trouble when his owner is out of town and is well-known at the local pound. Marvin also has a serious fetish for two local shiatsu’s, which drives him to all sorts of shenanigan’s. He has been put on this earth to locate and urinate on every car tyre he can find, and he won’t rest until is work is done. He is the Al Capone of the animal world and can be likened to a Crips gang leader. The tune tells the story of some key events that Marvin’s owner Chris (lead singer) would rather forget.
4. What do you like about touring?
Touring really is the ultimate way to let the listeners know exactly what we are about as a band. It’s also a real buzz to go from venue to venue and experience the up’s and down’s of being on the road. Hanging out as a band and having time in between shows to really ‘chill’ and soak it all up is also a seriously cool thing. I think that the public often forget that bands have to work ‘bloody’ hard to write, record, and perform regularly. Touring kind of consolidates all your hard work and gives great feedback on how to improve etc. It really lets us feel proud of what we are doing. Perhaps more than anything though, touring enables us to try every burger and meal combo at every fast food chain in the country. You haven’t lived until you’ve smashed an ultimate burger meal 2 minutes before a show after an 8 hour car trip hung over from the night before.
5. How important you is touring regional alongside touring the cities?
To be totally honest, at this moment in time we really need to focus on the city stuff. We spend most of our lives playing regional shows and will continue to do so I guess. However, we are three down to earth lads from the sleepy south coast, so for us, we love the idea of gigging in the city. It’s a totally different experience for us.
6. What has been your favourite show to date?
We really love The Phoenix Bar gigs in Canberra. That venue has been great to us and is always an incredibly fun place to play. In saying that, our 2012 Star Casino gig in Sydney was certainly one to remember also.
7. How does social media help you as a band?
Social media lets us connect on a different level with the people who enjoy our music. It’s really time consuming these days and sometimes I think social media only really worked well in the early days and has lost a little bit of it’s shine. That said, there is no doubt that once the ball is rolling, social media can really push the ball faster. At the end of the day though, I’d like to think Music is the real key and that people are connecting with our music and not our own perception of ourselves.
8. How important is connecting with your fans?
I think over the last 4 years we have really learnt the hard way. We are actually all quite ‘shy’ guys off stage and at times don’t enjoy the ‘connection’ with our audiences once we stop playing the music. It’s a weird notion I know, but we feel like we only deserve attention when we are performing and after that point we are just 3 dudes like everyone else in the room. However, over the last year or so we have really started to value and be humbled by some of the people that continue to turn up to our shows time and time again and wholeheartedly believe in what we do. If we are connecting with our fans on stage, we are really happy with that.
9. If you could have any body in a video clip who would it be?
Will Ferrell or Jack Black. Actually, I take that back. It’d have to be Chuck Norris for sure. But only if he promised not hurt us.
10. What’s your favourite venue to play at?
Probably have to say ‘The Phoenix Bar’ in Canberra
11. What does 2014 have in store for the band
This year is going to be our most significant yet. We are only a week away now from starting our East Coast Tour of our new single ‘Marvin’. We are also releasing our full-length album ‘Badnormous’ later in the year which we see us tour again over summer. Busy, busy, busy.!
