Graham Reid | | 3 min read
Australian band Caravana Sun may not be well known on this side of the Tasman, but that will doubtless change with their forthcoming tour (see dates below) and once songs like Whale Song start to stick.
Whale Song is from their third album Guerrilla Club (recorded in Freemantle with producer Joey Quartermain of Eskimo Joe fame) and songs like Open Up on the album connects the links between the band, the land and indigenous culture.
Whale Song – written by bassist Ant Beard on his grandmother's 100-year old piano – and their tour is being co-presented with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and the band is donating $5 from each merchandising sale to Sea Shepherd.
Time then to let surfer/musician Ant Beard to answer our Famous Elsewhere Songwriters' Questionnaire . . .
The first song which really affected you was . . .
Media – John Butler Trio
Never felt such beauty yet tenacious power in a song until this arrived on my ears.
Your first (possibly embarrassing) role models in music were . . .
Well my first CD I bought was Ja-Rules ‘Livin it Up’. Not sure if he was a role model or just made me feel full gangster
The one songwriter you
will always listen to, even if they disappointed you previously, is?
Dallas Green of City and Colour. I’ve been an avid fan for years now. There’s something in his melodies that really never get old for me.
As songwriters: Lennon-McCartney or Jagger-Richards; kd lang or Katy Perry; Madonna or Michael Jackson; Johnny Cash or Kris Kristofferson?
Lennon-McCartney no doubt
kd lang
MJ, How could you not?
Johnny Cash
The three songs (yours, or by others) you would love everyone to hear because they are well crafted are . . .
Case of You – Joni Mitchell
Home, Land and Sea – Trinity Roots
Shadowlands – Ryan Adams
Melody first? Words or phrase first? Simultaneous?
For me its never set. I’ve had words pop in the surf, and melodies rear their heads all hours of the morning. My philosophy is just to always be ready, whether that’s using a toothbrush as a hammer on the piano strings or just fiddling on the guitar, I try and stay aware of the muse.
The best book on music or musicians you have read is . . .
I’ve been sifting through old Joni Mitchell lyric books and interviews lately that have been super inspiring for me. I’ve always found learning about other people’s processes to be super powerful for my own
If you could co-write with anyone it would be . . .
Glen Hansard of the Frames.
The last CD or vinyl album you bought was . . . (And your most recent downloads include . . .)
Last vinyl was UK producer Bonobo’s new record ‘Migration’. Truly sending music love bombs to my ears, this music always seems to maintain a beautiful sense of reminiscence.
One song, royalties for life, never have to work again. The song by anyone, yourself included, which wouldn't embarrass you would be . . .
Want You Back – Take that
One line (or couplet) from a song -- yours or someone else's -- which you think is just a stone cold winner is . . .
Lover, you should’ve come over – Jeff Buckley
Its never over,
She’s a tear that hangs inside my soul forever,
Songwriting: what's the
ratio of inspiration/perspiration?
5% Inspiration, 95% Perspiration, The inspiration comes in small moments, but the power is truly insane. It keeps the fire burning through the dark times that’s for sure.
Ever had a song come to you fully-formed like it dropped into your lap?
Our latest single ‘Whale Song’ was the quickest I’ve ever had. Most of the song was formed within an hour.
And finally, finish this couplet in any way you like: “Standing at the airport with an empty suitcase at my feet . . .” (You are NOT allowed to rhyme that with “meet” however)
A heart full of memories, played over on repeat
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