Monthly Archives: June 2006

Interview: Fourth Floor Collapse

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Dan Forrestal (Fourth Floor Collapse)
Interview by Leo Abbs

You’ve been away from Perth for a year now. How has it been?
It’s been good. We’ve hooked up with a label, we’ve had good airplay and support for the new album. We’ve settled over here and are set to re-establish the band in the east. It’s been another step up the ladder for us and a big change.

Your new album has been out for a while. How has it been going?
The new album has been going better than the previous two, which is great thing. All the reviews have been really positive. Some have been downright amazing.

Your favourite song on the new Fourth Floor album?
I like all of them to be honest. I enjoy playing Ashes live especially. Can I sneak “This Feels Like…” in there too?
Ashes has real power live. This Feels Like has the powerful simple chorus, then goes into spacey, mind-warping noise that then breaks down. It’s an encapsulation of everything we do. Man, I love them all. Drink til You Drown has the singalong factor and the choir and triple piano bashing of the bridge and Spin the Wheel is another curveball.

Good New bands you’ve discovered in Melbourne?
Some of the standouts have been SubAudible Hum and Redletter. SubAudible Hum have a great new song called Sugarcoat on the radio now and their previous album is hot. Redletter kinda sound a bit like a more lively version of The Church in their atmosphere. Their album ‘Your Planes Fill The Sky’ is excellent and both these bands are great live.

What you miss about Perth?
I don’t so much miss living in the city as I miss the people and I miss having a proper home. I enjoyed it the last time we got back there. It was refreshing.

What are good spots for music fans to check out in Melbourne (shops/venues/etc)?
The Northcote Social Club is a good band room we’ve discovered during our stay. Good sized room that gets great bands come through and we got to play there recently.

Pure Pop Records in St Kilda is a cool little record store. It has an area out the back and on Saturdays they do a barbecue with free beer and an band playing on a tiny little stage. The White Stripes played there on their first tour.

Have you been doing any writing of late?
Yeah, we’ve been re-froming our live band but Rhys, Michael and myself have all been working separately on new songs that will form the best part of the next release. We’ve been hatching evil plans for what will be our make or break masterpiece. It’ll be something special and not just a regular CD. All three of us have worked on writing some b-sides for the singles together too.

What’s your favourite FFC gig that you remember?
Oh, there are a lot of very cool ones. Close to the top is our first album launch at the Octagon Theatre with 6 great bands in an awesome venue. I want to play more theatres, where it isn’t about drinking, it’s about experiencing a band.

The worst FFC gig you remember?
I remember playing on a truck in Northam. The truck had bales of hay on it and we played through the worst PA ever. It was 2 degress outside and the only people watching were a street gang on one side of the road and the drummer’s family on the other.

Who are your favourite bands in Perth?
Karnivool is a perennial fave. I’m digging the new Halogen song. I like The Silents’ single Nightcrawl.
The Fuzz are criminally underrated. And if the new Red Jezebel album is anything near as good as the last it’ll be a cracker.

Favourite CD at the moment?
My favourite album lately has been Neko Case’s ‘Fox Confessor Brings the Flood’,

Tool’s ‘10,000 Days’, Sigur Ros’s “Takk”, Dirty Three’s “Cinder”, Mogwai’s “Mr Beast” and Sufjan Stevens’ “Illinois” have been some of my faves in the last year or so.

Something in the musical world which is annoying you?
The death of inner city venues due to rich people moving in for the nightlife then complaining about the noise. It’s an old problem now but it only takes one person to cpmplain and a venue dies or is crippled. I’d like to cripple those grumpy bastards.

What do FFC have planned for the rest of 2006?
More touring, heading to a few of the more out of the way places, Adelaide, Tasmania, Canberra and the places in between. Then a couple more singles. After that, we get stuck into the next album. With any luck, the form of that album should be something different to what most bands put out.


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New Band Profile:Solarii

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Band Name: Solarii (so-la-ree)


Band Members:
Ben Stout: Vocals, Guitars
Greg Turner : Drums
Kevin O’Sullivan: Bass


Influences:
Including (but by no means limited to:) The Tea Party, Tool, Led Zeppelin, The Mars Volta, Silverchair, Jeff Buckley, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins

Style:
A bit hard to pigeon hole us, but somewhere at extremes within the realm of Alternative /Rock /Acoustic / Folk/Prog…

Where does your band name come from?
The concept of the name is based around our sun (which actually has the astronomical name “Sol”) as a kind of metaphor for music as a whole, as a source of creation/creativity and energy/emotion… (and we just thought the “double i” thing was cool… hehe)


Upcoming gigs:
Saturday 10th June – The Coolbellup Hotel ( w/ Love In An Ambulance, Ura, TBC – Doors open 8pm, free entry)

Sunday 18th June – Swan Basement ( w/ Cypher, Broken April, Milkless Fridge – Doors open 6pm, $6 entry)

Friday 4th August – Swan Basement (details TBC)

Wednesday 16th August – Rosemount Hotel ( w/ Screwtop Detonators, The Bullet Holes, Eve’s Arrival – Doors open 8pm, $4 entry)

Thursday 17th August – Mojo’s Bar (w/ Love In An Ambulance, Nix, Eve’s Arrival, further details TBC)
Website
(under construction): www.solarii.com.au

MP3s:
www.myspace.com/solarii

Contact Details:

Postal: PO Box 857, Fremantle WA 6959
Mb: 0408902543 (Greg)