Subculture Radio Show Ep #107

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Harley.

Speaker 2 (00:00):
Are you looking for new music constantly? Well, look no
further because the Funeral Portrait have just released their Greetings
from Suffocate City From Beyond the Abyss Deluxe Edition, which
is a brand new deluxe edition album from the band,
which is out now via Better Noise Music. I'll get
it out, fantastic.

Speaker 3 (00:21):
What's the Oh, what's in the Deluxe Edition?

Speaker 1 (00:25):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (00:25):
So, basically, this contains twenty four songs, including tracks from
the Casanova EP and From Beyond the Abyss EP, as
well as the recently released versions of Holy Water which
featured Ivan Moody of Five Finger, Death, Punch, Hearst for
You featuring Lilith Zar, and three brand new songs. The
vinyl and CD two dis deluxe package also features twenty

(00:48):
one tracks, of which one of them is also exclusive
to the physical format. So if you want to go
out and grab a very very special version of the
Funeral Portraits classic album, then head right now to the
Better Noise Music website and you'll be able to pick
up this deluxe edition of Greetings from Suffocate City. Hello

(01:19):
and welcome to another episode of Subculture meets the Popcorn Conspiracy.
I'm Dave g and joining me right now is Harley.
Welcome mate, Thank you, Dave.

Speaker 3 (01:28):
Welcome back everyone listening as well. It's good to have
you all back. And yeah, we've got a choc a
block episode to jump right in. What's going on, Dave?

Speaker 2 (01:38):
What have we got right? So I'm going to review
the brand new Superman movie. Kyle's got to join me
as well, and we're going to review Megan two point
zero and then we've got a lot of music on
today's show as well. We're going to chat to a
brand new band called Ouri, who are actually two of
the members of Nightwish have joined together with this absolutely

(02:00):
amazing singer to bring Ouri, so we're going to chat
to them a little bit later on as well. I'm
going to chat to an amazing independent filmmaker in from America,
col Vivian, who's got a brand new movie out called Scrap,
so we're going to talk to her about that. We're
also going to talk to the guys from the Brisbane

(02:21):
band Snake Bite Whiskey, who are doing absolutely massive things
at the moment. They're about to go over to America
and play at one of the biggest musical festivals that
there is for the rock genre and talking of rock music, Holly,
We've got a big interview today. We're actually gonna We're
going to chat to the members of the Alice Cooper

(02:41):
group because the original Alice Cooper Band are back together
for a new album which is just absolutely sensational, and
we've got permission to sit down with the bands this
week and chat to them about the new album. So,
and I gotta say it's one of the cheekiest interviews
I've ever done. I don't think I've ever met a

(03:02):
band that is so cheeky and willing to make fun
of each other during an interview like these guys are.
So it'll give us a really good insight into how
the original Alice Cooper band has come back together again.

Speaker 3 (03:15):
So prepare to be entertained today.

Speaker 2 (03:19):
Yeah, but let's just jump straight into it. We're going
to play a couple of tracks at the moment, and
one is a fan request because we were playing around
with the music of ouri In on Discord on our
subculture entertainment channel this week and someone said, you know what,
their singer sounds a lot like Meryl Bainbridge, like the
singer from the early two thousands here in Australia, and

(03:43):
they said, Hey, we actually haven't heard Meryl Bainbridge for
a long time. Can you play some of our music
on the show this week? So we're going to kick
off the show today with under the Water by Meryl Bainbridge,
and then we're going to play Hate to Tell You
I Told You So by the Hives, because the Hives
have just announced in the Stream and Tour. So let's
jump let's jump straight into it with under the Water

(04:04):
by Narrow bay Bridge.

Speaker 4 (04:09):
I got confused when I'm tired. But the last time
I saw you.

Speaker 5 (04:15):
Mirror in a room where sun shine in my eyes
and water on the floor.

Speaker 6 (04:23):
I watched you someway take me with you. A long
time ago. You were walking around, your going.

Speaker 4 (04:42):
Around in the garden and the gardener.

Speaker 6 (04:46):
I saw you turn around and still your turn around
my eyes and plant tricks on me.

Speaker 4 (04:53):
How I miss you.

Speaker 7 (04:55):
I will be a love chained down the water.

Speaker 8 (05:00):
Under the water, I could be standing on a ladder
to make it easier, to make easier.

Speaker 6 (05:13):
Your eyes of colored stone, You've got a hearing through
your notes.

Speaker 4 (05:17):
Your chains are made of gold.

Speaker 6 (05:20):
I don't think they would flood.

Speaker 4 (05:23):
Loading is what you do.

Speaker 9 (05:28):
That is beautiful, That is.

Speaker 7 (05:31):
You I gonna be a lot of chain under the water.
Under the water, I could be.

Speaker 10 (05:41):
Swimming up to save you no one now saved to
make easier.

Speaker 11 (05:51):
Happy.

Speaker 4 (06:01):
I couldn't stand.

Speaker 11 (06:09):
I'm gonna be every chain water.

Speaker 10 (06:17):
I couldn't be standing on later stand to make easier,
to make easier, I.

Speaker 11 (06:27):
Could be a shame water.

Speaker 4 (06:36):
I couldn't be swimming out to saying.

Speaker 12 (06:38):
In child have saved to make easier. I could be
doing the chain.

Speaker 4 (06:49):
Water code, swimming.

Speaker 7 (06:55):
Out to say that the sun and the same to
make easy.

Speaker 4 (07:04):
Movie had a chain.

Speaker 11 (07:07):
Of movie sending.

Speaker 7 (07:14):
A lot to make easy mos to make easy.

Speaker 13 (07:25):
Chain because I don't but don't because I want big

(08:02):
god by the step fan the board, because I'm gona
better retrieve because I get a received, because I wanna.

Speaker 4 (08:15):
Gonna get through your head what the mister I said.
Because I'm gonna.

Speaker 7 (08:23):
Said, told you.

Speaker 11 (08:25):
So much, come on, told you so.

Speaker 4 (08:39):
Now it's allowing you know, because I wanted to.

Speaker 14 (08:47):
Do.

Speaker 4 (08:47):
I'm back on the rock that's the pane and the
bar because I'm gone no me ball me do way
because i wanna.

Speaker 15 (09:01):
No need to.

Speaker 4 (09:04):
Lay, because I'm gonna.

Speaker 11 (09:11):
Told you.

Speaker 7 (09:15):
Come home, told you so.

Speaker 13 (09:41):
Do you wanna please gonna spread the disease because.

Speaker 9 (09:44):
I wanna.

Speaker 13 (09:47):
Gonna go all the shots of the Nose and the Niles,
because I.

Speaker 11 (09:51):
Want to.

Speaker 2 (10:15):
And welcome back to the show. Well, now I want
to take a look at one of the most eagerly
anticipated movies of this year, James Gunn's Superman. Now, I
have to say I had some reservations before going into
this film. I was excited because, as many of you
will probably remember, earlier this year, I got the opportunity
to interview James Gunn about the film and got some

(10:37):
of the inside information about what we might expect to
see in this film, and I was excited to know
that characters like Crypto we're going to get a run
in this film. But I was still a little bit
worried because I've got a love hate relationship with James
Gunn's movies in that I loved the early Guardian into

(11:00):
the Galaxy movies, but I really didn't like what he
did with the Suicide Squad. I thought the original Suicide
Squad movie was actually a fairly decent film, and I
know I'm in the minority there, but I loved the
director's cut of it, and I couldn't believe that James
Gunn had gone so far away from the original film

(11:22):
with his version of the Suicide Squad. Now, when we
did our interview, he talked a little bit about rebooting
the DC universe, and I guess I didn't really think
that he'd be rebooting what he had done with the
DC universe as well, but that becomes very obvious in
this film with Rick Flagg returning, So I guess that

(11:49):
I'm not going to go into too much spoiler territory
for people out there, but I guess that to me
was the was kind of the message that this was
a reboot. But then at the same time, Peacemaker makes
a cameo that's not a spoiler by the way. It's
like a brief blink and you miss it cameo at
one point, So I was kind of thinking, well, okay,

(12:10):
that kind of messes that up a little bit, unless
you're going to get the same actor playing Peacemaker this
time around, because it's a different actor playing rip Flake anyway,
moving on, So I wasn't one hundred essential what to
expect from from this Superman. When we did the interview
with James Gunn, he talked a lot about wanting to

(12:33):
show a softer side to Superman. It kind of felt
like he's had the same problem that I've had with
Superman as a character over the years, where the guy
is basically invincible and then somebody's got kryptonite. So for
a lot of the times when you're watching the movies,
there's not a lot of suspense there because you know
Superman's going to find a way out of whatever is happening,

(12:56):
and you don't really feel a threat to him at all.
So I was kind of pleasantly surprised when and I
was also worried that this was going to become another
origin story that basically we were going to see the
whole baby landing in Kansas kind of and rescued by

(13:17):
the Kent's storyline again. But it's really funny, like I
really like the way James Gunn handles that origin story
in this. It kind of starts with the with the
lie thirty years ago, three decades ago, a boy arrived
on Earth, he was rescued. Three years ago, Superman was
announced to the world, and then it starts to starts

(13:41):
to to basically count down to three hours earlier and
Superman has been defeated in a fight for the first time,
and we see a bloodied Superman land on the ice
asking Crypto for help. That to me is a really

(14:04):
stuck kind of contrast to what we normally see to
what we normally see Superman as So to me, that
really really that really worked for me as a as
a different way of setting up Superman. Now the plot
here from there becomes a lot deeper. Of course, Superman

(14:27):
here is played by David currn Sweat, and we soon
learned that this this battle that has happened was the
brainchild of Lex luthor Nicholas Holt, who's created a couple
of characters that he believes can take down Superman. From there,

(14:48):
we're introduced to Superman's everyday life, i e. Clark Kent
working at the Daily Planet alongside Lois Lane played by
Rachel Brosnahan, and they are already together, so there's no
need to do the whole will they won't they kind
of storyline with Clark and Lewis. They're already together. And
of course he also works alongside Jimmy Olsen played by

(15:10):
a Skyla Gisondo, who does an amazing job in this
film as well. And I hope they do more with
his character, and then we learn that Superman has just
done something that the world is kind of divided about.
He stopped the war between two countries, and people in
the public seem to be split on that. They seem

(15:33):
to be okay with him rescuing old ladies from being
hit by buses, but not okay with him stepping in
to stop a war from starting. And Lex is really
piling on that of yeah, look at this guy. He's
actually here to take over the world. He wants to
control what happens on our planet and things like that,

(15:54):
and he shouldn't be doing that. So from there we
learn Lex's plan and it is basically up to Lois,
Jimmy and Clark slash Superman to stop it. Now, some
other characters do come in, but I do not want
to ruin those for people going to see the film.
But again, I'm kind of impressed what Gun has done here.

(16:20):
He has gone for characters that perhaps you wouldn't expect.
They're not exactly characters that that you would expect to
see so early in a DC film. I guess I
can say that group together they call themselves the Justice Gang, and.

Speaker 1 (16:43):
It works.

Speaker 2 (16:45):
I have to admit that one of the characters that
appears here. At first, I was a little bit surprised
with what Guan had done with that character, and I
was thinking, please don't tell me he's gone the whole
comedy route with this character, because that was one of
my fears with Superman, was that Gun would go the
comedy route and try and be getting laughs absolutely everywhere.

(17:07):
But to his credit, he kind of doesn't. There's some
there are some moments in here where there's a couple
of laughs, but for the most part, this is a
fairly serious film. Now, there are some lighthearted moments in there,
like when you meet the the Superman robots at the
start and you realize that the Alan Twittck robot Gary

(17:31):
is kind of funny. But for the most part, this
becomes a story about Superman's role on Earth basically. It also,
I guess, does touch a little bit on some political
things as well as it kind of looks like as

(17:52):
it kind of explores, well, what does Clark slash Superman
have to do to prove that he's not an alien?
That he is part of is part of America, It
is part of Metropolis, Like there's a there's a whole
thing about that as well, because it feels like that's

(18:12):
Lex's go to with why Superman shouldn't be there, is
that he's not from here, so he shouldn't be here.
So I guess it does. But again, that's not an
overbearing thing. It's not something that you walk out of going,
oh my goodness, why did they make such a political movie.
It's not like that at all. Look, this is a
big action set piece. There are multiple battles involving Superman.

(18:36):
I can tell you that without going into spoilers. Again,
the way they are done that they're kind of split up.
It's not done so that it's just like one big
egotistical action set piece kind of thing. They're spread out
throughout the movie as Lex tries different things, and and

(18:58):
to be honest, even the the final battle here and
I'm not going to say who Superman is fighting in
that final battle because that would be a spoiler, but
even that works. And the idea that Les has set
up multiple things to happen at the same time means
that you're kind of thinking, how can Superman do this,

(19:20):
which is why having some other characters from the DC
universe in there works really well. And that's handled really
well too. I've got to say in the film, Yeah,
going back to what I was saying before, one of
the characters that appears as part of the Justice Gang,
it's he is kind of comedic at the start, but

(19:42):
you get used to it and realize that's just part
of his personality. He's kind of a wise, cracking kind
of character. So yeah, it don't be put off by
that character at the start. It is very as a
very different betrayal to how we've seen that character played
before on I've got to be so careful how I

(20:05):
say this, because it's not even completely clear that that
he is that character, that it's the character that we've
seen before. It may well be someone that's just looped
in to that organization. So I've got to be so
careful with what I say here because I so don't
want to ruin it for you guys. I was lucky
enough to see it at a premiere, and I don't

(20:25):
want to ruin it for people that haven't seen it.
But I did like the fact that Gun has brought
in characters that perhaps we wouldn't expect to see so
early on. I'm sure everybody's going to be thinking that
it's going to be one of the Big Three, or
maybe a character that that's already had a television show
made about them. So I'm kind of glad that that

(20:47):
Gun's actually has has kept his cards close to his chest,
first of all to surprise us, but also at the
same time brought in three characters that you probably wouldn't expect,
and I've got to say, the way that they are
played by their by the actors playing them, I hope

(21:09):
we see more of them. We also have another reveal
later on in the movie of another character from the
DC universe as well, and I hope that we see
more of her as well, because she was kind of
set up in a really good way. But look, I
did really like this film. I've got to say, I
wasn't expecting, I think, to like it as much as

(21:31):
I did. When it comes to Superman as a character,
of course, I grew up watching Superman as as a
character from the Christopher Reeve movies, and then of course
the Brandon Roath movie, and then of course that we
had Lewis and Clark on television, and then when I
was a bit older, I absolutely fell in love with Smallville.

(21:52):
So I guess For me, Tom Welling is almost my
favorite Superman, even though people say, oh, well, he wasn't
really Superman. And I do feel for David corn Sweat
here as well, because he's feeling some pretty big boots here.
Like if you think about the history of Superman on

(22:15):
the screen, it's been a kind of an interesting ride
along the way because of course everybody has their perennial
favorite with Christopher Reeve, and a lot of people loved
Brandon Earth and a lot of people felt that it
was kind of unfair what happened to him, And also
a lot of people loved Henry Cavill in the role

(22:36):
as well, so a lot of people have been kind
of angry that Henry Cavell's been replaced. But David corn
Sweat I think does a great job. He kind of
almost makes Superman his own. There's a lot more vulnerability there,
Like I mentioned before, with the seeing Superman injured and
losing a battle, I think that actually adds to the
storyline here. Also, I think having Crypto there is a

(23:02):
big plus as well. You almost wonder whether that's going
to make this more of a family film, But there
is some violence in there. In fact, I should warn parents.
Last night at the premiere, there was a father sitting
next to me who had brought a small child, and
the small child ended up in tears. At one point,

(23:22):
Let's shoot somebody in the head, and while it's not
shown as graphically as say a Rambo movie or something
like that, it is probably pretty graphic. And this little
boy started crying and had to leave the cinema. So
I am warning parents out there that this Superman is
not for families. Just because Crypto is in it does
not make this a film for families. And I think

(23:44):
if you are a dog lover, you're going to get
more out of this because you'll understand that relationship between
Superman and Crypto. There's a real john Wick moment in
this where Lex takes Crypto and let's just say Superman
makes him wish that he hadn't. So yeah, there is
a bit of a john Wick moment in there. But look,
I did really like what they did with this movie.

(24:05):
Nicholas Holt is fantastic as Lex Luthor. I do hope
that down the track we might see him again. I
would like to see them make a Superman movie without Lex,
though there are other villains that you can bring in,
so yeah, but Nicholas Holt did such a good job
that you hope that you do see him down the track.
The same with the other characters in Clark's world here

(24:29):
as well. Skyler just does a great job as Jimmy Olsen,
Rachel Brusson at Nayan does a great job as Lois Lane.
But hopefully with Will, I'm sure we're pretty sure that
we'll see Jimmy and Lowis back in any more Superman movies.
But look, this movie is a great start to Gun's
DC world. I guess my takeaway from it is and

(24:52):
I'm glad that we're going to get to see Gun
probably bring in some lesser known DC characters, which I
guess he did in a way with Marvel as well,
because I'm sure when people saw him first start out
in Marvel, they weren't expecting the Guardians of the Galaxy
to become as big as what they were because they
were kind of an obscure character characters in the Marvel universe.

(25:15):
He's done that again here and done it in such
a way that I wouldn't mind if any of those
characters that he introduces here had a spin off movie.
But look, I really did enjoy Superman. Good story, great
setup by gun for what is basically an episode one
of his DC universe, even though as I said before,

(25:35):
he has done some DC stuff before he's even rebooted that,
so I can't wait to see where this goes. I'm
actually gonna give this film four out of five. I
did really enjoy Superman. It does have a general release,
so make sure you check your local cinema guy to
see where Superman is playing. But four out of five
for me.

Speaker 9 (25:57):
I can't stand to fly. I'm not dead night.

Speaker 16 (26:06):
I'm just to fine the better part of me. How
more than a bad how more than a.

Speaker 17 (26:17):
Plane, more than some prettifice beside a train, And it's
nat ees sup be he me.

Speaker 2 (26:32):
I wish they had.

Speaker 4 (26:33):
I could cry, fall upon my knees.

Speaker 18 (26:41):
Find no way to lie about a home I'll never see.
It may sound absurd, but something I even hear us
held the rods to bleed. I maybe disturb, Oh won't
You can see either hear us have the rots to dream.

Speaker 9 (27:07):
And it's not easy to be he.

Speaker 7 (27:16):
A brock care w drom me. When it's all rise,
you can all.

Speaker 4 (27:25):
Sleep sound into night.

Speaker 7 (27:28):
I'm not crashing.

Speaker 9 (27:33):
Or anything. I can't stand to fly. I'm not that night.

Speaker 18 (27:45):
Men want Man's arive with Clod's bed, sweeten their knees.

Speaker 11 (27:52):
I'm a lady, a p.

Speaker 9 (27:55):
A sill, a rat sheet.

Speaker 4 (27:57):
Then brock Cripton died.

Speaker 9 (28:00):
There's one Westreet, only.

Speaker 18 (28:03):
The puny red shoes looking for special things, Sady inside.

Speaker 4 (28:14):
Beside inside.

Speaker 7 (28:24):
Side of.

Speaker 11 (28:28):
The fully a man, the food and red ship man
looking for country at a man and.

Speaker 19 (28:39):
The body, red set.

Speaker 9 (28:41):
And it's not said, It's not easy.

Speaker 14 (28:53):
To be.

Speaker 1 (28:57):
Me.

Speaker 2 (29:18):
And now we're going to take a look at Megan
two point zero, the follow up from the film three
years ago Megan, which there came a little bit of
a cult classic when it came out. Now, Megan two
point zero, i'd have to say from the start is
a very very different film. Yes, it's got the same
characters and it basically revolves around Gemma played by Alison

(29:40):
Williams and Katie played by Violent McGraw. Now they've tried
to move on from the events of the first movie,
which of course saw Gemma create Megan played by Jenna
Davis and Amy Donald, and she's tried to move on
from the fact that she created a psychotic robot when

(30:02):
on a murdersprey. Basically, her life is very different now.
Her company is failing, although she's still trying to work
on AI technology, but she's also become a spokesperson for
or an advocate for people not allowing kids to have
too much screen time and stuff like that. It almost
feels like the writers of the film are like, can

(30:25):
we kind of put her in the middle the best
way that we can? But her life goes changes once
again when another killer robot starts another murdispree. Amelia is
played by Evana Sakano, is released out into the military

(30:46):
to go and do a job. However, it fails after
she kills the target that she's supposed to be rescuing,
and it soon realized that she actually has an agenda
of her own. At the same time, Gemma finds us
self coming up against Appleton played by Jermaine Clement, who
wants to fund her projects, but she disagrees with the

(31:07):
way that she's going about it. Soon, Gemma finds herself
being blamed for the brand new robot and finds the
FBI and CIA coming for her. Now it's up to
her to try and team up with Megan once again
and try and save the day while nobody believes her.

(31:29):
Even saying it sounds absolutely ridiculous. It's like this was
basically a movie. The original movie was basically a female Chucky,
and now we're talking about international espionage and war games
and stuff like that. Kyle, what did you think of
Megan two points zero.

Speaker 20 (31:46):
I'll be honest, I actually liked it. I think it
probably has to do with more that I really didn't like.

Speaker 2 (31:54):
I have to do a Margaret Pomerance.

Speaker 20 (31:56):
YEA, really, David, I did.

Speaker 21 (32:00):
I liked it.

Speaker 20 (32:02):
Because I really didn't like the original movie, and I
actually forgot how much I disliked the original movie until
recently when I rewatched the Blu ray before going to
see this one. This kind of goes in the James
I keep mentioning James Cameron, but this goes into like
the James Cameron way of making sequels to horror movies

(32:25):
with Alien and Terminator, where the first one is a
straight horror movie or whatever slash the kind of film,
and the second one is a huge action blockbuster. And
that's what Megan two point zero is. It takes the
setup of the original movie and goes in a very, very,

(32:46):
very different direction with it, and I think that I
actually really enjoyed it a lot more because this movie
was actually this one was written and directed by I'm
trying to the trying to get the fellow's name, John

(33:10):
Johnstone was. His last name is Johnstone, and the first
one was actually the story was, Oh God on mind,
I'm terrible with names.

Speaker 14 (33:20):
The moment.

Speaker 20 (33:23):
The saw guy James One, Yeah, James one, Yeah, James One.
And Akayla Cooper wrote the story and the screenplay of
the first movie. I actually really enjoyed this version of
this movie written by Gerard Johnstone so much more. And
I don't know if that has to do with just

(33:44):
his way of presenting the characters and the story. I
think so much of what didn't land personally, I think
so much of what didn't land in the first movie,
the gags and the characters I think actually worked a
little bit better in this one, even though it's a
very different type of movie. But I under I know
that I'm gonna be in the I will probably be

(34:06):
in the minority here, and I think it has a
lot to do with because I didn't like the first movie.
I actually thought this one was a lot better.

Speaker 2 (34:13):
I think you're actually in the majority, because most people
seem to have loved this one. I think I'm in
the because I really didn't like this one, and having
said that, I wasn't a great fan of the first
one either, and I made them, which kind of surprised
me because I do normally like creepy doll movies, like
I love Annabel and I love things like Orphan and

(34:35):
stuff like that, and even some of the B grade
films that have come out over the years, I've loved
them as well. But this one, to me, it just
the writing was real. I felt the writing was so
lazy with this film. It's like even as I said,
with the character of Gemma, it's like, and I've noticed
this a little bit with AI movies recently, where it's
like people who write AI movies at the moment seem

(34:58):
to be trying to be really careful like that they
they like with Companion, it was like, oh, we better
kind of make it that that there's a aside to
the AI that you're going to white. And then there
was another movie, Afraid as well with John Choll that
again it felt like the writer wanted to make it

(35:19):
an anti AI movie and like, but in doing so
kind of wrap the story because it's like, well, hang
on a minute, what you You didn't want it to
protect the person that she was supposed to protect at
that time, Whereas with this movie, it feels like they're
trying to go right down the middle, where it's like
and even characters in this flip and change with their

(35:40):
views on AI, Like You've got this one character and
I'm trying not to spoil this, but at times in
the movie he seems anti AI, and then all the
big reveal is no, no, no, he's actually really pro
AI and he's evil. But it's like stuff like that
all the way through it, Like Gemma as a character

(36:01):
doesn't make sense anymore. So she is, Oh, no, you
shouldn't be exposing your kids to this. And I did
the wrong thing by creating this robot to protect to
protect Katie, but oh no, no, I'm building other AI.

Speaker 1 (36:18):
I do.

Speaker 2 (36:18):
I've learnt from my mistakes. And it was and then
there was time throughout the movie where it was like,
oh so this just happened. Oh no, it didn't this,
and it's like it was just really lazy writing. I
remember watching Josh Whedon talk about Buffy once and he
was saying one of the things that he loved about
writing in the sci fi fantasy realm was that you

(36:40):
can have things like bring characters back from the dead
and stuff like that, but he said, you have to
do it in a believable way rouse your audience will
just be like that is ridiculous. And that's what I
found I was doing all through this movie, where it
was like, oh, Megan can now do this, and it's
like it just I don't know, Like I love robot movies,

(37:02):
like I love Terminator and stuff like that, and even Chappy,
like I thought there was there was moments in Chappy
that work, but with this it just got really really frustrating,
and like I was expecting it to be another horror.
So when the first bit started and it was like
something out of La Femna Kita, I was like, what
on earth is happening here? And like I love I'm

(37:25):
someone who really really enjoys kind of like trashy, over
the top fun like I loved Guns of Kimbo, I
loved Boy Kiell's World and stuff like that, but even
this one was even over the top, too over the
top for me. Even it was like there was no plausibility.
I just completely I don't know, like there was moments

(37:46):
I laughed. I agree with you, there was laughs and
stuff in there, but there was just moments in this
where I was like, this is some of the laziest
screenwriting I think I've ever seen on a screen before. Well,
that's the thing.

Speaker 20 (37:58):
I feel like, you've got to rewatch the first movie
just to appreciate how bad that one was. Like, I
really do think that this one. Maybe it is the
genre shift or I'm not sure, but because like the
first movie, all the way through it, there was just
like no logic to any I guess like the plot

(38:21):
being really lazy and the writing being really lazy is
kind of part of the course. But I felt like
on a technological level, yeah, this movie they throw a
bunch of the a bs at technobabble stuff that none
of it makes any sense, and Okay, how can this
carric how can this robot do these things? But it's

(38:43):
like the first movie did that as well, but it
was more that the just the world itself made no sense.
The idea that you had this toy company I think
was called Funky, which apparently this Gemma made like they're
supposed to be like this conglomerateive toy company and Gemma

(39:05):
making this Megan doll which pushes technology and AI way
past anything else that exists anywhere in the world. And
she spends like only one hundred thousand dollars on it,
and that's supposed to be a massive amount of money
for this this conglomerate company. The CEO of the company
was just this really greating character that every It's kind

(39:31):
of what like and what a young screenwriter thinks the
CEO of a movie of a company is. It's kind
of the same thing of what we were just talking
about with the movie Formula one, the way that you've
got this like billionaire potential billionaire character and you actually
like him, whereas in like every movie it's almost like, no,

(39:51):
you're not supposed to like the guy who has money.

Speaker 2 (39:56):
Megan. Two.

Speaker 20 (39:57):
It is really kind of on the same level of
you've got the Jermaine Clement character, who is another billionaire
prick of a character, but I just think that he
worked so much better. Like to just compare it, like
the character of that CEO Prick character in the first
movie to the CEO of Prick character in this movie.

(40:19):
I just think that in this one it worked much
better and it was just a lot more fun and
a more funny kind of character, probably because it gets
killed so quickly. Because it gets killed so quickly, and
he doesn't like stick around for the entire movie, just
stinking up the stinking up the whole film. I think

(40:41):
that it was an issue that the first movie had,
was it was supposed to be a lot more of
an R rated film, and then they decided, no, we're
going to dumb it down and make it a make
it a PG thirteen kind of thing to appeal to
appeal to the masses. To be honest, it worked because
that movie, on like a twelve million dollar budget, made

(41:02):
like one hundred and eighty million back. Yeah, And the
movie The Child's Play Remake, which came out a couple
of years earlier, basically the exact same story. It's another
movie about a doll best trend that has an AI
that tells it basically to kill people to protect this kid.
That made like forty million or something, and that had

(41:27):
the violence, it had the comedy, But I don't know
just that. Basically, I think the reason that I like
I think the reason that I liked this movie so
much was because it basically it just took took the characters,
did something completely different with them and took the took
the ideas from the first one and just did something
a little bit more interesting with them than what was

(41:49):
accomplished last time.

Speaker 2 (41:51):
Yeah, Like I remember when I saw the first film.
I saw it in the same week because of the
way that we have this thing here in Australia where
some films get released like a while after they get
released in America affair a small film. I remember I
saw Meghan the same week that I watched Brahms The
Boy Too, And it was like Brahms was a movie

(42:13):
that most people wouldn't even know existed, But I liked
it so much better than Megan because I found plot
holes in the first Megan movie and those same plot
holes are back in this film. But it's like I
think I said to you last night after the film,
to quote a milk ad Here in Australia, I just

(42:36):
want my horror to be genuine horror, like they've kind
of marketed Megan two point zero in that oh it's
a horror again. So I was kind of expecting like
an Annabel two or a Brahms the boy to kind
of style film, whereas it was a like an over
the top camp actually my film, Yeah, that wasn't very good,

(43:02):
but it was like, yeah, it was like that. They
I found that they couldn't even settle on a genre,
Like for all of the faults that I found with
Afraid as an AI movie, with the fact that I
still can't work out why the people that created the
robot were then angry when it defended the daughter, which

(43:24):
was what it was supposed to do. Even with that fault,
I still found that to be a better movie because
at least it tackled some of the problems that you
do have with AI, like which I think Megan tries
to make the same point but does it clumsily, where
they try to make the point of well, AI will
really only do what you've programmed it to do. And

(43:45):
I know, like I said in Afraid, they've programmed the
AI to protect the children, but they don't think of
what's gonna happen for her to protect the children, so
you end up with with someone getting killed. Yeah, And
I think they try to do that in Megan, but

(44:05):
it's like it becomes such a convoluted plot and then
by the end of it, it's like you've got Gemma
in this at the start saying, oh, never create a
doll to protect my child again, like my child is tough,
and then by the.

Speaker 20 (44:20):
End of it, well, well I've created her.

Speaker 2 (44:23):
Ten minutes later she's talking about how I'm going to
put this chip in it because I needed to protect myself.
It's like that, And that's why I meant by the
characters flip flopping like it just wasn't it just wasn't realistic,
Like we talked about politicians when they flip flop and
change their mind about a thing, and it can be
a career killer, whereas in this movie people kind of
celebrate it where it's like, oh no, that's all right. Yeah,

(44:46):
As you can probably tell, it really really annoyed me that,
Like I.

Speaker 20 (44:51):
Said, I think because it was just a silly action.
It was going follow on silly action. That kind of
stuff didn't bother me as much as it was kind
of it's one of those movies where like the first movie,
it's one of those sequels where it's like the first movie,

(45:12):
I actually had a lot of problems with. But then
just because of the style that they went for in
the sequel, I actually really enjoyed it.

Speaker 1 (45:22):
Like.

Speaker 20 (45:24):
Happy death Day and Happy death Day to you. Happy
Death Day to You was kind of more like this
time travel, I mean never deal in time travel. But
the second one, like it really had a lot more
it paid a lot more tribute to it homages than
the first one did.

Speaker 9 (45:41):
And then like, yeah, just.

Speaker 20 (45:45):
God, they just escaped me. There was another movie that
basically did the exact same thing where just like this
second time around, I it just makes me there's something
about it, just the way that they actually go about
it made me enjoy it a lot more, I think
because it was just silly, because it was just an
action film, Like it didn't bother me about about like

(46:08):
how bad the characters were. That was a quiet place,
a quiet place like I would say that the first
movie might even be like kind of a better movie.
It's a lot quieter, it's a lot more subtle. But
the second movie. The pacing of that second movie, because
it's you You're the first movie that the how slow

(46:32):
the movie is makes you kind of realize just how
little sense anything in it makes. The second movie been
a lot faster, a lot more action based. By the
time you're thinking, wait, that doesn't make sense, You've already
moved on to the next action scene. I think in
that way this movie worked a bit better than the
first one. But at the same time I understand it.

(46:53):
It's not a great movie. It's just one that I think.
I like Amelily. I thought that the whole character of
Amelia could have worked a lot better. There's a lot
of stuff to this movie that I think could have
been done a lot better. Although at the same time,
I like the way that the kind of the film's
villain at one point makes note of I'm gonna have

(47:16):
to kill Jemma's assistance, her helpers, and I was like,
I don't know what exactly they do, and it's like
it's a joke because like in the first movie, you
don't know what exactly they do. It's because of just
how badly written the first movie is. At least this
one's kind of making fun of that. And so in
that way, I kind of I liked it. It's not
a great movie. It's still not a great movie, but

(47:37):
there's just something about this one I think that just
made it work a little bit better for me.

Speaker 2 (47:41):
Yeah, Like I found myself asking questions at times like
is this trying to parody action movies like the Again,
I'm trying not to go into spoiler territory, but there's
one point in this where a character accidentally chloroforms himself
and you think, well, okay, so you know he's gonna
be in the roof and he's gonna be the hero
like kind of thing. It's like, but it's almost like

(48:02):
a parody like if you were watching us like scary movie,
Like it's that's the kind of thing that would happen
in scary movie, Like you have a character apps that
accidentally chloroform themselves kind of thing. But like the thing
like if I went into this expecting it to be
an over the top action film, I think I would
have been alright with that. It was more the fact

(48:24):
that to me, it felt like there was just too
many lazy moments in this, like I said before, where
it's like, oh no, now she can do that. It's
like with no setup or build up to it kind
of thing. So, like I said, I do like over
the top films, like I love Guns of Kimbo, and

(48:44):
it's like, basically all you need to know about that
movie is it's it's Daniel Radcliffe with guns strategies. But
it's like that movie doesn't try to be anything else,
whereas this film, to me, it feels like they're trying
to make a statement about AI, but they're flip flopping
as much as what their characters do as well, because

(49:05):
it's like it is it's a weird time that we
live in at the moment where like, like me, you
probably grew up where every movie that featured AI they
were evil, like except for probably Short Circuit, Yeah, and
that was that was kind of like a twist on
it that, Yeah, Whereas at the moment they're kind of
going through this weird moment where it's like, well, we
can't really say that AI is evil anymore because we're

(49:28):
using AI to make this movie. Yeah, So it's it's
weird in that sense. But yeah, this movie to me,
it just it it was just it was like for me,
it was just too lazy and too many characters that
that didn't make sense in the end. So what are
you going to give this one out of five?

Speaker 20 (49:49):
And why I'm going to probably give this from three
and a half out of five. Just it's it crosses
into that it's not quite to the level of Happy
Day Day and Happy Death Day to you or a
Quiet Place Chapter two or whatever the second one was
called where I liked the second one so much that

(50:11):
it makes me completely reevaluate the first movie and see
it just kind of like a continuation of it and
make me like it. The first movie of this, I
still hate it, but there's just something about the way
that the genre shift on this. It's no, it's no
Terminator too, it's no Aliens, But something about the genre
shift on this and the change in screenwriters I think

(50:35):
did really make it entertaining to me. I was laughing
all the way through it. It's just a part with
Jamaine Clement in a wheelchair at the start. Just the
fact that like it was full on comedy stuff and
it was just hilarious to see. Yeah, yeah, and that
was funny. And then like but like the same thing

(50:56):
in the first movie. They had the CEO character who
was just obnoxious, and it was like, this isn't funny,
it's just annoying. It makes me want to like makes
me not want to watch the movie, you know.

Speaker 1 (51:06):
Yeah.

Speaker 20 (51:07):
But anyway, so for that, I'm going to give a
three and a half out of five. I know, it's
it's a hard set. Like I'm not going to say
it's a better movie than it actually is, but I
definitely enjoyed it a lot more than the first one.

Speaker 2 (51:19):
Yeah, I'm actually going to give it two out of five.
I really didn't like it. It's one of those movies
where it's like, probably the only time I'd ever watched
it is to laugh at it. So yeah, I'm going
to give it two out of five. I just thought
it's really lazy with the with the plot holes and
stuff that's in it, and yeah, I just just I

(51:41):
don't like that moment where I don't like those moments
in a movie where it's like, haha, I could do this,
Like those moments just really annoy me. I just think
it's it's pretty lazy.

Speaker 20 (51:52):
We can look forward to a Soulmate I think comes
out early next year that's kind of the spit another
spin off of the Megan franchise. Yeah, yeah, this one
dealing with a love love botch. So whether it's doing
the whole companion thing, yeah, I don't know. We'll see.

Speaker 2 (52:08):
Look, I just think stick if you want to watch
a serious movie that kind of touches on the same topics.
Don't watch Upgrade or something like that, like.

Speaker 20 (52:15):
The which this movie felt like a ripped off at
one point.

Speaker 2 (52:19):
And Blumhouse stick to horror. Please. You guys do that
pretty well, so please stick to that upgrade, wasn't it?

Speaker 20 (52:25):
It was a Blumhouse one. It kind of makes me
think this movie is ripping off itself. Blmhouse ripping off.

Speaker 2 (52:33):
So Kyle, you gave this one three and a half
and I'm giving it two out of five. Go along,
make up your own mind. It is a general release,
so go and check a cinemat and thee.

Speaker 11 (53:03):
Very like a fir.

Speaker 1 (53:08):
Mm hmm.

Speaker 11 (53:29):
Bose I did again.

Speaker 7 (53:34):
Goden lost in this game.

Speaker 11 (53:37):
Of bad.

Speaker 7 (53:39):
Movie think that I'm saying I'm not.

Speaker 21 (53:46):
That and said.

Speaker 14 (53:53):
It was.

Speaker 22 (54:20):
You find you like a fra.

Speaker 4 (55:00):
First sight day.

Speaker 10 (55:02):
We're coming you to admins, Hey's to the King of
the sky stone in your heart.

Speaker 21 (55:14):
Each day.

Speaker 23 (55:15):
After two expansions, I ran I kissed twenty das job
if there's a dream and he would sell the dreamer
unto shoo show up in Sandence ecusions, leasure to the bed.

Speaker 4 (55:34):
This where can you lead? When the earth being comes.

Speaker 2 (55:39):
The sun and.

Speaker 4 (55:42):
The god you pull you under all that Shenooa to
a sun, the child re bove.

Speaker 10 (55:52):
Swell Little is made when you felt post married as
side as the summary that the press contest God, there's
still joy bad conserve to catch suns but still not.

Speaker 9 (56:18):
A dream.

Speaker 24 (56:26):
Now that you know that you don't keep it and
shing still the Barty goes from the stars aligned for you,
and wouldn't.

Speaker 7 (56:36):
They take him off? Be very much.

Speaker 4 (56:38):
Shouts like I still be kept for fun, be cad
on home a speed and hidden dream.

Speaker 10 (56:46):
Good You're smile the shelves of from the tear breed point.

Speaker 24 (56:51):
The pretty sure guard swells a policy and there's reachohna
this week go seek at the north side.

Speaker 4 (57:02):
Between the older dogs the stream big.

Speaker 10 (57:08):
Sheep, you chew be hoo hook and wish to tell
the man come traveling, then cleve swing the movies made
when the last day its fine as the summer rain,
the thing destened Me and God thirsta shove gab.

Speaker 7 (57:32):
By Gods.

Speaker 4 (57:38):
To cat Sha solitized card still.

Speaker 21 (57:43):
Yon my land.

Speaker 22 (58:24):
Like like.

Speaker 2 (58:34):
Like Well, listeners, I've had the pleasure this afternoon of

(59:16):
being able to sit down and listen to one of
the most beautiful albums I think I've heard in quite
a long time. It is a brand new album from
Ari and today we actually thought we would get Thomas,
Troy and Johanna are on the phone to chat a
little bit about this amazing new album. So I've got
to say welcome to all three of you.

Speaker 25 (59:38):
Were delighted to be in your chair, no worry.

Speaker 2 (59:41):
So I was wondering if you could start off by
telling us a little bit about the early days of
this album. What kind of things were you talking about
when you first sat down to work on this new album.

Speaker 26 (59:55):
Well, the funny thing is that we didn't really sit
down and talk about anything sist.

Speaker 25 (01:00:01):
We just started writing the music. That's the way we operate.

Speaker 26 (01:00:05):
We each work separately in our respective home studios, and
then when we have something to show to each other,
we throw the ideas at one another and then work
onet the music from there. That's really how it goes.
So we didn't have this album at all. Yeah, it's

(01:00:25):
just right.

Speaker 2 (01:00:26):
So tell us a little bit about that process. What
comes first is that lyrics? Is that music that I
all kind of get thrown into the mix at the
same time. How does that work?

Speaker 1 (01:00:36):
Well, there's three songwriters in this band, and we all
work in our own ways.

Speaker 27 (01:00:41):
For me personally, this is Stuma speaking, by the way,
I always have the theme first of what I would
like to make a song about, and after that music
always comes before the lyrics.

Speaker 1 (01:00:54):
But for Johanna Android it's something different. Yeah, this is true.
It's always the music first for me. And also the.

Speaker 28 (01:01:06):
Subject matter itself can be caused by music as well,
which is a bit of a mystery to me.

Speaker 1 (01:01:14):
But it does happen like that for me.

Speaker 25 (01:01:16):
Yeah, And for me it varies so much.

Speaker 26 (01:01:19):
I mean, sometimes the melodies and the song comes first,
and sometimes I get an idea and I write the
lyrics first and then just piece things together or it
really it varies a lot how the music arrives.

Speaker 25 (01:01:33):
But I think the key is just to be open to.

Speaker 26 (01:01:36):
Receiving it and have your the recording app on your
phone ready at all times.

Speaker 2 (01:01:43):
I love in the press release that this album is
described as a tapestry of emotions, because I think that
really sums it up. I was finding when I was
listening to it today that it did take me through
a whole range of emotions. Tell us a little bit
about some of the themes that ended up being explored,
because I understand things like childhood memories and also some

(01:02:04):
of your favorite places on this earth have been touched
on on this album. Tell us a little bit about
some of those themes.

Speaker 27 (01:02:12):
There are two songs that deal with two separate places
that indeed are very near to us. I'm talking about
the songs called All Lovely Oddities and Blaky Rich. Blakey
Rich is an ancient pub in the moors of North
Yorkshire and we've been going there for the past fifteen

(01:02:33):
years and it holds a lot of memories, a lot
of history for us, and it was just screaming for
a song to be made from all those experiences. But
there's also a deeper meaning behind the song, behind those
lyrics that takes the listener to different places as well.

Speaker 1 (01:03:00):
Polutely, that's it.

Speaker 28 (01:03:01):
The wonderful thing about our lyrics, I think you'll find,
and we find it ourselves, is that they are ambiguous
and there are lots of cryptic clues as to the
thought process that caused the music and the lyrics in
the first place. That's something that we love to explore
between ourselves and hopefully and it's wonderful to get the

(01:03:24):
reaction of people who have their own reaction to the
music and they have their own story formulating in their minds.

Speaker 2 (01:03:35):
Yeah, I was going to say I found that when
I was listening to Oddity that it did. It took
me to places that I've been to as well, both
here in Australia and around the world. But for you all,
capturing a memory like that, that's something that it feels
like a lot of musicians these days have forgotten how
to do. But the three of you do it so well.

(01:03:58):
Tell us a little bit about that when you sit
down and try to capture a memory in a track.

Speaker 25 (01:04:06):
I guess it's just.

Speaker 26 (01:04:08):
Staying open and yeah, being fearless in writing and just
accepting everything that comes in and then looking at it,
giving it some time and love and tender, loving care,
if you will. And it's really the music that guides
us rather than us the music. It's not really us
in the driver's seat. That's not how I seen music.

(01:04:30):
I think I'm just there to be its servant, if
you will. You know, it's a magical thing that we
get to witness unfolding through us and in front of
our eyes when we make the music.

Speaker 28 (01:04:43):
Because we feel like we have nothing to prove with
our music, and we approach the music from a very
pure standpoint.

Speaker 1 (01:04:53):
We're never manipulated by it.

Speaker 28 (01:04:55):
We're never manipulated by the outside world into any particular
direction for whatever reasons, whether it's commercial or reputational, or
any of those things that are very little interest to us.

Speaker 26 (01:05:11):
Yeah, as long as it gives you chills and goosebumps
and makes you tear up, then that's a sign for
us to pursue that avenue.

Speaker 2 (01:05:20):
Have you had many Have you had many listeners over
the years come to you and say that a certain
track has has had a special meaning to them or
as awoken a special memory in them, Because that's what
I find, especially listening to the album today. I don't
know what the weather is like there at the moment,
but it's wet and cold here, and it was nearly
zero degrees when I was when I was listening to

(01:05:45):
it today and being trapped inside for a couple of
days because of the weather, this felt like it took
me on a journey, like it took me around the world.
Have you had listeners share stories like that with you
over the years?

Speaker 1 (01:05:57):
Yeah, you just know, thank you for sharing.

Speaker 28 (01:06:01):
Yeah, that's absolutely It's what you just said, is the
crux of it, it's the crooks of our music in
that we want to project, we want to project the
way we feel about the world and about life to
as many people as possible in the wood that they
will connect to us in that way and we all become.

Speaker 1 (01:06:21):
Instant in visible friends.

Speaker 29 (01:06:22):
And it's a lovely idea.

Speaker 1 (01:06:25):
It's such a magical effact.

Speaker 27 (01:06:26):
That's something you do yourself from the bottom of your
heart and have such a massive impact on somebody from
the other side of the planet for maybe same reasons,
maybe for completely different reasons, but it's such a beautiful
connection that music creates, so I have to.

Speaker 2 (01:06:47):
Ask as well. It says in a press release that
you guys were working on this album Try and Thomas
straight after working on the Last Night Wish album. But
it felt seems like this album came together very very quickly.
Was this one of those albums where the ideas were
flowing so quickly that the tracks were able to be

(01:07:09):
put together very very quickly.

Speaker 28 (01:07:14):
Yeah, we do find that we accelerate, you know, once
once we make the move, once we turn on the tap,
the our tap, where the music starts to trickle and
then comes out in a in a gush and it
then becomes a geezer. It's it's it's really inspirational for us,
for the three of us.

Speaker 29 (01:07:35):
When that happens. So you're right, yeah, it does. It
happens really quickly, but there are elements of.

Speaker 28 (01:07:41):
The songs have been fermenting for a long time, but
they just wait for the right moment, when the right
moment happened, and then it happens really quickly, and then
it accelerates and then before you know it, we're talking
to you in Australia with all this new music and
it's a it's quite miraculous and time time kind of

(01:08:01):
does a summersault and it becomes very very strange or beautifully.

Speaker 1 (01:08:06):
So.

Speaker 2 (01:08:07):
You've also got a lot of guest musicians on this
album as well that you've worked with, Frank on the strings,
Jonus on cello, and a few others as well. Tell
us a little bit about the guests that you brought
in to work on this album and what you feel
they brought to the album as well.

Speaker 14 (01:08:27):
Well.

Speaker 26 (01:08:28):
They have become our go to specialists in their field,
people that we love to work with. We love their skills,
their gifts, the sound and yeah, just the people who
they are. So we're really privileged to have all this
wonderful group of talented musicians in our aid in constructing

(01:08:54):
this these albums that we have done, they.

Speaker 2 (01:08:58):
Certainly add to the very ethereal feel to this album.
And I have to ask, when you first start working
on a track, are you aware of how this track
is going to end up sounding or what instruments you
need to bring in for each track? Because I was
talking to a band the other day that was a
three piece and they basically said, oh, yeah, we put
together a track. We plugged the bassin, we plugged the

(01:09:21):
guitar in, we hit the drums, and an hour later
we've got a track. But for you guys, it's a
lot more difficult because you've got so many instruments to
think of. Talk us through that journey a little bit
about from when you first come up with an idea
to when you know what the song is going to
sound like and what instruments you want on each track.

Speaker 28 (01:09:41):
Well, we all work independently in splendid isolation, beautiful isolation,
and then we pass on to each other. We toss
through the ether all of the musical paths that we
have that we've constructed as all, and then the others
get out their paint box and start coloring, and it's it's.

Speaker 1 (01:10:06):
A marvelous thing to be hauled.

Speaker 28 (01:10:08):
And that's the way we've always worked, and it really
works for us, and it just it just quickly develops
like that. And we're also in the unique position where
that none of us would.

Speaker 29 (01:10:25):
Pass on to the others something that's really badly rubbish.

Speaker 25 (01:10:31):
Yeah, well, look, ki, kids in a playground, aren't we really?

Speaker 14 (01:10:33):
We try things out.

Speaker 26 (01:10:35):
We love exploring different sounds and ideas on our own,
and then whichever ones give us the biggest goose booms
we select.

Speaker 25 (01:10:43):
And then hear move on from that.

Speaker 2 (01:10:46):
Even on this album though, on the opening track, when
you listen to it, you hear the layers and layers
of of vocals that are on there. Even that in
itself creates something magical. To tell them a little bit
about that, like developing those layers as they go that
is that a lot of trial and error? Is there
a lot of editing there? How does that all work?

Speaker 1 (01:11:09):
Well?

Speaker 26 (01:11:10):
Yeah, I love recording my own vocals and really spending
hours and hours testing our ideas.

Speaker 25 (01:11:16):
Some songs come.

Speaker 26 (01:11:18):
Quicker than others, but yeah, I mean, stacking up the
vocals has become a treat, if you will.

Speaker 25 (01:11:23):
It's been fun putting them together.

Speaker 26 (01:11:26):
And what I usually do is I run the song
through multiple times and sing it through, and all the
ideas vary, I mean through different tastes, different ideas pop up,
and the magic often happens when you open all those
tracks simultaneously and listen to them. You know, at one go,
all of them they weren't you know, planned to be

(01:11:51):
in a certain way. It just kind of organically happened.
So those still that's kind of lucky mistakes, if you will.
Just chant happenings are at the core of our really
that the joy of discovering new things and being delighted
and just surprise yourself during the process.

Speaker 28 (01:12:13):
Yeah, probably, that's absolutely right. And to condense that basically,
we just don't have a clue what we're doing.

Speaker 1 (01:12:20):
Around.

Speaker 2 (01:12:22):
I have to ask Troy, as do you find yourselves
being blown away from your Hannah's vocals when she's doing
things like that and experimenting a little bit as.

Speaker 1 (01:12:30):
Well, every single day, every single second. That's the time
she sent us on you. That's amazing.

Speaker 29 (01:12:39):
You should say that because I was I was just
about to comment on that that with Johnnah.

Speaker 1 (01:12:44):
She she's she has wonderful.

Speaker 28 (01:12:50):
Techniques that she's not actually aware of even her her self,
where she operates completely outside of the normal of what's usual.
She I mean, she's unusual obviously, but not not in
that way, but she is she operates outside of the
usual in a really fabulous and beautiful way. And then

(01:13:13):
she has a natural maleifluence to her to her voice
that just inspires looking.

Speaker 1 (01:13:20):
At a music in a different way.

Speaker 28 (01:13:22):
It's always been it's sad to talk about her with
there she's sat next to me, but but her voice
for me, Aunt Thomas is hugely inspirational and and pushes
us into areas that bring the pair of us huge

(01:13:42):
amounts of delight.

Speaker 1 (01:13:44):
And when we hear the finished thing.

Speaker 28 (01:13:45):
When we get together and mix it, and and plus
Johanna is very humble with with her with her voice,
which is hilarious to us.

Speaker 25 (01:13:54):
To if from the fair is it really it's.

Speaker 1 (01:13:57):
Not my doing it?

Speaker 28 (01:13:59):
Well, yeah, but when especially when she when she does
stack their vocals, it's a it's a unique sound.

Speaker 29 (01:14:13):
It's a unique sound that is part of our our makeup,
our chemistry.

Speaker 28 (01:14:19):
Is that sound Me and Thomas' sounds are ours and
Johanna's sound kind of envelops.

Speaker 1 (01:14:27):
All of that.

Speaker 29 (01:14:28):
It becomes this, this whole beautiful picture.

Speaker 2 (01:14:33):
I haven't had the privilege of watching you live in
Australia yet, so I have to ask that uniqueness that
you just described, how do you bring that together for
a live show? Do you find sometimes that can be
a little bit challenging.

Speaker 27 (01:14:53):
We thought so about a month ago before we started
rehearsing for the upcoming tour, But after about twenty minutes.

Speaker 29 (01:14:59):
Off We're Your when we realized that this is really
going to work.

Speaker 1 (01:15:02):
Yeah, just little arrangements here and there, and it worked
like a charm.

Speaker 27 (01:15:08):
And we will also have three guest musicians with us
on stage well this tour, so it's going to be
a six piece on stage.

Speaker 28 (01:15:15):
But you really know that you're onto something when there's
only the three of you for the initial rehearsal and
it sounds fabulous with just three, that's without the extra players.

Speaker 29 (01:15:26):
So that was hugely encouraging to us and paralyzingly beautiful.

Speaker 2 (01:15:34):
Definitely. Now I know we're running out of time very quickly,
so I guess to finish off, I just wanted to
ask it's freezing cold here, which means it's summer there,
which means festival season. What have you got planned with
the album coming out? And is there any chance that
we might see you in Australia at some stage as well?

Speaker 1 (01:15:53):
We would love that so much.

Speaker 28 (01:15:55):
And you know, this is really weird for us because
you're our fourth interview from Australia. We've never we've never
spoken to any one in Australia before, so we're completely
so yeah, we're completely humble, and we're amazed that we've
got some obviously means that we're bigger in Australia than

(01:16:16):
Taylor Swift, which is fantastic.

Speaker 26 (01:16:18):
So yeah, no, honestly, it would be a dream to
one day play in Australia. And yeah, I've always wanted
to visit, visit your beautiful country.

Speaker 25 (01:16:29):
And I hope the weather gets better there.

Speaker 26 (01:16:30):
I mean, we can totally relate with from Finland and
the weather isn't the best areather So.

Speaker 1 (01:16:37):
Yeah, but get this is thirty one degrees in Yorkshire.
Took a moment.

Speaker 2 (01:16:41):
Yeah, I know, I've I've got friends over there at
the moment they've been telling me. And it's ironic because
I remember the last time I actually interviewed you, Thomas,
it was forty degrees here and it was freezing where
you were. So it's the exactly this time.

Speaker 17 (01:16:59):
Yeah, sir, but.

Speaker 25 (01:17:02):
Thank you for absolute delight talking to you.

Speaker 26 (01:17:05):
Can't wait for more adventures hopefully also Australia for you
to come.

Speaker 5 (01:17:12):
Miss sever her uncle Honslieping cindera Hosyn servant and no
longer have you her tweg Press harv proble.

Speaker 4 (01:17:36):
Ingred Hellos the list of her let's bed.

Speaker 22 (01:17:51):
She made him.

Speaker 7 (01:17:54):
Love you mind.

Speaker 4 (01:17:58):
See Andrea then.

Speaker 7 (01:18:02):
But next time.

Speaker 4 (01:18:09):
Thousands a quintess spring.

Speaker 7 (01:18:13):
Gave in her aunts.

Speaker 4 (01:18:15):
How we grown dots where she came back? Really you
just sleep down in sequ inside.

Speaker 7 (01:18:27):
And spill and hop.

Speaker 19 (01:18:32):
Toudo your six stories. That's the last of the.

Speaker 4 (01:18:44):
Let's behind. She'll been a.

Speaker 7 (01:18:54):
See a dream and water bat.

Speaker 11 (01:19:47):
As the passa.

Speaker 7 (01:20:00):
Outside.

Speaker 30 (01:20:31):
There's a box stop waiting outside the spanstols out by
the fires, freething outside.

Speaker 31 (01:20:43):
Wait wait till face times.

Speaker 7 (01:20:46):
I know the nervous one.

Speaker 11 (01:20:50):
I know the start it.

Speaker 30 (01:20:53):
At out by the box can waiting tell me waiting.

Speaker 21 (01:21:01):
Ship so bag so.

Speaker 11 (01:21:05):
You never come?

Speaker 7 (01:21:10):
So he comes something.

Speaker 32 (01:21:18):
Come shake down the box got make shake to the
land that's bothering Now, it's.

Speaker 4 (01:21:35):
A will make some post lowing.

Speaker 15 (01:21:39):
Funny Ray Brown.

Speaker 11 (01:21:42):
Bay. So you never so.

Speaker 7 (01:21:58):
Never ss a wad so.

Speaker 1 (01:22:39):
So so.

Speaker 2 (01:22:49):
So Well, listeners, We've got a brand new film that

(01:23:36):
we want to talk to you about today that I'm
sure a lot of you are going to want to
go out and find and I'm sure you are going
to absolutely love this brand new film. It's called Scrap
and it's a drama, but I guess it's got a
little bit of comedy in there as well. And we
thought today we would actually get Vivian Kerr, the writer,
director and star of the film, on the phone to

(01:23:57):
chat a little bit about it. So welcome to the program, Vivian,
thanks for having me. Nor so Vivian with Scrap. Like
I said, this is a movie that has a little
bit of drama in there's a little bit of comedy,
but it's a very very hot felt film. And I
was wondering if you could start off by telling us
a little bit about the origins of this movie. Where
did it stop for you? Because I understand this was

(01:24:19):
a short film before it was a feta.

Speaker 14 (01:24:23):
Yeah, so gosh, I mean I think I first got
the idea back towards the end of twenty sixteen, which
is now like that sounds so long ago. Obviously I
was working on other projects in the meantime, but yeah,
I first got the idea then and finally got around
to doing a short film proof of concept. We shot
that in twenty eighteen, that did festivals throughout all of

(01:24:46):
twenty nineteen, and because that was really well received on
the festival circuit, I felt like, I mean, I sort
of always knew it was going to be a feature,
but the fact that the short won a bunch of
awards and got accepted to a lot of prestigious festival
just made me believe in the idea even more. And
so I wrote the feature script and then we finally

(01:25:06):
shot that in twenty twenty one, and then we did
two years of film festivals with it and played in
forty four film festivals all over the world, and it
is now finally available on Apple, Amazon, all of the
big platforms.

Speaker 2 (01:25:24):
The film touches on so many personal issues, and one
of the big issues in this film at the start,
of course, is homelessness, which is a huge thing here
in Australia at the moment, to the point where they
no longer consider you homeless if you're living in your car,
that's a way to try and keep the stats down.
But was this a personal story for you? Where did

(01:25:45):
the idea first come from?

Speaker 14 (01:25:48):
No, I mean, I'm grateful that it is not a
personal story. But I had noticed around that time that
I was living in Hollywood and Los Angeles, and my
neighborhood had changed a lot. There were a lot more
people sleeping on sidewalks, sleeping in their cars or intents
or RVs. And then the thing that really struck me
about it was that some of these people seem to

(01:26:08):
actually have employment, Like they would leave their car in
the morning and go to work and then come back
at like five or six o'clock at night. And I
realized that, you know, it's not just I mean, yes, obviously,
like we've seen lots of movies where they're homeless people
and they are it's about mental illness, right like the
Soloists Jamie Fox. Or it's about you know, they've aged
out of the foster care system, or it's about drug

(01:26:31):
addiction like we've you know, there's many different reasons why
someone would be sleeping on the streets. But I realized
that I had never seen a movie about someone who
was like maybe had just kind of fallen on hard
times and was like slipping through the cracks a little bit,
and maybe they still had a job or like were
recently laid off, and they were kind of experiencing this
like weird almost middle class homelessness where they were still

(01:26:56):
kind of trying to pretend like they were living their
old life, but we were actually sleeping in their car.
So we don't explicitly say in the beginning of the movie,
but I had imagined that my character Beth had only
been living in her car for about two weeks when
the movie starts, so she doesn't really know what she's doing.

Speaker 1 (01:27:12):
You know.

Speaker 14 (01:27:12):
It's like she almost hasn't learned the ropes yet, and
she is so scared of anyone finding out. She's lying
to her brother Ben. She's lying, you know, She's sent
her young daughter away to live with Ben, and she's
sort of lying to her friends. She's just trying to
desperately keep up the facade because of her shame. So
that was sort of the end for me, just thinking

(01:27:33):
that there was maybe a more nuanced story there that
I hadn't seen before.

Speaker 2 (01:27:37):
Yeah, And I think that's what related with me as well,
because my wife is a social worker, and during COVID,
because I couldn't work, I was helping her with that
job and taking food and stuff out to people. And
one of the things I found was a lot of
the people who do live in their car or what
we call sofa surf here, which is where they go
from house to house. There's a pride thing there as well.

(01:28:01):
I don't want to tell people like you would talk
to them and say do you have a parent? Do
you have a sibling that could help you? And they
would always say, I don't want to involve them in it.
I don't want them to know about it was that
was something that was looked at in the film as well.
Did you talk to people who had been through previous
things like this and to find out things like that?

(01:28:21):
Because on the outskirts of this, you would say that
Ben and Beth have got a great relationship and he'd
help her in a heartbeat. So did you talk to
people to find out why there's that kind of I
can't tell anybody about this.

Speaker 14 (01:28:35):
But I mean I didn't sort of seek people out.
But what initially happened is I started writing the first
few scenes of the movie where that kind of wakes
up in her car and you don't really understand what
is going on with her because she has, you know,
an iPhone, looks like she's going to a job interview,
she's got a gym that she belongs to, so like
you're not really understanding what's going on with her situation

(01:28:56):
at first. And I wrote those scenes, and I brought
it to a writer's night would where it was sort
of read by actors in front of an audience and
then the audience can kind of give feedback, and people
had a really personal reaction to it. I mean, it
almost makes me emotional thinking back, because so many people
came up to me quietly in the bar afterwards to
kind of almost confess to me that they had done

(01:29:17):
this at one point in their lives and never said anything.
And I thought, like, wow, like it it really shocked me.
You know, be someone who would come up to you
who would be like very well healed, you know, well
turned out. You know, maybe they have a designer bag
or like they're wearing a suit or whatever, you know,
or they're now incredibly successful, you know, they pull six
figures a year, they maybe they own a house. You

(01:29:40):
would people that you would never imagine had at one point,
you know, lived in their car, or like you know,
was living on someone's couch for like six months, or
had been on food stamps or and so you just
sort of realized, like, you you really have no idea
what like hidden chapters or hidden I suppose moment that
people have had in their lives that they've been too

(01:30:02):
ashamed to discuss. So I think it's much more common
than we think. You know, this idea of like the
sort of American rags to riches story. Sometimes it's rags
and then more rags and then worse rags. You know,
sometimes it takes a long time before before things kind
of can manifest for you in your life. So yeah,

(01:30:23):
I was really moved by that. So those those stories.
People would also still talk to me after screenings about
family members that this had happened to or that they
themselves had gone through. And yes, that that theme of
shame and being I guess proud, But you know, I
don't mean it in a derogatory way. I just mean like,
no one wants to feel like a loser. Yeah, you know,

(01:30:45):
no one wants to feel like the person that life
is not like that, Lady Luck is like shunned. You know,
you don't want to feel like someone who's things aren't
working out for you, and so it's totally reasonable to me,
like why you would try to hide that? And I
think unfortunately a lot of people they either don't have resources,
or if they do, are too ashamed ask.

Speaker 2 (01:31:06):
Yeah. And then you've got the character of Ben as well,
the brother played by Anthony Rapp. And he's an interesting
character as well because from the outside people would probably
say he's got the perfect wife, he's a successful writer,
he's got the beautiful wife and the beautiful home. But
there's things in there as well that are a problem
for him, like he's not getting the opportunity to write

(01:31:27):
the book that he really wants to write. Him and
his wife have trouble conceiving a baby. Talk us through
that a little bit about the development of the character
of Ben, because they're almost polar opposites, Ben and Beth,
but they fit together so nicely.

Speaker 14 (01:31:43):
Oh, I love that you think they share. Yeah, I
do think of them as sort of like two halves, right,
And I think you know, he's very much the codependent, right,
he's very much the caretaker. And we learned over the movie,
like you know that they had trauma and their childhood
and he's older than her and that he essentially had
to kind of help raise her. And so you realize,
like it's sometimes it's just as hard for the person

(01:32:04):
who is very type A organized, you know, successful, Like
they have their own journey to go on, and I
think his journey is yeah, like he also has to
kind of let go of control a little bit, like
he's maybe he needs a little bit of Beth's I
don't know, not not like relaxing, but like he needs

(01:32:30):
to chill, you know. So so yeah, so he's got
I thought it would be very interesting if like on
a parallel level, even though he has everything that she wants,
you know, she wants a partner, she wants a house,
she wants to provide for a child. You know, he
has his own problems and so, you know, again just

(01:32:50):
going back to that theme of like you sort of
really never know what someone's problems are, what they're going through. Yeah,
he's very financially successful, but he's not passionate about the
book series that he's writing. You know, he didn't want
that's not his dream. He didn't dream about being a
genre author, and so he feels pigeonholed in his career.
And then he doesn't understand why, you know, he and

(01:33:11):
his wife can't conceive. He's sort of trying, and he's
trying to like almost logic in his way through it
and try to control it, you know, doing the IVF
and trying to research everything. He's got his binder with
like pages and pages of research and yeah, he's really
got to sort of ask for help a little bit
in his own way too. And so that's the kind

(01:33:31):
of path that he's on. I think Beth, even though
she's reckless, she does, I think help him kind of
break his own patterns that are unhealthy.

Speaker 2 (01:33:43):
Yeah, let's switch to the filmmaking side at the moment
as well. So you went from proof of concept to
them sitting down and writing this as a feature. Now
we have a lot of young filmmakers and a lot
of young screenwriters that listen to this show. Tell us
a little bit about that journeying from the short, which
was the proof of concept, through to writing it as

(01:34:04):
a feature. Did you find that an easy process or
did you find that difficult?

Speaker 14 (01:34:10):
I have to be honest, I found it easy on
this film. I mean, I've written a lot of different projects,
and some are easier than others. But I mean I've
written some projects that involved a lot of research that
are based on let's say, historical figures or set in
certain time periods other than modern day. Because this was
set in modern day Los Angeles, where I've lived for
you know, almost twenty years, I know the city very

(01:34:32):
very well, so there's no research I had to do.
And then because all the characters came from my imagination,
again no research. So it was really just carving out
the time to sit there and brainstorm, you know, every day.
But I think when it finally came to the writing
of it, like once I had sort of imagined the

(01:34:53):
whole film, I think I wrote it in like two weeks,
the first draft of the script. It was really fast.
So that's not very helpful, but this script was probably
the easiest script I've ever written.

Speaker 2 (01:35:06):
Yeah, And one of the things I said in my
review as well, you've got an absolute perfect cast here.
Everybody matches their characters so well and they bring their
own game to their performance. Where did you cast people
that you already knew or did you have to cold
audition some people for some of the roles.

Speaker 14 (01:35:23):
So Anthony, who plays Ben, was in the short film.
So we met on the short film proof of Concept,
and I loved working with him, even though it was
just for short. I thought he and I had great chemistry.
I loved how he was playing Ben. I was like, Oh,
this is going to be so good. So I think
that's part of why writing the feature was easy because

(01:35:44):
I wrote it with him in mind. I was sort
of writing it imagining him saying these words, which would
have been awkward if later he had not been able.

Speaker 21 (01:35:51):
To do the feature.

Speaker 14 (01:35:53):
And then for Stacy, Ben's wife, who's played by Beautiful
played by Lana Perea, I did hire a casting director,
and you know that I knew that role was going
to be super crucial. We needed someone who would be
a really great counterpoint to my character. You know, someone
who an actress who has a lot of vulnerability and

(01:36:15):
range and can convey all the nuance of a woman
going through IVF and at the same time be kind
of an intimidating sister in law. So I could not
have been gotten luckier. Lana Priya is one of the
most extraordinary actresses I've ever had the privilege to work with,
and yeah, and so then it was just kind of
filling out the small roles. And then what was fun though,
was for like the one line roles, the day player roles,

(01:36:38):
almost all of them are just friends of mine, actor
friends that I have known, been an acting class with.
Some of them I've known since college. So it was
so fun to kind of pull these different people from
various aspects of my life and force them to be
in my movie.

Speaker 2 (01:36:53):
Now, the Suit itself, How did the shoot itself go?
And how did it feel to you turning up on
the first day of The Suit as not only the
stop but also the writer.

Speaker 14 (01:37:06):
I mean, I got really lucky. I had a phenomenal crew,
and I think the first day, I mean I do
remember in the lead up to it, like maybe a
week before, being like, you know, very nervous and stressed
about it. But I would say about I don't know,
halfway through the first day. Maybe by the time I
get to the second day, I was like, oh, this

(01:37:26):
is going to be great, Like this is great. And
for me, I think the learning curve was the directing
and prepping, prepping all of that because I had never
directed a feature before. You know, I'd acted a lot,
I'd written a lot, I produced a lot, but I
had never directed an entire feature film. So that was
the one thing that I was, I think the most

(01:37:47):
nervous about. But it ended up just being I mean,
it was very like easeful, you know, and it was
something I'd dreamed about and thought about for a long
long time. I prepped for months, you know, before we
even start to shooting, so I did feel really confident in,
you know, our short list and what I wanted to
achieve each day. And then you know, once you start

(01:38:08):
shooting in Indie, you're just you're fighting time, money, resource.
It like, you're just trying to get as much good
footage as you can on every single day, just sort
of all of those problems that come along with indie filmmaking.
But I absolutely loved it. I mean, I loved it
so much. I ended up shooting the second feature like
very quickly after, because I was like, I'm an addict now,

(01:38:30):
I just want to keep making indie films.

Speaker 2 (01:38:32):
One of the things I found when I was watching
the film as well was that I loved being in
the lives of these characters so much that I almost
wish that I could stay there longer than two hours.
And I was thinking, like, this would have been like
a perfect like Brothers and Sisters or Gilmore Girls style show.
Was there ever a thought of that for you to
turn it into a show rather than a film.

Speaker 14 (01:38:54):
People send that to me, and I like, I've been
obviously I'm not opposed to it, but I just sort
of like not, I'm not sure, I know, like what
would occur over the whole first, you know, I'm sort
of like not sure what all the tangents are that
we would go on. I do like the idea of
revisiting characters, like that's very cool to me. You know,
I'm a huge fan obviously of the Before Sunrise trilogy,

(01:39:19):
so there's something about that that's cool. So I could
see maybe doing something like that, like I I would
I do love the characters of ben Beth and Stacy
so much that like, I could see wanting to revisit
them in another story, in another feature.

Speaker 21 (01:39:33):
But but no.

Speaker 14 (01:39:34):
People did say that though repeatedly, that when they would
read the script or when they would watch the movie,
they were like, Oh, I kind of feel like this
could be a show, and so I'm like, what how
tell me? So, No, it's nothing I was ever opposed to.
But but if you're going to do a series that
that's a very different route. You obviously have to you
kind of have to like come up with a pitch

(01:39:55):
and then you have to try to get meetings with
production companies and it's be a very very long roadde.
So I was more focused, I think, on wanting to
just get something made.

Speaker 2 (01:40:06):
Yeah, So we should also talk about the festival run
as well, because the film was very successful on the
festival circuit. You want awards, the film won awards. Tell
us a little bit about that journey with the film
on the festival second, and what that meant to you
as well, that it was so well received.

Speaker 14 (01:40:25):
I mean, yeah, I'm still processing it, I think. I mean,
you know, we when we started we World premiered in
Doville and France, which was an incredible festival. The movie
theater there where the film screen I think has almost
or it might be over a thousand seats, just this huge,
beautiful stand of the art auditorium. You know, there's like

(01:40:45):
a red carpet a mile long. It's like very fancy.
The French, they know how to do film festivals, and yeah,
and so that would have been just enough, you know.
But then what I didn't realize that happens with features.
It sort of once you get into one festival, programmers
from other festivals will reach out to you and want
to look at a screen or the film. I also

(01:41:06):
was learning a lot from other filmmakers as I was
on the festival circuit, because I was trying to travel
to as many of them as I could, So I
was meeting other filmmakers. They would give me recommendations for festivals,
and so it kind of just I don't know, it
just sort of like, you know, spiraled and in the
best way. And yeah, we ended up it just kept

(01:41:27):
going and going. And I think for me, because it
was my first feature, I was sort of willing to
just go go as long as long as people wanted
to see it, I was willing to like keep it going.
But yeah, I would never have imagined we would have
done forty four film festivals. In hindsight, that's crazy. I'm
not sure I'll ever do that again.

Speaker 1 (01:41:44):
But it was.

Speaker 14 (01:41:46):
It was an incredible experience. It brought me. I mean,
especially even in the US, there were so many states
that I'd never been to. So I've traveled all over
the US to so many states I'd never been to,
so many places I'd you know, heard about and only
in books and movies, and it was just it was
a really beautiful experience.

Speaker 2 (01:42:05):
That's awesome. So for our listeners out there, tell can
you tell our listeners where they can watch Scrap now?
Because of course it's it's on streaming platform so where
can they watch Scrap now?

Speaker 14 (01:42:18):
So it is on Apple, Amazon, Google, which I think
is Google, sash YouTube, and it is also on Fandango
at Home, and then we're also on in a few
countries on Vimeo and demand. Awesome, they got to scrap
thefilm dot com. They can find the links to all
those sites.

Speaker 2 (01:42:37):
There, definitely so, and we will put a link up
on our website as well from where people can go
to your website. So I guess to finish off, what
would you like to say to people out there who
are about to sit down and watch Scrap this weekend?
And also can you tell us a little bit about
what you're doing as a filmmaker now?

Speaker 14 (01:42:57):
Gosh, we're want to tell people maybe watch it with
your sibling, maybe watch it with your sibling, you know.
I hope, I hope people. If you like films sort
of like Kenneth Lanagan's You Can count on Me with
Laura Lenny and Mark Ruffalo, or The Savages with Philip
Seymour Hoffman, you like those sort of like really tender

(01:43:18):
kind of drama edis family drama eds that were made
a lot more than nineties or in early two thousands,
then I think, I think this film will really speak
to you, and in terms of what I'm doing next.
So yeah, So I've already shot my second feature, which
is called Seance, which couldn't be more different. It's a
Victorian Gothic thriller set in eighteen nineties, and we have

(01:43:39):
now just started doing festivals with that. So we just
played Dances with Films here in LA which was great,
and we have some more festivals coming up. So I'm
sort of doing it all over again with my second feature,
and hopefully that will get distribution and come out, if
not later this year early next year.

Speaker 33 (01:44:07):
You're a part time love rend, full time friend. The
monkey on your back is the leads to trend. I
don't see what anyone can see anyone else.

Speaker 34 (01:44:20):
But kiss you on the brain and the shadow of
the train, kiss you all starry yeah, and my body
swinging from side to side.

Speaker 31 (01:44:27):
I don't see what anyone can see and anyone else.

Speaker 33 (01:44:33):
But here is the church and here is the steeple.
But sure acute for two ugly people. I don't see
what anyone can see in anyone.

Speaker 34 (01:44:44):
Else, but devils forgive me, The trees forgive me, So
why can't you forgive me?

Speaker 31 (01:44:53):
I don't see what anyone could see and anyone else.

Speaker 33 (01:44:59):
B I will find mine. Chain your car with my
MP three DVD rumble back guitar. I don't see what
anyone can see in anyone else.

Speaker 31 (01:45:12):
But data day.

Speaker 33 (01:45:22):
Data up and down to left or left would be
a start. Just because we use cheets doesn't mean.

Speaker 31 (01:45:32):
We're not smart.

Speaker 33 (01:45:33):
I don't see what anyone can see in anyone else,
but you are.

Speaker 34 (01:45:40):
Always trying to keep it real. I'm in love with
how you feel. I don't see what anyone can see
in anyone else.

Speaker 33 (01:45:52):
We both have shiny, happy fits of rage. You want
more fans, I want more stage. I don't see see
what anyone can see in anyone else.

Speaker 34 (01:46:05):
But donkey hood. He was a steel driving man. My
name is Adam.

Speaker 2 (01:46:10):
I'm your biggest fan.

Speaker 31 (01:46:12):
I don't see what anyone can see in anyone else.

Speaker 33 (01:46:18):
But squinched up your face and dance chook a little
turt out of the bottom of your pants. I don't
see what anyone can see anyone else.

Speaker 1 (01:46:31):
But but.

Speaker 35 (01:47:00):
We on the wire ones crashing through the night, living
in the shadows, hidden from the light, drilling up orection,
shopping in.

Speaker 14 (01:47:11):
Our cloth case.

Speaker 36 (01:47:13):
Baby, when you're hungry, because jungle is long, running with.

Speaker 11 (01:47:21):
The wild woes.

Speaker 15 (01:47:29):
Leaving were the wild ones?

Speaker 11 (01:47:35):
Yeah?

Speaker 7 (01:47:35):
Where the wild ones?

Speaker 11 (01:47:37):
We live in every town.

Speaker 36 (01:47:40):
We on the city street, were.

Speaker 7 (01:47:42):
Moveing on the ground.

Speaker 36 (01:47:44):
There is no change in us, and you'll suffer if
you try.

Speaker 1 (01:47:49):
We got the rage in us.

Speaker 36 (01:47:50):
Because it makes us feel loud, running with the wild ones.

Speaker 15 (01:48:05):
Maybe a wild who look, what can you feel it?

(01:48:31):
Rolling thunder?

Speaker 22 (01:48:33):
Lose your minda dragon under?

Speaker 7 (01:48:38):
Can you see it?

Speaker 12 (01:48:40):
Gettin happy up, cousin burning, burning, I don't.

Speaker 4 (01:48:53):
We are the damn worlds.

Speaker 1 (01:48:55):
This is the life with you.

Speaker 36 (01:48:57):
There's no redemption and no the left dud.

Speaker 16 (01:49:02):
If you see us coming, you won't.

Speaker 37 (01:49:04):
Have time to pray.

Speaker 36 (01:49:05):
When you hear the modus gunning, Just get out of
a wood, running with.

Speaker 11 (01:49:15):
The word.

Speaker 15 (01:49:32):
Wow was.

Speaker 7 (01:49:42):
Can you feel it? Rolling? Thunder, lose your mind?

Speaker 15 (01:49:48):
Nap, drag you under? Can you see it?

Speaker 22 (01:49:53):
Can you hide up?

Speaker 11 (01:49:56):
Hunting?

Speaker 15 (01:49:56):
Burning like a fire?

Speaker 2 (01:50:18):
Well, Harley, we've got something very very special on the
show right now. The original Alice Cooper band I have
got together and recorded their first album in nearly forty years,
which is just absolutely so. This week I had the
luxury of being able to sit down with most of
the band the chat a little bit about this album

(01:50:40):
and how it came about. So sit back and relax
and enjoy hearing these guys not only talk about the album,
but going to town on each other as well.

Speaker 38 (01:50:50):
In a light HUBT, Hello, Dave, where we are I'm good,
I'm good guys, Dennis, Michael, thank you so much for
for agreeing to chat to us today.

Speaker 2 (01:51:01):
It's such an honor having you both with us. So
thank you so much.

Speaker 1 (01:51:07):
Neil and Dennis and Michael. Three of us are here.

Speaker 2 (01:51:09):
Oh oh cool. I didn't know I had Neil as well,
so Neil welcome as well. Thank you so guys. I
guess the best way to start is somebody saying congratulations
on the album. I've had a chance to sit down
and listen to the whole album in its foot entirety.
It's an absolutely brilliant album. So congratulations, thank you, thank you.

Speaker 1 (01:51:33):
Very cool.

Speaker 2 (01:51:34):
So, I guess going back to the beginning for you guys,
tell us a little bit about how this started. Was
there a phone call? Was there an email? Was this
something that you guys had talked about for a long
time getting back together like this?

Speaker 1 (01:51:50):
Yeah? Fifty two years? Yeah, step by step, slowly, I turn.

Speaker 39 (01:52:00):
It was a little by little, but we kept coming
back together over and over with various things coming up
and recording songs on Alice's solo albums, performing at the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremony in New
York City in twenty eleven. Michael had a studio in Phoenix.

(01:52:24):
When Neil would be out there, they'd get together, and
when Alice would be in town, he'd get together. And
I think that was the final thing that made it
a go, because they came up with some songs and
decided now it's the time.

Speaker 2 (01:52:38):
So tell us a little bit about those early writing sessions.

Speaker 1 (01:52:42):
What were they like?

Speaker 2 (01:52:43):
Like you said, this kind of happened gradually over time,
So what was that like when you first sat down
and started to work on some new tracks.

Speaker 40 (01:52:51):
Again, well, Michael, you were there, you were there in
fags those It's pretty much like what we've done all along.
We just start jamming on it and different sort of
feels happen and different sort of parts develop, and then
we put them all together and we did Bunny screams

(01:53:13):
I believe in.

Speaker 1 (01:53:16):
Any galactic megamm.

Speaker 14 (01:53:17):
Blues and uh.

Speaker 1 (01:53:20):
Rap, same famous face. We worked on a little bit
and then raped to get some new way your names Michael, Oh, yes, yeah, crap.

Speaker 21 (01:53:29):
We worked on crap.

Speaker 1 (01:53:33):
And we did. Yeah, we turned in.

Speaker 39 (01:53:37):
So speaking of that, speaking of crap, I got the
call after those guys already kind of decided before I
heard about it. I got a call from bob Ezer
and Analys and there I said, well what they said,
you want to do an album? I said, well, of course, well, uh,
you know, for fifty two years now.

Speaker 1 (01:53:56):
Hello. But anyway, so I said, what songs? What do
you have any ideas?

Speaker 40 (01:54:01):
What song?

Speaker 39 (01:54:01):
They said, well, the best of the lot, and I said, oh, okay,
like the cream of the crop. And they started laughing
hysterically because my phone had cut out and they thought
I had said the cream of the crap.

Speaker 2 (01:54:16):
Dennis, You've mentioned fifty two years there twice. Now it
feels like for you that this was something that's been
burning away inside of you for a long time, and
it's something that you've wanted to do. Tell us about that.
Has it been Has it been something that's been burning
away all that time?

Speaker 39 (01:54:34):
Well, burning away sounds a little strong, but I've always
I mean, when I write songs, ninety five percent of
them sound like songs that would be with these guys.

Speaker 1 (01:54:47):
So that's just that's just in my dna, I think.

Speaker 39 (01:54:52):
And you know, we had started the band in high school,
Alis and I and Glenn and Clode our way with
the help, of course, with Neil and Michael and all
their ideas and great songwriting, we cloud our way to
the top of the glittery rock pile, and then all

(01:55:12):
of a sudden, the rug was pulled out from under me.
So yeah, there's always been that feeling. And also it
seems like we have been swept under the carpet for
a lot of years, and this album is finally validating
our legacy.

Speaker 2 (01:55:30):
Okay, yeah, definitely. So Neil Michael you mentioned there a
little bit about songs like crap being some of the
first that you wrote. Tell us about those sessions, whether
they just pure jam sessions where things came out, or
did you kind of sit back and start to think,
let's write some things here and let's see where they go.

Speaker 40 (01:55:53):
Well, on Black Mama, we jammed a little bit, and
then I think we started hearing some parts that we
thought might work as sections of the song, and Alice
wasn't there at first, so we didn't know exactly where
the vocals were going to fall. But then he came
down later after Neil and I had been playing over

(01:56:15):
my rehearsal place, and then we ended up at Solid Rock,
the foundation that Alison Cheryl worked with, and he came
down and then it sort of coalesced. We had now
versus and whatnot. And then when Dennis finally came out,
there's parts in there where Dennis plays by himself and

(01:56:37):
it leads into the drums and vice versa. And that
all developed when the four of us were together. So
it was the same kind of chemistry we had all
along pretty much.

Speaker 41 (01:56:48):
Yeah, everybody had Dave, everybody had ideas. When I went
out to Arizona for the first winter, I had been
there for a long time. In two thousand and sixteen,
that's when the very first time that Michael and Alice
and I got together. Alice had a couple of songs.
Michael had a couple of songs. I had a couple
of songs. Again, like Michael said, the same exact movie

(01:57:11):
boys written. We'll tell you if there's an idea, we'll
start working out learning them and then collaborating and and
and you know, if somebody has ideas for transitions or
verses or chorus or to make them a little bit better.
Michael's very musical. Remember we started, Michael, you had you
couldn't play guitar because you had some work in your hand. Yeah,

(01:57:34):
so you were playing keep you had to keep them, yeah,
and and playing keyboards, uh on some of the arrangements
of those couple of early songs. So it it had done.
It had been exactly the way it's always written. And
then when when Dennis came out, then that's when it
finally solidified. And and like, uh, you know, Bob ezret

(01:57:57):
and said we'll get together and you know, try to
work out the saying. You know, we got to get
just the way we've it's the way we've played forever.
We don't have to get together work anything out. It
just all comes naturally for us. Very professional, very taken seriously.

Speaker 1 (01:58:11):
But we have fun. We have a good time. Otherwise
we wouldn't do it. This is a long time.

Speaker 41 (01:58:15):
Too, and it's always fresh. That's the greatest thing about
this album is that it sounds live and it sounds fresh,
and even some people that have given us some feedback,
it says like classic songs that haven't been heard yet,
like the whole album of classic rock that hasn't been
heard yet. So that's pretty much a compliment for us.
But it's it's our chemistry. It's the way've boys written

(01:58:38):
and if we ever have the opportunity to do it again,
we'll probably do the same thing. But just it's like
a roast. We're making fun of each other all the time.
We don't wait around. If somebody leaves the room, we
like to roast them and make fun of them right
there in the room.

Speaker 1 (01:58:52):
Alow. Yeah, we might even chop their head off.

Speaker 20 (01:58:55):
You never know.

Speaker 2 (01:58:57):
I'm gonna skip on the next question. I was going
to just because of something that you touched on. There
that freshness with this that album it is it's really
really obvious when you listen to it. And I said
actually in my review that this is an album that
that feels like it's a classic album, but it's got
a freshness and a moderness to it as well. Was

(01:59:19):
that something that you guys talked about or did that
just happen naturally when you were working on these tracks,
that they sounded modern but classic at the same time.

Speaker 39 (01:59:30):
Well, it's not like we came on a time machine,
and there hasn't been a lot of learning through the
years for all of us as musicians. But I think
that it's the classic sound of it is just us
plain and the way we write and the way we
work and the chemistry in the room when we're all together.

(01:59:54):
But the freshness I think just mainly comes from the
advances in technology and being able to record an album.

Speaker 1 (02:00:02):
Mostly.

Speaker 41 (02:00:04):
Yeah, I think I think the sound to make them
sound modern is that it's and I say it once,
I say it again, it's probably the best productive me.

Speaker 1 (02:00:13):
Bob has really fine tuned his.

Speaker 41 (02:00:17):
Skills and talents as a producer and a ranger, the
same way that Dennis has with bass Michael guitar, myself
on Drugs.

Speaker 1 (02:00:23):
I mean, we've never stopped learning over the years. That's
what we do.

Speaker 41 (02:00:26):
We're musicians, and I think that that and then we
get all of us alive in the same room. That's
very key. These weren't done in different parts of the country.
And the albums that we've done with Alice, even as
solo albums, we've had a few songs on We're all together, Mike, Alice,
Dennis and I in the same room. So that is

(02:00:46):
Dennis is saying that that's the chemistry, and then that's
the fun, so you know, and then you put Bob
in there with the technology that is light years of
past what it was fifty years ago, and and you
can almost hear every instrument separately like you're standing in
the sitting in the room or standing in the room

(02:01:07):
as the songs are being recorded. And I think that's
what adds to the you know, technology that makes it
sound modern, if that's the word you use. I just
think it sounds a little more you know, exciting that way.

Speaker 40 (02:01:22):
And now you know, I hadn't listened to the album
on the vinyl. I played the cassette and we didn't
have our turntable set up. Wellhen I finally heard it.
I heard things I hadn't heard before on a CD.
I'm ungrateful that Black Mamba was Robbie Creeper planting there,

(02:01:45):
and I heard some other things that I just didn't
hear the first couple of listenings on CD. It's pretty
pretty amazing discovering things that you know. You listen a
couple of times and then you get farther into it
and you realize there's a lot going on there that
you didn't really you know, it's not just jumping out
at you.

Speaker 1 (02:02:04):
It's real subtle, which gives it depth.

Speaker 21 (02:02:07):
I think it sounds great.

Speaker 39 (02:02:09):
Yeah, the same thing happened to me listening on vinyl
and then listening through headphones and then listening in the car,
and it's all three things.

Speaker 1 (02:02:20):
You hear it differently.

Speaker 2 (02:02:21):
Yes, Yes, it's also interesting that this album feels like
it takes you back without you even realizing as the listener,
because I realized when I was listening to Up All
Night and I was imagining the things that are described
in the lyrics, I wasn't thinking about a twenty twenty
five night. I was thinking of a nineteen seventies or
on early nineteen eighties night with a person out on

(02:02:44):
the town as well. Is that something that you guys
felt as well.

Speaker 39 (02:02:48):
Yeah, because we had a lot more fun back then,
we did responsibilities like we do today.

Speaker 2 (02:02:56):
Yeah, Michael Neeli asked this question is more for you.
You mentioned before that when you first started working on
these tracks, you hadn't even spoken to Alice, but then
he showed up with a couple of tracks Abby's are
And what was that phone call or email whack where
you said, look, we're working on some tracks. We think
they're going somewhere, and tell us a little bit about

(02:03:18):
that when you first spoke to Alice about this.

Speaker 41 (02:03:22):
Well, I think, I mean it goes back to what
we're talking about. What we've been doing for the last
fifty two years. All of us have been writing all
of it. Dennis and I had been in several bands together,
and so you know, we've crafted our art. Michael's never
stopped writing. And so when I was out in Arizona,
you know I had songs. I have my solo project, yeah,

(02:03:46):
Michael kill Smith, Yeah, Mike kill Smith stuff. And then
Michael had has some great songs have been around. Black
Mambas was one of them, and I think Up All
Night was another one. That's been around, and we really,
you know, fink tune that one for the album and
it came out dynamite, and I think it's just a
matter of you know, I was out there in Arizona,

(02:04:11):
and so I've been Alice and I have been getting
together over the last fifty years. I almost go and
Michael as well. When I go out to Arizona get together,
I bring a cassette. When the caasettes were popular back
in the eighties and nineties, and you know, some new
songs that I was working on. I didn't really have
any other projects but play the songs for them. And

(02:04:33):
this likewise, Michael plays songs for me and Dennis and
I boys heard each other's music. This I worked on,
you know music. Some of the songs that Wild was
we've worked on for a long time. And Blood on
the Sun an amazing song. Bob Ezret, you know, you know,
made that thing. The song is great to begin with,
well Bob's production. It's just an amazing song.

Speaker 40 (02:04:54):
Matter of fact, when I heard it, I didn't even
I said, I felt like it was so complet lead
and I didn't need to do anything, you know, maybe
some reinforcement, if anything, but I loved it. I was
asking wondering, where's the explosions in the dive planes diving
Town because they told me about it the World War

(02:05:14):
Two movie titles and I kind of missed them, but
not really after listening to the song as it was, now,
it sounds perfect. Like I said, I didn't feel super
inspired to do anything, you know, and that's sometimes better
not to do something if it's going to.

Speaker 1 (02:05:33):
Buck it up.

Speaker 39 (02:05:34):
And that's and that's very important point because to have
a collaboration the way we work where everybody can throw
in ideas. Number one, nobody walks away with a grudge
if they didn't get their idea done. Everybody considers everybody's ideas,
We try them out and stuff, and it's what and

(02:05:57):
like Alice will change some lyrics and he won't change others,
So don't fix something that's not broken. It's a big
part of it. Collaboration that's almost more important than you know,
having too many ideas can can really be a problem

(02:06:17):
if you don't do it that way.

Speaker 2 (02:06:20):
Definitely. Now, I know we are running out of time
very quickly, but I had one quick question I did
want to ask before I go. The nostalgia part of
this album as well. How important was it all for
you to be able to have a posthumous appearance by
Glenn first of all, but also what was it like
also going back and finding that long lost version of

(02:06:43):
Return of the Spiders.

Speaker 39 (02:06:47):
Well, it was inevitable and it was you know, it
was just a natural thing. Glenn is always there in
spirit whenever we're together. And actually, anybody that knew Glenn,
hardly a day goes by where you don't think about
him because he had.

Speaker 1 (02:07:04):
Such a great sets of humor about everything.

Speaker 39 (02:07:07):
So it was I'm very proud of how Glenn is
represented on this record because he's always there in the room,
whether he makes it on the record or not. And
the fact that he's on represented in so many ways
I think is uh is fitting.

Speaker 1 (02:07:28):
What a sid see you on the other side?

Speaker 21 (02:07:31):
What happened to you?

Speaker 1 (02:07:33):
And it ain't done wrong? The Yardbird song done wrong? Yeah? Yeah,
I mean that was a song that.

Speaker 41 (02:07:37):
You know, you the Spiders in the nas played and
did an amazing job with those of early Artbird songs
live and.

Speaker 39 (02:07:45):
Even Blood on the Sun because it was inspired by
Glenn collecting TV gav Guy little booklet that came out
in America Weekly. You got a little booklet that told
you what was going to be on television that week,
and the lyrics for Blood on the Sun came from
Glenn's TV guides.

Speaker 21 (02:08:06):
And what was that like?

Speaker 2 (02:08:07):
Finding that old recording as well? That must have been
something special for you all to sit down out and
listen to that. I.

Speaker 39 (02:08:14):
You know, I've always known where that cassette was. I've
all of these years I've been planning to do something
with that. It was from nineteen seventy three a late
night jam Glenn and I were playing and he had
this riff, and I've saved it all these years. I

(02:08:35):
didn't think it would take this long for me to
be able to incorporate it into something. And it's kind
of miraculous that the cassette hasn't disintegrated by now. But
I kept it in a good place and with today's technology,
Bob you know, cleaned it up, put a click track
to it, and the band wrote a song, a fitting
song that we think would have been something that Glenn

(02:08:56):
would have wanted on the spot, and it came out great.

Speaker 2 (02:09:01):
Definitely. Well, guys, to finish off, what would you like
to say to people out there before they sit down
and have a listen to this absolutely amazing album.

Speaker 1 (02:09:13):
You send money.

Speaker 40 (02:09:18):
I think I just listened to it as I'm going
about things I do, and it just sounds like a soundtrack,
you know, type of your life. You know, it depends
on what kind of music fan you are. You know,
some people just have special moments they do it, and
you know, and other people listening all the time, and
and it's become a huge part of my life right now,

(02:09:41):
which is.

Speaker 39 (02:09:41):
End between every song, I want them to hear my
voice saying We're back baby.

Speaker 1 (02:09:51):
But when I listened to it, I.

Speaker 41 (02:09:55):
I hope that number one, that the fans that have
been supporting for so many years, so many decades, that
they appreciate the album as much as we appreciated the
opportunity to write it and record it. And along the way,
if we could pick up some new fans that are

(02:10:16):
just kind of out there and wondering what the hell
ever happened to rock and roll and they're not really
hearing anything new, and all of a sudden, this bolt
of lightning comes out of the blue.

Speaker 1 (02:10:26):
All that just sounds like it's classic rock and.

Speaker 41 (02:10:30):
Roll that they've never ever had the chance to hear
before and getting me personally, just getting the opportunity to
spend as much time with Michael and Dennis and Alice.

Speaker 1 (02:10:40):
It's I mean, first and foremost the chemistry and the music.

Speaker 41 (02:10:45):
But we're all really good friends, and I know that
we would do anything for each other, and that's that's
the important thing about about us being together. But if
we could get some new fans, young fans that are
into rock and rolling, oh wow, I want to pick
up a bass guitar.

Speaker 1 (02:11:02):
I want to pick up a guitar and start playing,
learn it or set of drums. Man that that's like
the biggest compliment of Wall.

Speaker 41 (02:11:08):
But we were just happy to have the opportunity to
do it. And we have some freaking killer songs on
this record, that's for sure.

Speaker 42 (02:11:22):
I think I'll hide inside your bedjets coiled into the fools,
the white.

Speaker 4 (02:11:38):
I'll just watch you while you're sleep.

Speaker 9 (02:11:41):
Big, dozing.

Speaker 42 (02:11:45):
And decided you by should bite.

Speaker 21 (02:12:05):
I'm so put go to look gat.

Speaker 31 (02:12:11):
But also dangerous to touch.

Speaker 4 (02:12:15):
Set You're just a sleeve to tempt a.

Speaker 1 (02:12:22):
Baby.

Speaker 28 (02:12:24):
Perhaps she wants me much too much.

Speaker 30 (02:12:30):
I've been out hide inside your bed sheets, called into
the foot so white.

Speaker 14 (02:12:44):
I'll just watch you while.

Speaker 31 (02:12:45):
You're sleep being baby, and decide.

Speaker 9 (02:12:51):
If I should fight.

Speaker 22 (02:12:56):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yea yeah yeah yeah yeah
yah gotta yah yah yah.

Speaker 11 (02:13:09):
Yah yah yah ya yah yah yah yah yah yah
ya Ye.

Speaker 7 (02:13:22):
Come a little closer, darling.

Speaker 11 (02:13:25):
Look at you my eyes.

Speaker 22 (02:13:28):
I ain't domesticated.

Speaker 36 (02:13:30):
I'm not that superlized.

Speaker 4 (02:13:34):
I'm crawling up your lick.

Speaker 19 (02:13:36):
Now, babies to spurring your ear a little.

Speaker 21 (02:13:41):
Poison, No, babies, You've got nothing to fear.

Speaker 22 (02:13:48):
Yeah yeah yeah gotta yah yah yah yah yah yah
yah yah yah yeah yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 11 (02:14:02):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.

Speaker 7 (02:14:13):
I love your touch, no, baby, I love to feel
your skill.

Speaker 15 (02:14:19):
I want to side and side and hide.

Speaker 11 (02:14:22):
I do you.

Speaker 15 (02:15:07):
Black Mama slide, Black Mama sweet.

Speaker 11 (02:15:13):
A word to the bise.

Speaker 15 (02:15:15):
Y'all, baby, you better get out of my way.

Speaker 7 (02:15:20):
Black mother slides, black Parma sweet.

Speaker 11 (02:15:26):
A word two lives in.

Speaker 15 (02:15:28):
A pain, man, you better get out of my way.

Speaker 7 (02:15:33):
Y got got yo, yeah yah god.

Speaker 11 (02:15:40):
Ya yah yah got y'all y'all.

Speaker 22 (02:15:42):
Y'all, y'all, y'all, y'all, got, y'all, y'all, y'all god.

Speaker 15 (02:15:52):
Yah yah yady.

Speaker 2 (02:16:06):
Well, listeners, we are about to play the brand new
single for you on our show for Snake Bite Whiskey.
This is a band that we have loved on this
show over the years, and we're proud to be able
to play the brand new single Living to Die. And
we thought there's so much going on in the world
of the band at the moment that we would actually
get one of the members of the band on the
phone to chat a little bit about this new single

(02:16:28):
and everything else that's going on as well. So welcome
to the program, Jay Cool, Thanks, hav no worries. Now mate,
tell us a little bit about this brand new single,
Living to Die. We're so excited to be able to
play it on our show. Tell us a little bit
about the track and how it's coming to being.

Speaker 21 (02:16:46):
Yeahen, first off, thanks for playing the man that it's
really cool. The track is.

Speaker 43 (02:16:54):
Scuba Seve who joined the band of One two years ago,
and it's a trank E's had for quite a few
years before that, and he brought into rehearsal room and
was jamming it and I was like, yeah, dude, we
can really do something with that, and so I came
up with a vocal melody and we like kind of

(02:17:16):
knocked around back and forward a little bit and then
it came out as it is today and basically the
track is all about and it resonates I think with
people at the moment, like everyone's petting pressured with money
and you.

Speaker 21 (02:17:32):
Know, finances.

Speaker 43 (02:17:34):
Everybody feels a bit fucking in the rat race, and
that's what it's all about.

Speaker 21 (02:17:39):
Really.

Speaker 43 (02:17:39):
It's like being like that hamster and they bring it
a little running tube that you just keep on going
on and on, and it is really asking the question,
you know, are you living to tie or are you
actually dying to live?

Speaker 2 (02:17:53):
Like it is, it's a thought. It's a very thought
provoking track as well. And was that one of the
things that stood out for you when I was first
brought to you as a potential track as well?

Speaker 43 (02:18:04):
Yeah?

Speaker 21 (02:18:05):
Yeah, I think you know.

Speaker 43 (02:18:06):
I mean, we've got a reputation of doing quite hard hitting,
like ceazy rock songs and that, and this is a
little bit left field for us, but I was, yeah,
definitely keen to do it because it's as a band,
you don't want to write the same song over and
over again, right, so when you get something.

Speaker 21 (02:18:28):
Like this it's got a bit deeper meaning and stuff
like that. It's it's cool to do stuff like that,
and yeah, I was definitely.

Speaker 43 (02:18:36):
When Scoob played it for the first time, I was like, yeah,
there is definitely something like there there's a lot of
potential on this track.

Speaker 2 (02:18:45):
And is that something that you'd been talking about for
a while as well of kind of branching out and
trying some new stuff that perhaps is a little bit
more challenging for the band as well.

Speaker 21 (02:18:55):
Yeah, I mean we've always been a band that is
willing to like.

Speaker 43 (02:18:59):
Step out of our genre, Like I mean, we are
a sly's rock band at heart, but we've always been
willing to experiment.

Speaker 21 (02:19:08):
With a little bit of other styles.

Speaker 43 (02:19:09):
Like you know, in the past, we've done songs like
creep Show, which is got kind of a goffic rock
field to it, and choke Bones in the Fire, which
is kind of like bluesy rock. You know, we like
to play with a little bit with styles but still
stick within that kind of you know, realm without it

(02:19:31):
sounding too far left field. You know, we're not going
to be changing like, yeah, we're writing a new moment,
so that's most of that is traditional stuff that we do.
But yeah, with this one, we wanted to, you know,
just push it out with songwriting. It's not about kind
of like, oh, we've got to write a song which

(02:19:52):
is this style and stick with it. Within this it's
all about feel. And when I heard the riffs and
I thought, yeah, man, we can actually do something with us.
It was a great riff, you know, and there's a
lot of emotion in it and I yeah, and that's
where we went with it.

Speaker 2 (02:20:09):
Yeah, and you're working with some amazing people at the
moment as well. I mean with this track, you worked
with Todd Walter, and you worked with Anthony Fox as well.
And Anthony's worked with some of the leading people in
the industry Aerosmith, Buck Jerry, Steve Tyler. What was it
like being able to work with people like that with
your music as well.

Speaker 21 (02:20:29):
Yeah, it's really cool, man.

Speaker 43 (02:20:30):
I mean, Anthony Fox is somebody I wanted to work
with for a very long time.

Speaker 21 (02:20:37):
You know, I've known about him for a long time.

Speaker 43 (02:20:41):
When he played in Beautiful Creatures in America and then
his production stuff with like Boke Cherry and Aerosmith and
stuff and you know, Stephen ty on that. So yeah,
it's it's really cool about to work with people who
they understand your music as well, you know, when you
give them the recordings, they know what you.

Speaker 21 (02:21:02):
Need and what you want to get out of it.

Speaker 43 (02:21:05):
And you know, I'm working with Todd as well, who's
recorded the last two singles for us.

Speaker 21 (02:21:09):
He's done an amazing job laying everything down.

Speaker 43 (02:21:13):
So it's made the process like really easy and you
know cool, and so yeah, it's been it's been a
really good time working with them, and we're working with
both of them again for the album, which will be
coming out probably next year.

Speaker 2 (02:21:27):
At the stage, Yeah, can you tell us a little
bit about the album, Like how far along are you guys?
If you've got a few of the tracks recorded, where
are you at with that process?

Speaker 43 (02:21:39):
Yeah, we're probably about third of the way into it
at the moment.

Speaker 21 (02:21:45):
Just we we started writing at the beginning of the year,
and like.

Speaker 43 (02:21:50):
Things have overtaken because we've you know, we've got obviously
released a Limit to Die Now, we've got a US
talk coming up in about fight six weeks time, and
a whole bunch of other stuff that came on. But yeah,
we're about a third of the way into writing the
album and it's shaven not real good like it's.

Speaker 21 (02:22:09):
Going to be.

Speaker 43 (02:22:09):
Yeah, I mean we've already done two albums, so the
pressure is on to make the third one stand out
and that. But yeah, so far it's Shaven are real
good and yeah it's going to be killer. It's going
to surpass what we've done before.

Speaker 2 (02:22:25):
Awesome. I can't wait. You mentioned the US tour there.
You've got a couple of shows coming up in Australia
before you head off July seventeenth in Brisbane and August
the eighth on the Gold Coast. Tell us a little
bit though about this US tour. It sounds absolutely epic.
I'm looking at the itinery right now. You're playing at
places like Whiskey Your Go Go, You're playing at the

(02:22:45):
Rocklahoma Festival with some of the biggest bands in the world.
Tell us a little bit about how that's all come
about for you guys, and how are you feeling about
heading to the US.

Speaker 21 (02:22:55):
Yeah, yeah, I mean it's it's yeah, it's exciting. But
we were in the US two years ago now.

Speaker 43 (02:23:05):
Pretty much to the day, it's pretty much the same timeline.
We played Rockahoma in twenty twenty three and then I
hit up the because you can't play Rockahoima too twice
in a row, but they don't just don't allow that stuff.
And I ended up a promoter and said we'd like

(02:23:25):
to come back in twenty five and he was like, yeah, cool,
we'll put you on. And then we just built a
tour around that. But yeah, yeah, playing the Whiskey is
obviously iconic. It's it's most probably the most iconic rock venue.

Speaker 21 (02:23:38):
In the world.

Speaker 43 (02:23:40):
Yeah, everybody's played their guns and roses doors like it's
it's just a place you want to play if you're
a rock band or a metal band. Even it's like
it's the most iconic place around. Yeah, and then we
built a tour around that, mostly in Southern States. We're
doing Texas and we're doing Tennessee and we're doing Louisiana

(02:24:01):
and New Orleans and stuff like that. But yeah, it's
really exciting, it's really cool. Last time we went, we
had a blast, and yeah, it's always a good time
touring in the US.

Speaker 2 (02:24:12):
So tell us about touring in the US, Like, how
different is it to doing shows here in Australia. Do
you notice that the that the crowds are different, is
the atmosphere different? How does things change for you?

Speaker 21 (02:24:24):
I think they're a little bit more willing to come
out like any time, like you know.

Speaker 43 (02:24:31):
In Australia, Yeah, you want to, Well, we playing Australia,
we try and aim for weekend shows and stuff like that,
because like weekday shows are notoriously poorly attended here and.

Speaker 21 (02:24:44):
But in America they don't have that kind of attitude.
They just come out whenever, Sunday night, Monday night. They
don't care, they just like come out. Crowd response wise,
they're pretty comparable.

Speaker 43 (02:24:56):
I think, you know, shows were playing Australia responses it
was great, And when we played in the US previously,
it's always been on the same card level.

Speaker 21 (02:25:05):
But the energy is there, and you know, the passion
for the music.

Speaker 2 (02:25:10):
Is there definitely. So when you get back from the States,
which is in September, what are the plans then for
the rest of the year. Are you hoping to do
some more Australian shows or will you solely be working
on the album by then?

Speaker 43 (02:25:25):
Yeah, we will be working on the album. But we
do have some shows we already booked, but they not
being announced. I think some of them are getting announced
this weekend. We can't say who it's with, but it's
a pretty big deal. Yeah, yeah, but yeah, so the

(02:25:46):
rough plan is to finish right.

Speaker 21 (02:25:48):
In the album. For the rest of the year, we
do have a bunch of Australian shows booked and.

Speaker 43 (02:25:53):
Then yeah, and then we'll be back on tour internationally
next year when we drop the album.

Speaker 2 (02:26:00):
Aw well mate, we're going to play Living to Die
on our show again right now. So what would you
like to say to all of our listeners out there
before they take a listen to this amazing track once again?

Speaker 43 (02:26:11):
Yeah, I would say, first off, thank you for support.
If you're already a fan. If you're not a fan already,
then just check us out on our socials on you know, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube.

Speaker 21 (02:26:26):
Yeah, just come and check us out. Man.

Speaker 43 (02:26:28):
Living to is a great song. It's it's an anthem.
It's appeals to everybody right now. So yeah, I have
a listen, get into it, share with everybody, you know.
That's all we can say.

Speaker 15 (02:27:14):
Day ring Bone, she flat the clown, riding to take job.

Speaker 11 (02:27:26):
Riding.

Speaker 21 (02:27:34):
She's a.

Speaker 15 (02:27:37):
Waiting down.

Speaker 21 (02:27:50):
The machine.

Speaker 44 (02:27:54):
To bastination, trying to get out a way door scum
in everything Moday, trading in in.

Speaker 22 (02:28:15):
Face, fire away, stay away, my standing machine.

Speaker 4 (02:28:31):
We got down.

Speaker 7 (02:28:38):
Try say side.

Speaker 15 (02:28:43):
In tristing machine. You buy you buy anything, Change things, question.

Speaker 11 (02:30:14):
Down.

Speaker 37 (02:30:34):
Hello, welcome back to the show. I'm your host, Kyle,
and we're going to be talking about Well, the new
stage production of nineteen eighty four. I guess it isn't
exactly a new stage production because it's kind of a
revival of one which was put on about a decade ago. Well,
jumping right into the story, a society where you were

(02:30:55):
watched every second of every day is the world which
this production is set in. There's cameras in every corner
of your life, microphones in your living room, listening to
every word which you speak, unable to escape the ever present,
omnipotent force controlling your world. And this isn't Jim Carrey's

(02:31:16):
The Truman Show. It's George Orwells nineteen eighty four. This
is the existence of one Winston Smith, played on the
stage by Michael wally Now as an editor in the
so called Ministry of Truth. It's his job to edit reality,
to ensure that no proof exists which contradicts the truth

(02:31:38):
as dictated by the ruling party of Ingsock. And this
dystopian future, Winston, like everyone else in Oceania, is beaten
down to believe, act and talk in the way that
Ingsock's ruler big brother says that they must. But Winston
has found a diary and a blind spot in his

(02:32:00):
apartment where the cameras cannot monitor him. There must be
something more than this to life right now, he meets
Julia played by Chloe Baylis, a young and beautiful woman
who immediately detects his own burning need for rebellion. Now
together they begin a secret affair and dare the unthinkable

(02:32:23):
to question, can we fight back now? With the possible
help of O'Brien played by David Whitney, a treasonous party member,
Winston dreams of doing his part for the betterment of mankind?
But is this all folly and his big brother still watching?
Is freedom of thought even possible? Or does Ingsok have

(02:32:45):
Winston and Julia exactly where they want them now? George
Orwell's final completed novel, nineteen eighty four, went on to
be his most influential and iconic. It was written over
many years and it was published in nineteen forty eight,
and the germ of the idea was sourced from many inspirations.

(02:33:08):
The viceol like grip and surveillance state of the Soviet
Union Nazi propaganda and the terror and Conference which saw
the divvying up of Europe after World War Two. Now
the book and its take on totalitarianism is one which
seems current no matter when you read it. It's, in

(02:33:30):
a word, timeless, how timeless.

Speaker 21 (02:33:34):
Well.

Speaker 37 (02:33:35):
In twenty fourteen, Shaken Stir Theater Company first presented their
stage adaptation as a follow up to their hit production
of George Orwell's Animal Farm. At the time, it was
said that nineteen eighty four was more relevant than ever before.
And well, now it's twenty twenty five. Shaken Stirs, Nellie

(02:33:56):
Lee and Nick Stoogeby are reviving George Orwell's masterpiece for
a new national tour, and guess what, it's more relevant
now than ever before. Again, It's one of those few
books which I've read, and one of the far fewer
which I've read more than once. Like everyone else who

(02:34:18):
doesn't simply reference it but actually experiences the novel, I'm
taken aback by just how expertly it encapsulates humanity's desire
to be free, but also I desire to control and
to be controlled. There was a highly regarded film adaptations Stone,

(02:34:38):
John Hurt and Richard Burden, released in nineteen eighty four. Actually,
but despite being a film guy myself, I didn't really
care for it. I felt at last some of the
point of the novel, which I can't say about the
State show. I believe that Shaken Steirr's adaptation is one
worthy of the title George Wells, nineteen eighty four. It's

(02:35:02):
directed by Michael Futscher and moving from page to stage.
Some things have been edited out for the play's ninety
minute runtime excuse me, but the meaning is all still there,
the oppressive atmosphere, the sense of fear and unbeatable odds,

(02:35:23):
but also the human spirit and hopefulness in the face
of it.

Speaker 1 (02:35:28):
We are.

Speaker 37 (02:35:30):
Excuse me again. We're transported into Winston's paranoid existence from
the moment which when you make your way to your seats,
as beaming spotlights pan the auditorium, blinding the audience and
illuminating us individually for the whole world to see. This

(02:35:50):
play is not an altogether pleasant experience. It's daunting, it's loud,
and it's depressing, with the lighting design by Jason glen
Wright and the sound design by Guy Webster making us
feel like we're in this cold and emotionally violent world.
Passive massive plasma screens looming over the real the stage

(02:36:16):
are used a great effect throughout the night, showing us
the extent of the paranoia and the surveillance which Winston
is subjected to on an unending basis, the terrifying eyes
a big brother watching every move. The two minutes Hate
as the enemy of the party is presented for citizens
to focus their anger on lest they begin to question

(02:36:39):
Ingsock itself, but also as a window into the inner
thoughts of Winston's journal, explaining this dark society to us
as he dares to commit thought crime in doing so,
also his dreams and desires and his adoration for Julia,

(02:37:00):
but also the fatherly affection of a brine. And this
is all something which I think was missing from the movie,
this internal monologue. It is something that I think that
the movie was really lacking. The set, designed by Josh McIntosh,
expands beyond the dark and barren industrialized wasteland as Winston

(02:37:21):
and Julia attempt to live a normal life. The classically
designed apartment folds out from the side of the stage,
completely at odds with everything else. It's this one place
of homely warmth and love. When not in the apartment,
it is closed off to us once more, and we

(02:37:41):
return to the brutal reality of a slave society under
the thumb of their masters, enhanced by the drab plane
and intentionally jandalist costume choices of just plain overalls. Now
while Michael, while he did seem a little too healthy

(02:38:03):
for how I've always pictured Winston, he plays the part magnificently.
He's a meek coward fueled by his own his own
certainty that things shouldn't be this way, someone who wants
to be free, as his instinctually knows he should be,

(02:38:23):
regardless of what the party order him to say. Chloe
Bayless is spot on aus Julia. She's young, she's beautiful,
she's liberated, and she's full of life in almost always
completely the opposite of Winston, but someone who needs to
suppress all with these qualities when her own instincts simply
desire to be a woman and to be loved as one.

(02:38:46):
While David Whitney as O'Brien is also great, portraying that
balance of the paternal care which Winston sees in him,
but also the weathered authoritarianism of a party official, as
much of a slave to Big Brother as the rest
of them. It's horrific and depressing. Nineteen eighty four wasn't

(02:39:08):
a science fiction story which accurately predicted leaps and technologies
so much as it accurately depicts humanity's failings. Insock might
be the noose to hang everyone with, but the people
of Oceania allowed their necks to be put into that
noose in the first place. It's a totalitarian regime. It

(02:39:32):
doesn't simply want to control the masses. It wants the
masses to love the boot as it crushes on their necks.
Now Shaken, Stir Theaters bring this terrible vision of a
potentially not too distant future to the stage perfectly with
incredible production and a small, yet talented cast. George Orwell's

(02:39:52):
magnum Opus is brought to life in vivid detail, and
as someone with a great love for the novel hardly
recommend now nineteen eighty four is Well. I saw it
as part of the national tour which is going on.
I saw it at the Comedy Theater, but that production

(02:40:14):
has actually wrapped up by now, wrapped up on the sixth.
But there's going to be a national tour to follow.
So for tickets and showtimes, I recommend checking out Shake
and Stir dot com dot au and Yeah I, especially
if you're found in nineteen eighty four the novel, I
highly recommend checking out this really really well put together

(02:40:41):
theatrical production.

Speaker 7 (02:41:00):
It seems like a Mac.

Speaker 45 (02:41:02):
Cool just making Americans make you see start, how about
that's just sucking.

Speaker 7 (02:41:19):
And you don't talk to say then you don't come
to say No, you don't come to say you got
the body? No, baddy, oh molly yo?

Speaker 11 (02:41:50):
Okay, Well you can't tell them, so something something.

Speaker 10 (02:42:02):
The need can tell the old stories to please say,
you don't come tusaid please you don't have tuessay, No,
you don't not teesay.

Speaker 7 (02:42:21):
Not siyya.

Speaker 4 (02:42:29):
Oh honey ya okay lady, oh money, I know.

Speaker 7 (02:42:50):
That's yourful.

Speaker 22 (02:42:54):
You want me.

Speaker 4 (02:42:56):
I tell you that you know that something something there's never.

Speaker 10 (02:43:17):
You don't cot booze se you love me and you
don't cut cheeze head.

Speaker 4 (02:43:25):
No, you don't count booze pad. You love me, baby,
it's a.

Speaker 7 (02:43:33):
Shady Oh I'm not do I think.

Speaker 2 (02:44:24):
And that's it for this episode of Subculture. And of
course we finished there with trans vision Vamp because guess what, Halley,
they've announced.

Speaker 3 (02:44:31):
The tour because you don't care, that's what you're saying.
Maybe I don't care about this anymore.

Speaker 2 (02:44:36):
Yeah, No, trans Vision Vamp has actually announced an Australian
tour as well, and we're trying to get an interview
with them tour, so that would be cool.

Speaker 3 (02:44:44):
I had some stuff about them sort of recently, so
I didn't realize they were going to come over here.

Speaker 2 (02:44:50):
That's cool they are. Yeah, So Harley, if people want
to hear more and find out more about what's going
on with the world of subculture, though, where can they
turn to?

Speaker 3 (02:45:02):
Well, first up is subculture Entertainment dot com and if
you want to find out more between shows that you know,
maybe we've we can hint at a Transvision Vamp interview
or something in the future. Check out our socials. Look
for subculture Entertainment on Facebook, Discord, Twitter or x TikTok and.

Speaker 40 (02:45:26):
What else?

Speaker 2 (02:45:26):
Did I forget?

Speaker 1 (02:45:27):
Blue Sky?

Speaker 3 (02:45:28):
Look for subculture Dave on Instagram and threads.

Speaker 2 (02:45:33):
Definitely, but we better get out of here right now.
So for now, I've been Dave Gee and I've been Harley.

Speaker 3 (02:45:39):
Join us again next week for another episode.

Speaker 2 (02:45:51):
Holly, guess what, I'm mad and you're not. There is
a Jewel in Town.

Speaker 3 (02:45:57):
Ah, you mean Carli Jewel.

Speaker 2 (02:46:00):
Carlijewel is back with a brand new, absolutely amazing album.
This album, of course, is called There's a Jewel in
Town and well, this is one of those albums that
you simply must have because Carli is one of the
best and most promising artists out there on the Australian
rock scene right now. And if you want to grab

(02:46:20):
a copy of this amazing, brand new album, well you've
only got to go to Carli's very own Bigcartel dot
com website, which is actually exmusic label dot Bigcartel dot
Com and you can search for Carlie Jewel or guess what,
our very very good friends at roumoorb Records are stocking

(02:46:41):
Carli's brand new album. So you can head to either
of those places and support a great Australian artist by
grabbing her brand new There's a Jewel in Town coming
June twentieth. Well it's out now, that means, so grab
a copy of There's a Duel in Town right now
by Carli Jewel.

Speaker 4 (02:46:58):
Fantastic

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Subculture Radio Show Ep #107

Episode Transcript

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Subculture Radio Show Ep #107

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