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Strength In Vulnerability With ZARZ From WHITEFORD · HEAVY Music Interviews

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  That's confused, little snub in your heart, then you fools, the sunlence
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  down swallowed your is ours. Here from Whiteford. We have Shorty on bass
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  and breaking vocals. We have Nate on drums and Aaron on lead and backing
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  vocals. And we're not far away from releasing a new song, Water,
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  this coming Friday the twelfth. Yeah, you've done this before, haven't you
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  again? Not as much as I'd like, but a few times. Also
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  Whiteford our premiere and the music video for your new song Water this Thursday night
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  through have You made on? It comes out of the public on Friday,
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  but you can catch it Thursday night if you want to get ahead of the
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  pack mate. So how you feel about it? Excited? We are?
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  We just hope it connects. That's the main thing with this song, is
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  just just wanting it to connect with people, you know. Yeah, and
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  we're just opened. The video portrays that. We've tried hard to make the
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  video portray that. So just about being there for friends and makeshif and just
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  hoping the video is joyful as well. Yeah, serious element of it.
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  When you're down, when you're feeling like crap, allow yourself to be vulnerable
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  enough to speak out, speak up to close friends or professionals if you need
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  it. That is there these days, you know, like do many men
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  have got that much o image about them where something's wrong with them and they
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  just keep it to themselves because they don't want to be vulnerable. I guess,
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  well, isn't it? That seems like the world over? Our grandfathers
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  really that was the generation. Don't complain, Just get to it and get
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  it. Get a job done, look after your wife, look after your
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  family. Don't no one wants to hear it. To shut up and work,
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  and that filters down, doesn't it. Yeah? I remember my grandfather
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  saying to me, like, whenever I hurt myself, he'd be like,
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  it's only the pain that hurts Chris, And when you can get over that,
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  you'll be all right. Like just said, what the fuck does that
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  even meaning to hurt? For a minute. But we'll get to the video
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  soon. Robert tell us about the song from a musical point of view and
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  what you're going for because the press release caused it. Your most emotionve song
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  to date, is that? Right? That was Tim from ex Music that
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  he coined that phrase. I was blown away when I saw that that's his
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  thoughts on the song. The song just came out of a suggestion from Tim
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  to be honest, I just wanted to aim to push this emotion of it
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  is okay not to be okay, don't live in that not okay all the
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  time, but it is okay to recognize those moments when you're not dealing well.
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  And just wanted to I just wanted to write a song to say it's
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  okay to speak out, it's okay to admit you don't have to bother us.
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  I've had friends that are no longer with us by their own hand.
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  Let's just say it that way. And there was one in particular that it
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  really rocked me. I missed his phone call on a Friday night and just
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  busy with life and my family, and I knew he wasn't great, but
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  I didn't know he wasn't that great, if that makes it any sense.
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  And on Monday night we get the call, we get told so that in
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  a funny way that I tried to pen the song in a way that to
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  say to the person that is feeling down, it is okay, you are
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  allowed to speak about this, and then to say to the other side it
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  is okay, you are allowed to be there for your friend. Yeah,
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  it was a hard bridge. Yeah, it took a while. It took
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  it took me three months ruminating on what this song could be. The song
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  actually took me forty minutes to write, and then when I brought it to
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  the band, we just went at screwdriver work. We worked hard for almost
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  twelve months. We just like I said Tim from X Music, I was
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  blown away when he was this song is special. We need to we need
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  to really do the right things for this song. And just my band brothers
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  are amazing. The brilliant meant brilliant musicians. Everybody was. Everybody was ego
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  at the door. What does this song maan? And to the eleventh hour,
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  we made a major change to the song forty eight hours before we were
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  set to record it, and that that change worked. The change was amazing.
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  That change excites me, to be honest, There's nothing lyrical. It
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  was just we had a bridge didn't quite feel like it was working, and
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  we just let's go ahead on a lima in. Let's just cut that right
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  out. And I think the end result is amazing. Well, I hope
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  this isn't too personal. A question asked, frav it with that thing with
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  your mate that passed away and he missed his phone call like that, that
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  obviously would have had a bit of a bit of an impact on you,
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  like you writing this song help you deal with that a bit. That helped
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  me understand and that what ultimately happened wasn't my fault. It wasn't because I
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  missed his phone call. I'm not the only one he tried to ring a
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  few people. The thing is I owned a mowing business at the time,
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  and I thought, oh, we were monked out from my wedding. And
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  I was like, oh, he's just ringing about his bloody lawn. I'll
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  call him over the weekend. And life happened and I didn't call him back.
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  And I that took me quite a few years to the point of finishing
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  this song to realize that I can relate. It would have happened anyway,
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  whether that phone call or not. I had a similar thing happened in Cannes
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  one night. Like I always used to make sure my mates got home first
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  before I did, And there's one night we were the casino at five o'clock
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  in the morning. There's just me and one other mate, left Jason,
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  and then the taxi was there and I said, man, you jump in
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  the taxi, off you and he's gone, and now you go first,
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  and like he insisted, so I went. I got home and the phone
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  was ringing from him and I didn't answer it because I was drunk and I
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  want to go to sleep. And the next morning there's about ten calls from
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  his phone. There's all these other numbers, and it turns out he got
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  in the next taxi. It was an Indian taxi drive. I had an
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  argument with him, jump out of the car. Taxi driver ran him over
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  and killed him. And like for so long, I was like here,
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  I'm just like, what if I had to just made him go in the
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  taxi I got in and everything would have been all right. But you just
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  can't. You can't blame yourself because it's what it's I lived with it for
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  a long time, so it brought up a lot of that stuff. I
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  realized that I hadn't actually dealt with completing this song, but ultimately he did
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  help me let it go. Oll since through actually premiering the video through have
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  you made it? I better ask you about that? So tell us about
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  the video, Like how does it tie in with the song h We wanted
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  the video to be a mix of sincere and sort of conversational in a way,
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  even though the song is not conversational. We want to present but we
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  also want to joy in life and celebration, as in, when you get
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  past that that point where you're too scared to speak up, then like the
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  tail end of the video clips or it's just a celebration, and I hope
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  that comes across well. I saw this video, this video, I saw
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  an ad about men's mental health, especially from the UK a few years ago,
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  and I don't think we achieved that. I don't think we could achieve
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  what that did. But it was an interesting video. Two blocks just going
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  to the footy and one guy's always looking solemn and looking you know, just
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  just sitting there, just watching the footy and his mates up and down a
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  cheer and then grabbing him like yeah, we're good a girl. Then all
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  the words coming out up they're talking about men's mental health and you know,
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  people taking themselves off this planet. And then the end of the ad.
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  It was just so engaging. I couldn't I watched the thing like four times
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  in a row. At the end of the age, you find out that
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  it's the guy that seemed happy. Yeah, well he was faking all that
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  just to get by m hmm. And he was the one who went,
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  I can't deal with this. At the end of the ad. Is the
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  guy who's looking serious and the guy you're just instantly assure is the guy who's
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  struggling with life. Puts on the seat. It's like, oh, you
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  know people like that, mm hmm. And if you don't personally know people
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  like that, look at the things like I wish I had prepared. I
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  think Robert Williams used to say, you know, I was thinking about the
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  exact same Robert Williams, you know, like it's it's it's the people that
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  that project to the world that everything's okay that are usually the most damage.
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  Can't let you in. I can't let you see I'm not coping because right
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  now I'm liking the fact that I'm making you laugh. Yeah, making other
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  people laugh to hide your own insecurities. It's a powerful thing. Yeah,
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  Yeah, that's really That's a sees a heavy song. People people connect with
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  it. You know. As a kid, I used to love the songs.
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  I remember the first time I heard the cure wish teenager, you know,
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  going through those teenager over heightened emotions. That feels so real in the
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  moment I go to get with you, you get to your late twenties and
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  that and you just go, wow, that felt so real. But looking
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  at looking at it now, just like man, but I felt like I
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  went, how did Robert Smith get in my head? How did he write
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  what I was feeling. There's a lot of musicians that are good doing that.
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  They are like Cory Taylor's one for me, Like I can listen to
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  any of his songs and just think, like, are you standing there?
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  I can write and that while I was going through that, Yeah, yeah,
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  you've got a camera, You've got camera in my house and a microphone?
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  Where is it? Then you start I'm not saying yeah, I'm not
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  saying I'm that good a songwriter, but I'm hoping that. I'm hoping that
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  I tried to come from a really real and raw place with this song,
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  and I'm hoping people I hope people find some release. I hope they can
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  connect. Not demanding people to connect, and people don't like it. That's
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  the way it is that people don't like it. Not everyone's gonna like your
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  song. I'll put it this way, bright like. I'm the sort of
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  person when the ballad comes on I chat it off after twenty seconds because they
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  shit. But I last all the I lasted all the way through water like.
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  It's a for me to do that. It's something. There's something there,
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  because I'm the most judgmental preck you'll ever meet when it comes to ballads.
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  So the fact that I got through it means that should be someone likes
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  it. Great. Thanks man. That's a compliment that might sound back added,
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  but it is a compliment. His Water a standalone single or is it
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  part of a bigger picture? Look, I'll pull back the curtain a bit.
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  We're pretty disorganized. I thought you're going to give me a skit.
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  But I had plans to finished right in the whole album and and bringing it
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  to the band, and we're all working on it, but we're just,
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  oh, shiny, let's do this. Look at unicorns, swirrel. Maybe
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  that's more me than the rest of the band. Anyway, It's presently a
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  standalone, a single with a view to be part of a larger album in
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  the coming months. That'll do me. And for those who don't know why
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  Ford, Like you're a Sydney band, but you play classic rock mixed with
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  blues mate like in all honestly, there's not enough of that these days.
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  That's to me, that's the perfect mix, you know, like there's nothing
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  thanks man. Yeah, yeah, I'm just I'm just lucky that I have
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  three band brothers, Like what's happening. I mean, I don't want to
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  sound like her. I'm not like you be doors this of the songs.
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  But then I work the songs up and sometimes I step on toes. You
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  know, I've got this crappy little electric trump kit and badly trying. I'm
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  going to this sort of idea and actually, can you make this drum part
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  shiny? And I do the same with the bait. I get carried away,
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  and so sometimes I bring sometimes I bring a pretty full idea to the
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  band. Then it takes me a while to let go of being in love
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  with the demo. It's a real dangerous thing to be in love with the
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  demo because it really what I'm trying to do is here's what I see boys,
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  how about it? Yeah? But like this, I can touch it.
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  I can touch it. Yeah, yeah, because my drama's freaking amazing.
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  I put him in the top ten in the country inside about Top ten.
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  I love my drama. My bass player is just so thoughtful shorty.
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  He's just and musical. And you know, if i'm the demo as I
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  do, if I'm overplaying something, yeah, thank you, you're over playing.
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  There doesn't really need to happen like that, And it sucks what I'm
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  in love with that baseline and Aaron is just we should just call him pockets.
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  He's just pulling riffs out of his pockets left, right and center.
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  He just never stops and he can just he can hear what I'm trying to
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  do and he can perfect it. Yeah, and I love it. So
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  sometimes it's just really raw. He's a real raw acoustic guy to you.
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  And other times it's like, let's just polish this up a bit, when
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  really they should. Here's what I'm thinking of. Let's go, what are
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  you guys thinking now that you've heard that? Where are you jumping from?
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  Where are you? Does that make any sense? Yeah? Get a roundabout
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  sort of a but to me it does. But I'm a bit bit crazy.
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  To you, I'm a big bat. Shit. There's another single,
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  you guys who got too called I'm all right that it is about to be
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  used for a new TV show to tell us a bit more about that.
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  A made of mine he is. I consider him to be part of Australian
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  rock and roll history. A guy called Tony Savage. He managed Stevie Wright
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  and he's managed quite a few people. I met him seven eight years ago.
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  I did a very short stint when it was a lot of rehearsals for
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  a handful of gar for me to go, I'm not right for this.
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  I was fronting and in excess tribute show and six months of rhearsals and three
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  gigs in, I went, I can't do this anyway. The guy that
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  replaced me with is phenomenal. The best thing that I've happened to that band
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  was for me to go, I'm going, I'm out of you. I
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  can't do it. I can't give you what you need. And who was
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  that? A partner? But as I was saying, and I was like,
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  oh hello, I stayed in contact with some of the guys and one
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  of them was Tony. And Tony's been working on this octagonal pool table for
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  years and okal pool table. Whatever the thing is like, the game's going
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  to be done in forty seconds. Your break you've got to try and either
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  beat your opponent or beat forty seconds. I'm pretty sure that's the rules.
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  And I was having a big chat with Tony the other day, so he
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  just loves the song and he feels like the chorus is the right to be
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  the theme, so lok for this little TV show trying to build around the
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  table, which we'll find out more next Libruary next month. It's really where
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  they come along with that. It takes a long time to get those sorts
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  of things up and running. But yeah, like I said before, a
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  little disorganized here Whiteford and we jumped a bit too early ago, and he's
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  the song as part of this I'm speaking of organized, my friends, speaking
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  of disorganized, You've done one good thing that's going to help you with that,
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  and that is signed with ex Music and Tim McClean smith. Like that
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  man is a champion, Like is he going to do all right there?
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  I reckon, Oh yeah, no, Tim for quite a few years,
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  as has Nate, and from the moment we met, we've just clicked.
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  We've got a lot of love and a lot of time for that man.
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  And felt very honored when when he was just like, I'll take you boys
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  on mm hmm. Because I never really wanted to push it because I've known
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  him for so much. Yeah I want to. Yeah, my little mates
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  came ons. Boy do you feel better now? But I didn't want it
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  to be like that, and so yeah, I was blown away when in
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  all honesty, he was just like, I see something here. I think
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  I think things can happen. Let's let's do this properly. He's built a
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  pretty cool stable. There were ex music to it, and he's got some
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  good bands coming to you. He's got quite a few old we were chatting
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  the other day. I thought there was ten. I think there's fifteen where
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  that all come from. And I've been busy and a great a great mix.
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  Yeah yeah, they're not just all the ones you've got the rock.
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  There's blueser's and metalism's. Yeah yeah, yeah yeah. I don't know that's
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  your confidence that well, I don't know. For me, it feels like
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  there's some confident and doy that he just loves music, just wants to help
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  you, just wants to help you, help yourself, help you be.
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  Let's stop pissing in his pocket because he gets too much of it wide would
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  have got a show coming up this Thursday, July the eleventh at the Duke
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  of Enmore in Sydney with touring La glam metal band The Midnight Devils. There's
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  Wicked Things and there's also Wayward Kings. Like it's a pretty good lineup and
• 19:29
  it's absolutely nothing to get in free entry. How good is that? That's
• 19:33
  the right price, isn't it. I'm coming all the way down there so
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  I don't have to pay to get in. Yeah, spending all that money
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  on a plane ticket, But I just good, good light up for bands
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  here, fantastic we've we haven't had the pleasure to have been able to play
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  with waybe Kings yet, but we have with Wicked Things quite a few times.
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  I love those guys. They have good music and good guys here.
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  Excellent music, madness, customakes, and ton of fun. Probably the best
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  way to describe him. I just I love being around those guys. It's
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  just so much fun, a lot of mutual love for what each of us
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  do too. Do you ever have a hair off like? I'm sure the
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  boys will be there saying their hands a little bit better than yours. Let's
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  not talk about hair after but you see the Midnight Devil. Speaking of Ham,
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  they're gonna they're gonna put everyone to shame. Yeah, oh yeah,
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  I mean the rest room, whether they be putting makeup on. It's fucking
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  disgusting, but it looks good when they finish. A lot bit bored than
• 20:40
  seeing them. I've watched if you were there, the video clips recently too.
• 20:45
  To be honest with their videos don't do them justice. Man. They're
• 20:48
  one of those live bands that as soon as sucking those lights go out something
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  and flicks in them and they're fucking mental. Just really really nice guys.
• 20:55
  That's cool, that's cool. Yeah, looking forward to that should be a
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  good night. It will be pissing. Look in everyone's pocket, but yours.
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  Sorry, we'll stop pissing in their pocket too, because we're pissing and
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  everyone's except yours. But what else do you guys got come up? Is
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  that the only gigg he got? Or you got got some water plug?
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  That's that's for the moment, all right, we'll cut that bit out there
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  when I'm like, we're a little dissold. Fantastic ship up, bro,
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  all right? You know I'm a dude who used to like my lawns he
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  thinks he can sing and write a song. So got great hair, empty
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  littles now well in your heart, then you fools, the silence down swallowed
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  your heavy I'm like older the timing day. If period time you'll he be
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  spak your hell again, If you'll speak color about your there's no shame I
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  speak. If you live, it's not like wears baby shows. This time
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  will pass, but we name o your brass. You swallowed your words,
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  hat be like, Oh it's a looking day. If you wait, you'll
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  help you. He's back again. If you speak un in so, it's
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  no shame in speaking. If you live your like, you wait till we
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  help you. The bag it just be because mym so this was save its
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  head, speak of where are thissode now when you have your words, waime this whole