On the eve of Eddy Current Suppression Ring disturbing the Melbourne Zoo, we speak to guitarist Mikey Young about touring the nation, his synthy side project and skeletons in the closet.


So I have to start with this. Is it true that Brad (Eddy Current bass player a.k.a Rob Solid) was once the singer of a (funk/rock/punk) band called the Kitchenhands?

(Laughter) Uh...yeah.

He was responsible for the one of the first gigs I ever went to (in suburban Melbourne).

Yeah right one of those community hall type things? I was probably there.

And I remember he was wrapped in a blue tarpaulin. With maybe nothing on underneath.

Yeah I remember that one. There was another one where he was just wearing undies made of carpet.

There must of been maybe forty people there.

Yeah they had small ones and then there was some big good ones as well. I don't think anyone really goes to those (community type) things anymore. My brother who plays drums in Eddy Current was actually the drummer in the Kitchenhands as well. So our band is actually half of Kitchenhands! (Laughter)

I'm not sure if you want me to print that or not.

I don't know if they'd be too embarrassed. But it's pretty funny. Damn. He had long flowing blonde locks then. (Laughter) It's funny I've never been asked that one before. I thought that we've managed to keep our past hidden.

So how did you get roped in to playing at the Melbourne Zoo?

Um. Someone just emailed me and said 'We're doing shows at the Zoo do you want to play?' And we don't really think too hard about things. I think we got to the stage about six months, or a year ago, where it was like 'I don't want to every two months just play at the Corner or something like that. The only way to stay interested is to do things that are different I guess. No one had asked us to play outdoors at the Zoo before. So it was just like 'Yeah for sure'.

Do you still manage and book shows yourself?

Yeah. Yeah it's getting...come to festival time and doing the Big Day Out's and stuff, it gets a bit more strenuous. All the little things you've overlooked and things to stress about. The bigger the show the more sort've media stuff you do as well. But it's nothing I can't handle yet.

Do you find not having a manager that people take you less seriously?

To the average dude on the street buying our records I'm sure they don't even know or care. From what I can tell and what I've been told, I think the industry at large, they're slightly intrigued by us. And maybe think were weirdos or something. That we say 'No' to a lot of gigs that pay well and don't want these supposedly fantastic offers.

They probably interpret that as 'Man Eddy Current think they're so cool'.

Yeah I dunno. I've heard that before for sure. I remember a friend of mine once saying 'Jeez for a so called peoples band they're pretty fuckin choosy for what they do and don't do'. And I was like 'Fuck you I never said we wee a people's band'. (Laughs) I dunno we play stuff that we wanna play and that's it.

I think all bands are opinionated on that - to varying degrees - but it's just because they usually go through a manager, people dont' hear it from the band themselves.

Yeah I guess that's why people have managers. Sometimes you don't feel comfortable asking for more money yourself, or you have difficulty saying 'No' to things. Maybe it just makes people shift the blame a bit. But I'm getting better at giving people reasons why we don't want to do things. Not that I'm sitting here lying y'know,  'My mother's ill' or something. (Laughs). You just can't do everything. I also don't want to be one of those bands that plays every festival or every week and...you just get sick of playing and you don't want to be the band on every bill that people get sick of.

How was the Big Day Out?

It was good. I really enjoyed playing it. The organisation side of things is probably less fun, but the hour before we're playing and the hour after we were playing was really fun. People seemed to like us. The actual Big Day Out is probably less my cup of tea, as far as bands I like. But everyone seemed to be having a good time. It was hot everywhere, that was the one thing that was a bit draining. But people seemed to like us and were having fun, so...

Are you a Neil Young fan?

I'm not even really a Neil Young fan you know. I tried to stick around one day - cause we played pretty early and you gotta get there around 10.30am or something like that. By the time the afternoon comes round I just want to go home (Laughs). I heard he was really good. I would've liked to have seen him. It's just the combination of a long day and heat. I'm not really a 40,000 person kinda guy anymore anymore.

I'm not a huge Neil Young fan to be honest, but I saw him in Melbourne and I was really blown away. Weirdly, mainly because of his guitar sound.

Well that's the thing I do really like when he stops singing and plays and I like his guitar solos and the tone of his guitar. I've just never really liked his songs or his voice so much.

So tell us about Brain Children.

(Laughs). Um. We've got a six song twelve inch coming out  in a couple of months. We're just waiting for the sleeves and the artwork to come back. It's all mastered and stuff. Beyond that I dunno. Me and Max (Crumbs) the guy I do it with, we really like working together and whether it stays in that vein...we really just like doing a bunch of different things. Anything we can do.

Good excuse for a bunch of sexy photos.

Yeah yeah (laughs). You haven't seen the worst of them don't worry. We just put the outtakes on there.

That's the PC stuff.

Yeah the album cover should be um, pretty hot. (Laughs) I mean I've always liked making synthy, poppy, disco stuff. I imagine that as soon as we get this one out we'll probably just keep working on stuff. No plans for live shows or anything. I think I've always been more comfortable making that sort of music in my bedroom than playing shows.

Part 2 - In which we discuss the band being nominated for the Australian Music Prize, overseas plans and the future of Eddy Current

Eddy Current Suppression Ring play alongside Tame Impala, this Thursday 19th as part of the Roar Sounds showcase through February at Melbourne Zoo.

ROAR SOUNDS
Thursday 19 February – Eddy Current Suppression Ring + Tame Impala
Thursday 26 February - Resin Dogs (QLD) Feat. N’fa (1200 Techniques) + Phrase + Alexx The Kidd