The Vine turns one year old this week. While we pat ourselves on the back and dine on cheese, wine, antelope and demos, we figured that we should take a look back at some of the artists we've spoken to in the last year.
The Presets - This very week last year, Ben Gook spoke to Julian Hamilton of The Presets about their forthcoming album
Apocalypso. What a difference a year makes. Hamilton spoke of the process of recording, touring in Europe and the duo's unknown expectations of the year ahead:
"We were stunned when Midnight Juggernauts got into thetop 20. So amazing. And then Cutters at #1, incredible. I don’t knowwhat we’re going to do. I wasn’t even thinking about top ten. I don’twant to think about it." - Julian Hamilton, The Presets, April 2008
THE PRESETS INTERVIEW
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Why? - Hugely underrated in Australia, Dan Rule spoke to Yoni Wolf, frontman for San Fransiscan indie/hip-hop/folk/pop collective Why? about their incredible album
Alopecia, documenting daily life and getting into trouble with revealing too much:
"On Elephant Eyelash
there’s a song about my Dad and I wasreally worried about how he would feel about that. But he’s all proudof it, you know. Whenever we play a live show and he’s there, he’slike, "Play the one about me, play the one about me!" (laughs). It’spretty cool. I don’t have any ill intentions about these songs, even ifthey seem dark or dramatic or violent in a way. I think people realiseI’m a good-intentioned person." - Yoni Wolf, Why? - April 2008
WHY? INTERVIEW
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MGMT - A month before their maiden tour to Australia last December, we spoke to MGMT frontman Andrew VanWyngarden about recording on Garageband, being close witness to Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes nude on a horse, and lyrical inspiration:
"I think the main reason the lyrics came out like that is kind've wherewe were. Being that we'd just graduated from college at this...thisschool that was kind've a fantasy world. This tiny school inConnecticut. We were in lots of bands and doing all kinds've crazystuff, running round in the woods and then...I moved to New York. Andit was almost like a shock how different it was. And I think the lyricswere coming from that period of not really knowing what the hell wasgoing on. Also because all of a sudden we were on a major label and alittle bit paranoid you know?" - Andew VanWyngarden, MGMT, November 2008
MGMT INTERVIEW
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Bon Iver - He left Australia as the darling of the Sydney Festival, but before he got here we spoke to Justin Vernon a.k.a Bon Iver, about constant touring, group singing and his little indie record blowing up worldwide:
"It’s unusual for me to be in the position that I’m in and, yeah you’reright, it does have it’s own life at this point. I’m just sort ofwatching it happen man, it’s pretty fun. No matter what happens in mylife it’s never going to be quite like this moment right now, watchingthis happen. It’s pretty exciting." - Justin Vernon, Bon Iver, November 2008
BON IVER INTERVIEW
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Eagles of Death Metal - In one of our favourite and most candid interviews on TheVine, Andrew Tijs talked to Eagles of Death Metal frontman Jesse Hughes about being fat, fatherhood, and how he handles himself on the dating scene:
"First I'd try to look like your father did when you were four yearsold. Hence the moustache and the reason for trying to cram the entireTom Selleck calendar into a single outfit. If you're important enoughfor me to pursue, you're important enough to try to get a bit ofintelligence on you without your knowledge. So, I would start to learnabout what you like and what you don't like. Then I'd ask you somewhereinnocuous, like to go bowling. Something safe, something that shows I'mnot trying to trick you out of your panties, I'm trying to get you tovoluntarily leave them behind. I'm wouldn't bullshit 'em. I wouldn'ttell 'em I'm just here to talk about Women's Lib, I wanna say 'I'mgonna respect you while we're having sex.'" - Jesse Hughes, Eagles of Death Metal, November 2008
EAGLES OF DEATH METAL INTERVIEW
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Pivot - Before the hard work behind their Warp Records debut was done, Sydney's Pivot spoke to us about how they hooked up with the iconic label, lugging their gear across the road and facing a year of crashing on floors:
"London is nightmarishly expensive for visitors, or anyone for thatmatter. I wonder how the hell Nick Cave and the Birthday Party did it,whilst having drug habits. Also, just dealing with the climate here isa shock for an Australian. We’re living in Hackney, near HackneyCentral. It’s pretty grimy. I’m staying with a friend, and she said herstreet used to be called ‘The Front Line’. Apartments across the roadwere crack dens. Her house is really really nice though." - Richard Pike, Pivot, April 2008
PIVOT INTERVIEW
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Deadmau5 - On his way for the Good Vibrations festival, Canadian producer Deadmau5 took off his giant mouse mask to speak with Andrew James about releasing mixes digitally, expanding outside the club and his dubious ideas about Australia:
"Me and my tour manager, we have thisbet and it’s gonna be who can actually surf. Neither of us have triedit, so when we get a couple of days off we’re gonna go down to the GoldCoast and we’re gonna buy some boards. No lessons, no nothing, we’rejust gonna go out like total idiots. Is this a dangerous thing? Like,no shark’s gonna come and rip my arm off, right?" - Deadmau5, October 2008
DEADMAU5 INTERVIEW
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Cold War Kids -Making their way here for last year's Splendour in the Grass, we spoke to Cold War Kids frontman Nathan Willet about the approach to their new album, the view that great art lasts and the backlash against their first album:
"I think a lot of the initial record reviewscoming out were so great and then a lot of the later ones sayingdifferent things, like y'know that some of the lyrics are religious orwhatever, or that this group are, or the band wears tight pants so we'rethis type of group or whatever. All of those things hold really, solittle. I think luckily for people who were familiar with us, to knowthat those things are very silly. And also to know that there's a lotmore to what we do." - Nathan Willet, Cold War Kids, June 2008
COLD WAR KIDS INTERVIEW
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Lisa Mitchell - Ex-idol contestant Lisa Mitchell had just returned from the UK when we caught up with her last October. We conceded a bias towards her dark past, an attraction to her first EP and found that the lonesome recording process had "aged" her:
"I guess being being away and outside of your comfort zone, away fromfamily and friends and in unusual surroundings...I felt very detached.In some ways that's really nice and can be really, really goodcreatively. Just to not have a close influence all the time, you know,someone else there. I mean I got pretty lonely. Not because I wasalone, but just because you don't realise how much you depend on peopletil they're not there." - Lisa Mitchell, October 2008
LISA MITCHELL INTERVIEW
PART 2 - FEATURING VAMPIRE WEEKEND, JOHN STEEL SINGERS, THE HIVES, FOUR TET, YO! MAJESTY, DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE, EDDY CURRENT SUPPRESSION RING, STORM THORGENSON