Following a handful of critically acclaimed singles, Sydney’s three piece the Dead Love have put out their long awaited debut album. Tomatrax caught up with Clint Ossington, bass player of the band, to ask a few questions.
How did the band form?
We all knew each other from gigging around the traps in other bands, but Stevie Knight (singer/ guitarist) was the brain child, he had some tunes written (that made up allot of the debut EP 1) and hit us up for a jam! First jam it was obvious he found the right crew!
Where did the name The Dead Love come from?
We dropped our scrabble board mid game and it spelt out THE DEAD LOVE on the floor, that was at our first jam!!! ;-) It was a mash up of various ideas, maybe I will try the scrabble approach next time though.
What’s it like to have your debut album out?
It’s been a long process so I guess right now we’re overwhelmed with both excitement and relief, ha! Time will tell.
Where did the name Transitions comes from?
We had some serious changes happening both in the band and personally at the time we started writing/demoing the album, it truly was a transitional period and the inspired the name before it was even completed.
What was it like to hear This is a war on Triple J?
That was a great feeling, kind of surreal but that goes for any station we’ve heard our music on! The ongoing support for community stations has just as much of an effect, were thankful for to anyone and everyone that has spun our tunes – it’s always a warm fuzzy feeling!
Your first two singles were met with a lot of critical acclaim, did this make you feel any pressure when putting your album out?
It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the ‘will people like it’ state of mind, but at the end of the day we believe in the music we are creating. We can always seek solace in that, regardless of peoples opinions. That said, we really do hope you all like it :-)
Where did you get the idea for the DIY video for Back to you?
We had zero budget but wanted to release something visual with ‘Back to You’ – Motorbikes and Rock n Roll go together like bangers & mash, add a sunset to venture into and with help from friends with go pros and bikes – we banged it out for $8!
You’re about to tour in support of your album, what can fans expect from your shows?
Our home town launch is at Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory August 23rd, we will be performing TRANSITIONS start to finish BUT not as the straight up 3 piece!? We will be playing with additional horn players and backing singers, it’s going to be a really fun gig! When we hit the road every show will be different, mixes of old and new tunes, extended impro jams! We like to make every show different not only for fans but for our own amusement as well.
You’ve been branded with various of rock, do you think about what sound you are trying to achieve?
We take the various opinions of our style/sound as a compliment, we strive to be that way!! The most important thing for us is writing good songs, we always aim to create music that stands the test of time.
Do you ever listen to your own music?
Yeah sure, if you don’t like your own bands music you probably shouldn’t be in the band haha. Also from a writing/demoing perspective, we’re always listening back, it gives us as individuals a chance to hear things that may need to change or evolve.
What other music do you listen to?
Pretty broad across all members – in the tour van you will get anything from Betty Davis to Pantera
What do you plan on doing after your tour?
Back into the studio focus on the next release, got a pretty bad ass collection of tunes that we’re pumped on!
Check out the band’s website to find out more!
