Last year Hard-Ons' front man, Peter Black, released a song every day for the whole year. After putting out 366 songs he decided the next thing to do was to was to "play live", and is about to tour Australia with French punk rock veteran Forest Pooky! Tomatrax caught up with Peter Black to ask a few questions.
You wrote a song a day last year, how does it feel now that it's over?
"It feels a few different things but mainly... feels pretty fucken good!"
Was it hard to keep coming up with new material every day?"No, not at all."
Given something was released each day, did you have to do things differently to get them written, recording, mixing and releasing the songs?"Not really. Given that time was such a heavy factor in this I found what worked and stuck with it. I couldn't really "experiment" too much, too risky! Some days I used other musicians that I really wanted to play with but everyone understood the nature of the project and blasted away really quickly. When the studio we were using shut down we had to record everywhere and anywhere to keep it going; rehearsal spaces, living rooms etc It was seat-of-the-pants at times but thanks to the awesome guys I worked with, we didn't miss one day!"
Did you ever write a few songs on one day so you could take a day off later?"Yeah sure, obviously some days better than others but in my "head" I approached it as a weekly thing. I'd aim for 7-10 tracks a week. One time Nunchukka Superfly went to Japan for a short tour so had to leave tracks behind. I couldn't do much touring like that, was bloody stressful (not playing in Japan of course!) But I never thought of it as "if I write two today I can rest tomorrow". It was more like "ah today's ripping. Gonna fire up the coffee and go nuts" and then "sweet, got a few in the can so I can go see the new Vin Diesel movie with my son!"
Are you feeling any kind of withdrawal now that the challenge is over?"Yes and no. I LOVED doing that much music! It felt almost decadent day in day out, new song this new song that. Wonderful! But definitely ready to move on."
Do you think you'll ever take on a challenge like this again?"Music is the best! So of course there will always be things I wanna try and do and to keep ya art moving you MUST challenge yourself. I can't say what that'll be but yes, always. Actually started another singing lesson thingy. That's a bloody challenge!"
Are there any plans to release the 366 songs in some kind of box set?"Yes, i'm looking at a 12 album box set. Gonna cost a fucken fortune but would be cool so trying to make that happen."
Prior to the song a day project you went on a European tour playing 49 gigs in 7 weeks, how does playing a show a day compare with writing a song a day?"Some days it was two a day, haha. Playing and writing are two very different things so I can't compare but playing live is wonderful too!"
You're about to tour Australia with Forest Pooky, what can fans expect from your show?"I'll be playing in solo mode which is just guitar and voice so, in my mind anyway, to use the acoustic as I feel it should be my stuff very very gentle. Very intimate, I guess. Definitely different from band performance."
Will you be playing any of the songs you released last year on this tour?"Yes of course!"
Are there any plans for another collaborative album with Forest Pooky?"Maybe. Any excuse to record! Hopefully visiting each other's country can become more regular so, let's see."
What do you have planned after your upcoming tour?Loads, but first thing I'm working on is a solo album that will be released on cassette in Japan and a new Nunchukka album. Two more bands and then a new Hard Ons. As much as possible."
PETER BLACK WILL BE TOURING WITH FOREST POOKY (DATES BELOW) CHECK OUT PETER BLACK'S WEBSITE TO FIND OUT MORE! PETER BLACK ON TOUR(WITH FOREST POOKY)
Sunday 5th February 2017
Golden Barley, Enmore Sydney NSW
Wednesday 8th February 2017
Old Bar, Fitzroy Melbourne VIC
Thursday 9th February 2017
Grace Emily, Adelaide SA
Tix https://www.stickytickets.com.au/47987
Friday 10th February 2017
Lost Bar, St Kilda VIC
Sunday 12th February 2017
Flow Bar, Old Bar NSW
Wednesday 15th February 2017
Smith's Alternative, Canberra ACT
Wednesday 22nd February 2017
Midnight Special, Sydney NSW
Thursday 23rd February 2017
The Junkyard, Maitland NSW
Friday 24th February 2017
63 First Ave, Sawtell NSW
Saturday 25th February 2017
Junk Bar, Brisbane QLD
Tix: https://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=70011
