MusicJournoExtra Limb Interview
October 20th 2006 10:48
Extra Limb... what is the extra limb that you speak of?
This "extra limb" of which you ask actually refers to us, the members of said group. Possibly in 1999 after a very drug induced rehearsal, which we taped for fun, we were copying the tape so that we could all have one. The tempo that we were playing at prompted a guy who would watch the rehearsals to say that we sounded like we lived in the Chernobyl reactor and that we had all grown extra limbs in order to play so fast. He was so fucked up that he didn't realise that it was copying at high-speed dubbing. So that's the mystery of the extra limb. Before that we were called Smashed Up Monkey Brains or something… I can't really remember.
How did the band get together? How long have you been together?
The band originally got together in '99 but it was a totally different sound. That was 3 drummers ago. I met Daz who plays guitar, at a bus stop as I was on my way to school. He saw my bass and said that I should join his band. I'd never seen him before and he looked a little crazy so I thought that I should definitely embark on a project like this where once a week I would be given free drugs and beer to play in a weird rock'n'roll band. After we kicked out the first drummer Daz and I decided that we wanted to play faster punk rock type stuff… so we did and the rest "they" say is history.
Do you find it tough to stick it out after so long?
Yeah well I don't really see it as "so long" coz we only started playing gigs a couple of years ago and I guess we weren't really that serious but now we are trying to start getting "out there" so people will like us. It does kinda feel weird when you think that we pretty much started playing gigs when, say, Stereo City started and they've done so much and we've done very little but they were a lot more serious about it I suppose so they deserve the success that they're getting. We would like more people to know us so that's why we're trying to play more shows now.
Would I be right in saying that you recently acquired a new drummer? How's that going?
Yes, we have a new drummer. His name is Sean and is pretty awesome at the drums. Our old drummer Ben went to Ireland and so we didn't really wanna wait like a year so we got someone else to play. Ben sat in on Sean's 1st jam with us to kind of work through a few tricky bits but he is working out just fine. The funny thing is that he really liked that band before he even knew that he was going to join us so he knew a lot of the older stuff. We've already written like 3 new songs in the few months he's been with us. I guess seeing that we all live together really helps in that we can practice whenever we want too.
Any releases coming up?
Its funny you mention that Luke because we are going into the studio in early November this year to record a CD! It is being done at The Ohm studio that is run by Lyle from Crank. I've heard some stuff that's come out of there and it sounds awesome so we are all really looking forward to that. I think it's going to have about 13-14 songs on it.
You have a pretty distinctive voice... is there any reason why it sounds like that?
Ok so there are reasons for this I guess. The first one is because I'm totally awesome! The second is slightly more truthful in that I was trained to sing properly when I was younger so I can pretty much hit all the notes I go for. Another thing that people might notice is that as I am Australian I sing with an Australian accent. I really don't know why a lot of people prefer to sing with American accents. It just makes them sound silly I reckon.
What bands influenced you guys?
Well I think the 1st punk band that influenced me to start writing songs was Screeching Weasel. I also really like The Queers and early Green Day. Avail was another one but I dunno if you can pick it up in our music… but I can… so there. Lately I've started listening to the Bouncing Souls and have gotten back into Fifteen and SNFU as well. Our newer stuff is a lot faster but still catchy like a lot of these bands.
There aren't really any other bands like you guys around in Sydney, do you find it hard to fit into shows/find an audience?
Yeah this is something that I have also noticed. It seems like you're either emo/music for bed wetters core, hardcore, ska/rock or rockabilly. Not that these styles, except for the first one, are not enjoyable to us but no one is really playing super fun happy punk. Maybe in a way that’s a good thing coz then we'll stand out. I don't think that it’s hard to find an audience coz we're pretty fast so the hardcore people usually let it slide but we're catchy and fun at the same time so other people might like it too. IS THERE A PLACE IN THE SCENE FOR POP PUNK THAT DOESN'T SUCK???
What are your songs about? Obviously ‘A Message to the STA’ is exactly what it says it is, but I mean like the one about spilling milk and the guy in the Hawaiian shirt, etc, etc… what inspires your lyrics?
Well ‘Spilt Milk’ is just telling you not to harp on about the shitty things that happen coz really, is it all that bad? ‘The Guy in the Hawaiian Shirt’ is about that really annoying person that gets really fucked off their heads at parties and just bores the shit out of everyone. I get very sick very quickly of people that can't hold their ale, though I have been guilty of this myself a couple of times… I guess we all have to learn that a bottle of gin when taking medication isn't the best idea. Ultimately I like to write songs that have meaning to them… not just a bunch of words that rhyme. ‘Point of View’ for example is about wannabe anarchists trying so hard to fit in and be "punk'… whatever the fuck that is… man they can sometimes be as bad as fucking Mormons at your door the way they don't shut up and nine times out of ten they don't even know what they're talking about, I'm just referring to preachy wankers… not the whole anarchist ideal coz in theory its a very nice idea
What other bands tickle your fancy?
Apart from the bands I said before…. They Might Be Giants, The Pogues, Dire Straits, The Police, Cannibal Corpse, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Propagandhi, Mayhem, Darkthrone, Nile, Softball, Minor Threat, Dead Kennedys, The Riverdales, Mr T Experience, Against All Authority… etc
Any plans to take the band on tour?
Yeah, I'd love to go on tour but we're gonna do the CD first so at least we'd have something to take with us. I definitely think that in the new year we will go some place… maybe Melbourne or Brisbane… sounds like a lot of fun from what I've heard from people in other bands that have gone interstate, but we will probably try and play a few more shows in Sydney first.
You guys seem like a party band, do you play many parties? How do they compare to pub shows? Which do you prefer playing?
I like the idea of playing at parties but no one has really ever asked us. I'm sure that we'd do it though if we got the chance… but hypothetically if we had I would say… Oh yeah man I fucking love playing parties! It’s so cool! We do everyone that we can. It’s just so great to be like on the same level as everyone else coz you can feel a little bit removed when you are on a stage. There's no cover charge like at pubs so heaps of people are there and its also really good exposure for your band and everyone has a good time… yeah… I would like to play at a party.
Memorable shows?
Ah yes… ok so there was this one time when we were playing at Vic on the Park and I was really drunk and I saw this girl in the audience that looked really bored so I kinda singled her out and told her to fuck off coz she was boring. I later found out that she was from the Drum Media and was doing a review of the show… boy did I feel stupid… she didn't write anything as it turned out.
If you had to eat your way through a wall of cheese, what kind of cheese would you prefer it to be?
If I was allowed to have crackers it would be camembert but by itself I would probably go with edam. I think that this question is vague… it doesn't specify how thick the wall is… or if the cheese has gone bad… at any rate I wouldn't be able to eat a lot of it coz I'm kinda allergic to dairy products so it could very well kill me… haha… but I live on the edge so I guess a little cheese wouldn't hurt.
Anything you'd like to add...?
Our email is extralimbmusic@hotmail.com and our website is www.extralimb.moonfruit.com and you can hear us at www.mp3.com.au/extralimb.
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