THE
BASICS
Name
: WH Monks
Band : Gay Paris
Job In Band : Preacher, Liar, Tall Tale Teller and
the list goes on and on. Much as I do.
Website Address : www.gayparismusic.com
HOME
Hometown : Sydney
Hometown is best known for : Apparently being very
liberal and freewheeling but then actually being full of racist, homophobic
bigots that wouldn't know a good party if it was riding them bareback
through a field of champagne filled pear trees or wrestling them in
an amyl scented coalmine.
Best venue in your hometown : The Annandale. Bar
prancing is a must, plus the owners really know how to treat a group
of fellows out and about, up to no good.
THE BAND
How long has the band been going? We've been shaking this
thing for just over a year now but with all the fire, flood and calamity
that we have endured, it feels as though it has been much, much longer.
Many lineup changes along the way? Not as of yet,
so far, no one has died or quit. If anyone does quit, the other three
of us would have to hunt them down and give them a Colombian neck
tie so as they couldn't reveal our many secrets to the world.
How would you describe your sound to the average person on
the street? I don't really have a lot of truck with the average
person, but I do have a lot of time for the street. So, for the sake
of the street, I'd say that this is swamp stompin', funk shack shakin',
blue note blazin' rock n' roll blasphemy with a splash of soul and
a dash of hard liquor with beer chasers.
What's your most recent release? Tell us a little about it...
Well, we released a two track sampler under the title Skeleton
Demos, but that should be obsolete by the time anyone reads this.
We have an album coming out quite soon, though I'm uncertain of the
actual date. I'm calling it The Skeletons Problematic Granddaughter
and if the other bastards have any problem with this, it'll be broken
bottle versus switchblade and a whole lot of money being thrown in
a hat while onlookers take bets and we give odds that make sure we
all come out on top. But I have digressed, my apologies. It's a terrifying
tale of black magic, wolves from the future, fox queens from Japan,
French maids and skeletons popping out of the closet to thwart the
hangman just a little bit too late for a happy ending...
Got a favourite track that you have released so far? Well,
both the tracks we have released at www.myspace.com/gayparismusic
have changed significantly on the full length, so it's hard to be
satisfied with them. We just finished a film clip for My First Wife?
She Was A Fox Queen, and that should be out real soon... So that is
my favourite (hell, by the time that you read this, it may be getting
massive rotation on all music television channels).
OFF THE STAGE
What was your first introduction to music that made you think seriously
about playing it? Way back in the day, I remember my parents
listening to Madonna and Cher, Bowie and B-52s. I love the pomp, the
idea that you can sell sizzle to Satan and sad to Sylvia Plath. I
didn't really care so much about the music as much as the absurdity
and invention of characters.
What was your first band name, and what style did you play?
I'm not entirely sure on the 'band' name, but it would have
been a hip-hop thing with my highschool chums. Hip-hop was the first
style of music that really hit me and made me want to actually write
my own music. But that really just moves back to the previous question.
Most prized music related item you own? My quick
wit, gift of the gab, silver tongued Morning Star that I am. Not to
mention a pair of worn out imitation Chuck Taylors that make dancing
a whole lot more personal, you can really feel the floor rumble when
you're basically pirouetting on thin cardboard soles.
The thing you most look forward to just before a tour is?
Long nights that actually mean something other than sitting up until
morning, reading about things that no one else cares about and hoping
that I don't really believe in ghosts.
The thing you least look forward to before a tour is?
Coming home from tour and finding out that I really do believe in
ghosts.
When your not doing band related stuff, what are you usually
found doing? Writing. Writing novels, writing false histories
that will serve to confuse the scholars of the future. Drinking in
some seedy bar with jerks, roustabouts, cads, scoundrels and a few
genuinely nice people – this usually ends up with a group of
guys saying, “Oh, yeah! Side project time!” And then we
act quite sheepish and avoid each other for a few days so no one has
to admit that they wanted to start a hillbilly fiddle-grind band.
ON THE STAGE / ROAD
Best rider item you've ever received without requesting it?
Anytime that we get a rider that doesn't consist of VB or Carlton
Draught, I go into fits of ecstasy. I don't drink that swill and if
it's just left to the other three, they get a bit rambunctious and
then I have to put them in their place. Best that someone just pony
up with the Coopers, less trouble for all involved.
Favourite place (city/town/country) you’ve toured…
and why? So far it would have to be The Grand Junction in
Maitland. That little joint can really jump and the staff are real
sweethearts. Last time we were up there with our darling bosom chums,
The Snowdroppers, we ended up with a few cases of booze out back after
close and no one even seemed to mind when it was suddenly just staff
and two bands worth of men in their underwear, looking a tad too drunk
and comfortable for decency.
Most memorable show you've played? and why? Black
Cherry at The Factory Theatre in Sydney. Place swings like a sows
teats after the piglets pop out. If I ever needed my ego stroked (and
by this point I can assume that you know that I really don't need
to be encouraged), I can just look back on this. So many hot, hot
lovers jam packed together and up for anything. Being fed fruit on
stage is always a good thing and the rider just kept on coming, not
to mention that we've never looked so good – and we usually
look real pretty.
Worst 'guilty pleasure' artist / song you've come across on
a bandmates iPod? Oh, shit. This is where it all falls apart.
Smokin' D is just a child and has terrible listening habits. Dude
probably is listening to Finch or somesuch right now. That said, Slim
and me listen to way to much mid nineties gangster rap and Ol' Black
Tooth has a massive soft spot for Huey Lewis And The News (though
I doubt he feels guilty about it).
Who in your group has the worst “bad habit” on
tour, and what is it? Our merch girl, KL Conroy is afflicted
by a terrible condition known as 'whore-mouth,' you're probably all
smart enough to work that out. As far as we go, Smokin' D eats terrible
things that create a horrible odour in the van, Slim insists on listening
to nothing but death metal and g-funk at maximum volume while driving,
Blacktooth avoids loading gear at all costs and I'm just an all round
terrible person to know.
RIGHT NOW
Where are you? In bed with a white persian cat.
What's the last song you listened to? Grey Sun by
O' Death. It's got it all, hick vocals, black horror and abyssal sadness
and a hook so dire as to make a man weep into his beard until he can
get some damn whiskey. Whiskey!
Which band or album is currently rockin' your world? None
Shall Pass by Aesop Rock. Dude can really write. I especially dig
on Coffee, the track where he collaborates with John Darnielle from
The Mountain Goats. Only way that the lyrics could have been better
was if I wrote 'em myself.
Tell us a band we should all go and listen to right now?
Other than us? Well, ok, but if our album is out by the time this
comes to you, I'm doing you a disservice. Listen to Brothers Grim
from Melbourne. More hick music with a touch of urban class.
IF ONLY...
If you could pick any one album to cover from start to finish, what
would it be and why? Ol' Dirty Bastard's Return To The The
36 Chambers: The Dirty Version. Besides the fact that Wu-Tang clan
ain't nothin' to fuck with, Slim and me already know all the songs
and I figure that Big Baby Jesus would have wanted it this way.
If you could pick any one band / artist to cover one of your
albums from start to finish, what would it be, and why? I'm
not sure that anyone would be able to do it justice, they'd all have
to grow some pretty breathtaking beards before going into the studio,
that's for sure. Maybe get Prince to do it and play everything himself,
but I'm talking back in the day, before The Artist and all his religious
mania. Sexy Prince, not insane Prince.
If you could pick one band to re-unite so you could play a
one-off show with, who would it be, and why? Maybe The Birthday
party so as I could dance with a corpse and help Nick Cave get his
groove back (nah, I'm just playin' with you, Mr. Cave, you still untouchable).
One big tour, you can take two currently active bands to support
you, who would you choose, and why?
Well, of course we grab The Snowdroppers, so they don't sulk and also
because they're one of the only bands that come anywhere near to us
in a dope live show. We'd also have to take Hell City Glamours so
they could score drugs for us and bring along an Ipod that has nothing
but The Frogs on it. Shit, I'm all up for bad ideas, but this is genuinely
frightening. |
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::: INTERACT :::
