First published on 5 Oct 2011. Updated on 5 Oct 2011.
It’s rare to read anything about you with out the ‘Australian born/ New York based’ line up front and center. When did you first settle in New York?
I left Sydney for NYC in 1997. I have remained here ever since though I am thankful that half my time now is spent in Europe. As much as I still love New York, it's important to have time away from it. Hopefully that will include more time in Australia.
Do you find you’re more musically inspired in an American landscape than in Australia?
I tend to write about subjects that happen from interaction (or lack of) so that happens all over the globe. I have never found NYC itself to be a direct influence on my writing apart from the fact I live here and have experiences here.
Who have been your greatest artistic influences over the years?
I was and am still a massive Smiths/Morrissey fan. As a child that music was so important to me. But I remember seeing Cat Power play a small show here just before the covers album came out and that was a definitive turning point in my songwriting. It was that show that gave me the courage and conviction to just focus on writing what I found to be beautiful.
How did your work with John Cameron Mitchell come about?
It was totally by chance without any big meetings trying to hard to make something happen. I met him at a party and we chatted, so I sent him some music. The following day I had the script and the job.
It was very organic and simple and totally exciting.
What impact has Shortbus had on your career?
It really was an amazing catalyst to what you may call a ‘career’. It opened so many doors for me and got me recognition that I desperately needed. I was almost close to giving up on music before Shortbus . I will forever be thankful for the opportunity. I got management from it, which in turn got me signed and touring.
Your voice has been described as one of incredible power and emotive intensity. How would you best describe it?
It's weird to try and describe your voice especially having had no training. In fact I have no music training at all. I approach music emotionally and not intellectually. I try and sing with honesty and hopefully some emotional integrity.
How long have you been working on Gallantry’s Favourite Son?
I started writing sporadically as soon as the last album There is an Ocean was complete and released. It took me over a year to write the material and then we recorded for a few months on and off starting in February 2011 here in Brooklyn. It was a little stressful and disjointed but I think we tried our best with time and money and we all are happy with how it turned out.
Talk us through the inspiration behind the putting this album together?
To be totally honest there was no overall concept for the album as such but in making it we realised it was turning out to be a little brighter than the last ones. We found a bit more of a balance between the light and the dark. The one thing I wanted before we started recording was to use more vocals. There are more backing vocals in the form of choirs or for instance on the track sinking I got a wonderful gospel singer to sing her magic. As a songwriter I tend to just approach songs individually more than a full album concept.
You’re often described as an out gay artist. Is that an important part of your identity as a musician, or more so as a gay man?
I always tell folks that I am a musician who happens to be gay and not a gay musician. Of course I am not discounting the influence my sexuality has on my songwriting and it certainly influences the lyrical content but I also believe most of the themes I write about are universal and not marginalised. It's been fascinating studying the response I have had in Europe and how the fact that I am gay is not a reflection on the audience at all. I am proud of that.
You have a 40-date European tour ahead of you. How do you think you will handle that workload?
This is certainly the biggest tour we have done to date. It is going to be a wonderful challenge and we have had a few meetings about what we need to do to get through it. The first decision was to minimize our booze intake. We all have the party gene. Sounds good on theory, let's see if we adhere to it. As much as I hate to say this but it is important to realize that even though it is super fun, it is also our work.
Gallantry’s Favourite Son is out now through Groovescooter Records.
More of queer Sydney? Sign up for our monthly queer Sydney newsletter
Newsletter
RSS feed
Twitter
Facebook
Google+
Spotify
Foursquare
iPhone App
Other Time Out cities
Magazine subscription
Print
Email