Skybombers - School of Rock
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The Dwarf rang Sam from the Skybombers too talk about their upcoming ‘Rock the Schools’ tour and it went a little something like this...
The Dwarf: G'day Sam how you doing? Busy by the look of your MySpace page and you guys have Tour Dates until the end of September! How do you cope on the road for so long?
Sam: Great thanks, we are just packing now, the tour starts tomorrow it’s actually the second leg, we did the first at the beginning of the year, four weeks straight of visiting schools across the country! So basically we just have had to all learn how to get along with each other, spending this much time on the road we’ve had to learn how to cook a little, and get more friendly, but yeah living out of each others pockets we’ve all had too be more nicer to each other. (Laughs)
The Dwarf: So, who has the worst Habit this tour?
Sam: Well it’s a combination of all of us, there’s this thing we do while on tour, if someone farts, we close all the windows and doors on the bus and see who can stay in there the longest. (Laughs) it’s not really a favourite of mine, Hugh is the worst, you don’t want to be in there after he has had Mexican or something!
The Dwarf: So tell us a little about the ‘Rock the School’ tours you guys have been on?
Sam: Well we have and will be traveling all over the country, up the east coast and even over to Perth, Its an education in Rock and Roll, although we have our performance on during the middle of the day, all the kids get to have a hands on experience with different aspects of the music industry. We bring our own sound and lighting guy, and all the sort of business side of things involved too. So they all get a chance to see everything involved. The biggest bonus is getting to play too around 400-600 kids everyday it’s awesome.
The Dwarf: So it’s feeling a bit like Beatlemania?
Sam: Oh yeah, we were based in Melbourne and trying to get a name for ourselves, going to places we’ve never been before and seeing these kids faces, at first a little shy, then once we play, truly enjoying it, jumping up and down screaming and tearing up the stage. I mean at one school they had a dress up day, while we were there. Everybody had gone to such an effort too out do each other it was totally amazing. For us to be able to go too there and brighten these kids days with a gig on in the middle of the day, which has to be held then as the teachers say its total hell to get the kids to do any school work after the show. (Laughs) but I think we are the earliest starting rock band in Australia, we have to set our alarms for 6am!
The Dwarf: What do you want the kids too take away from your live shows, what type of experience do you want them to have?
Sam: Well I always remembered when I was at school and a band came and played, I was just totally blown away! With today’s music going more towards the electronically mixed sound, it’s great to show kids that ‘Rock and Roll’ is still alive and well today, and more than that to show everyone all the different levels that are involved in the industry. To show them it doesn’t matter if you’re not musically talented, if you’re interested enough in music there’s other avenues to take. A number of kids have come up to is after the shows and said “We really inspired now to start our own band”, and when our tour manager has given a talk all the girls want to learn and really get involved, and that’s really great to see as its always been such a male dominated industry.
The Dwarf: So what inspired you to become a musician?
Sam: To be honest I have never really thought about it a lot, I picked up the guitar about year 8 at high school I loved bands like Nirvana and heaps of good aussie bands like Regurgitator, Jebidiah, Spiderbait etc. By the time we were in year 11, Hugh our lead guy had an idea of starting a band. It was more of a way for us just to hang out on Friday afternoons it gave us something to do and it was a great way too impress the girls. (Laughs)
The Dwarf: What’s the craziest thing that’s ever happened too you guys as a band?
Sam: Going overseas to New York, flying in straight to an interview at a radio station there. In a room there were about 50 people who knew our names and everything about us too fly across the world thinking you’re just a little band from Melbourne and meeting these people! That was crazy! The worst experience would have to be just last week, when we missed a plane flight to Cairns, it was very scary, and a good lesson for us.
The Dwarf: Now I want to talk to you about the label you guys have just signed too, Albert’s! That’s very illustrious company you’re keeping
Sam: Definitely! It’s quite unreal. Of course we had heard about them on our travels, and our manager was shopping around for us and was lucky enough to get us signed earlier in the year. We just recently have been up there to take a look at their offices and studios, the memorabilia was amazing! Just too see the AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, and so many other bands all over the walls, I mean these were the most influential bands of ‘rock and roll’ in Australia, its very humbling to be involved with a label like that. Kind of makes you feel like you have too pull your pants up and do a good thing!
The Dwarf: Are you guys planning on releasing an album soon?
Sam:We are yeah! All of last year and this year we have just been writing and putting to demo songs, at the moment we have about 30 so far and are looking to cut that down to about 12, and we are still writing more, so its hard to say what will end up on the album. We are going to be recording about November and December of this year, looking to release about February next year which will be our debut album.
The Dwarf: What’s your writing process?
Sam:The writing process is fairly communal with the band. Hugh who is our singer, and lead man, is the major song writer in so much as he will come up with riffs and tunes which he brings into rehearsal. But the writing is still done in the rehearsal place, we all sit down with the riff and add the drum and bass too it, then guitars on top, most of our songs are written this way, but some he does write solely. Pretty often though it happens when we are all in the room together.
The Dwarf: I have to ask as I was reading your biography; apparently a few of the band members had a fist fight in about year 8?
Sam: Ahhhh well, that’s correct, yeah (laughs) that was between myself and another band member who will remain unknown!!
The Dwarf: Ohhh really?
Sam: Nah, only joking it was Scotty our drummer and me, I was quite a big guy in high school, and I might of beat him down or something, and as a result we never talked until year 11 when I went to a house to rehearse, and unbeknown to me it was his house, so there was a very quiet 20 mins or so till the other guys turned up. But to tell the truth everyone gets along just fine now, and I don’t even remember what it was about, probably some girls or something.
If you’re lucky enough to be at high school still, watch out for the Skybombers they are coming to a lunch time near you!
