At The Bar with A Swayze & The Ghosts

ARIA-nominated post-punk outfit A Swayze & The Ghosts talk to The Write Drop about their forthcoming second studio album Let’s Live A Life Better Than This – slated for an October release.

It’s been four years between album releases, and if the new single He Is Dead is a sign of the sonic times, they transition from self-destructive ditties to love anthems with an angular punk optimism that’s still brittle yet firmly planted in an 80s new wave temperament.  We’re also loving the single Cool Cucumber.

We spoke to drummer Zac Blain for our At The Bar series, while bassist Benjamin Simms reveals what went into the making of the new material.

MY CITY

Hobart, Tasmania -one of the world’s most beautiful nooks. We have friendly locals, a strong arts community, progressive, regressive, beaches, mountains, snow, sun, some of the best food and delicious wineries and distilleries in Australia and the world.

FAVOURITE RESTAURANT

My favourite restaurant (at the moment) is Ogee in North Hobart. It’s a small seater fine dining eatery that delivers on ambience, delicious cuisine and a hospitable vibe. Most foodies may know of Matt Breen, his restaurants are renowned for their delivery of outstanding dishes, and Ogee is his greatest example of this, in my opinion. Special shoutout to Pitzi, Oskar and Freddie have been providing Hobartians with amazing meals for many years at Fico, and their pasta bar has cemented itself very swiftly as a culinary staple for Hobart.

FAVOURITE FOOD MEMORY

An exquisite lunch at The Waterloo Inn on Tassie’s East Coast with my partner and close friends was a standout. Three of Tasmania’s best chefs, Stephen Peak, Pete Cooksley and Zac Green put on a French inspired multi-course meal that is difficult to describe in its deliciousness, but think crayfish pasta salad, some of the finest Tassie scallops, and a rooster prepared in ways that left me questioning why I hadn’t eaten giblets sooner. Add to that a curated wine list by Quelvino, and I’m happy to say that I can remember it.

FAVOURITE BAR MEMORY

Unsurprisingly, my favourite bar memories come from The Brisbane Hotel, a Hobart institution that is sadly no longer operational. I worked there for many years, and there are many wild nights to reflect on. The memory I share is a wholesome one of Monday night staff lock-ins for beer line cleans. We’d set up the projector, binge watch The Walking Dead and eat Taj Palace’s finest curries while sipping on jugs of the Brisbane’s whole tap beer selection. My picks were generally Cascade Brewery’s draught and Pale Ale, but I would happily end up with anything from the selection.

BEST HANGOVER CURE

A pint of premix Coca Cola and some well salted hot chips.

DRINK THAT DESCRIBES YOU

I wish people saw me as a Cascade Stout – easily palatable, soul warming and comforting, and not too bitter.

BEST INTERSTATE BAR

Old Bar has been a second haunt for the band for a long time, but we often congregate at Goldy’s or The Standard if we’re in Melbourne.

FAVOURITE WINE BAR

Wine By Baby makes some of my favourite wine. A small range of absolute hits is a BIG win for someone who is bad at making decisions, and Bobby writes and plays a mean riff, which is always a plus.

FAVOURITE WINERY

If you want an aesthetically mesmeriSing experience in the “countryside” of Tasmania, head to Domaine A: it’s a Moorilla owned winery with a style you’d expect, a selection of extraordinary wines and an immaculate setting that lets you breathe in the surrounding area of Campania.

NEXT DESTINATION

Hopefully the band is over in Europe sooner rather than later so we can play shows to new people, and explore the culinary and viticultural delights of many fabulous places along the way.

THE WRITE DROP SPOKE TO BENjamin SIMMS ABOUT THE FORTHCOMING ALBUM.

WHAT DID YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE WITH YOUR SECOND ALBUM LET’S LIVE A LIFE BETTER THAT THIS?  

We went into recording the album after a lengthy writing and pre-production process, making a conscious effort to try anything and everything. I have spent large portions of my life devoted to being and doing what I thought people expected of me, and after a period of personal growth, I made a conscious effort to shed those constraints. While speaking from my own experience, I know Zac and Andrew went through similar ego-humbling pilgrimages, which led us feeling completely free in the studio. We turned each song inside out, reaching a point where we realised we could produce the album ourselves. Recording in both naarm/Melbourne’s Sunset Pig Studios, as well as our own home, everything was on the cards. Discordant sax solos, 808 outros and subjectively cheesy synth patches. From the beginning, our goal was to create the album that we wanted, and we are very proud of it.

HOW DOES TASMANIA/HOBART INFLUENCE YOUR MUSIC?

Tasmania, but Nipaluna/Hobart in particular, has been uniquely inspiring over the last 10 years. The state has shed its isolated and industrial past, becoming a melting pot of architecture, culture and ideas. I think that informed the new album with the creative narrative of rebirth running throughout the entire recording process. Being a smaller city, the Hobart music scene doesn’t have ‘scenes’ like our bigger brother and sister cities do. Everyone plays with everyone, bouncing ideas off each other. Sometimes for better, sometimes for worse, but always interesting.

THREE SONGS AND WHAT THEY’RE ABOUT

  1. He Is Dead

The whole process of writing, recording and releasing this song is why I love being in a band. I came up with guitar progression by lazily strumming over the top of a LinnDrum loop, which Andrew unearthed months later and ad-libbed almost the entire song in one take. To me, he is singing about not putting too much faith in false idols, as they are as human as you and I. This resonated so strongly with me from the get go. Having a child that is starting to show interest in TikTok, it scares me to see how people can blindly follow images on a screen without pausing to practice critical thinking. Like anything that becomes ingrained in society, avoidance is futile, but education is key. Whether you agree or disagree on my perspective, I hope the song at least makes you think.

The film clip is one of my favourites of ours, with Andrew’s dog Cora taking the spotlight. Olivia Hasler from the amazing creative agency Lousy! shot the clip, with a bespoke disco suit crafted by Ella Sandall from Dala (@Dala.thelabel). There is a deeper message behind it, but it’s also just fun to watch Cora frantically chew peanut butter.

  1. Anthropology

This one’s staying under wraps til album time so you’re getting a little exclusive here, but…Anthropology is my favourite track we have written to date. I remember Andrew bringing the demo to us. It was a 70’s punk song, in the vein of Teenage Kicks (to set the scene). We multitracked it on a recording getaway on the coast, and we were pretty happy with it. After eating our weight in pizza (homemade bases from Andrew), we opened up the Pro Tools session and completely pulled it apart. In the space of an evening, it became unrecognisable from the original. An arena ballad for a post-punk crowd. Andrew, delivering my favourite vocal performance to date sounds nervous, melancholic and commanding all at once. Although written as a group, this song feels deeply personal to me, like it’s what I would write by myself if I only made the best choices. It’s a testament to how our band operates. Like a relationship, you are meant to bring the best out in each other.

  1. Cool Cucumber

A fitting first single to Let’s Live a Life Better Than This, Cool Cucumber embodies who A Swayze & the Ghosts are as people and musicians. We no longer feel the need to jack up the tempo and live out our Ramones-fueled fantasies (note – that does not mean I have sold my Ramones records). This became a mission statement for the album. Zac used to play saxophone, time to put up a sm57 and let him rip. I love synths, let’s use that for the bass. Lyrically it follows suit, with Andrew shirking off pre-conceived notions of how he isn’t punk anymore. And honestly, what is more punk than defying the expectations of a genre?

BEST ADVICE YOU HEARD AND LIVE BY?

Joe Meek, an influential producer from the 60’s once said “if it sounds good, it is good”. Who cares if your modulation pedal is before your dirt pedal, or if you wear a blazer instead of a leather jacket because you like how it looks? Inside and outside of music, I had thought I lived by that for a large portion of my life, but it is only now that I have truly adopted it as a mantra.

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