| Our
world is an amazing place. It is full of the delight of nature's wonders and of the
brilliance of its majesty. There is very little around us that we cannot consider a
Godsend. Where else in the universe can we experience a walk in the park? Where else could
we be exhilarated by a down hill skiing adventure? The answer is simple, nowhere. There is
nowhere like our own planet. Nature's biosphere is as unique as you and me. There is
nowhere else where animals run wild or where the sun rises red over the blue oceans to
greet us daily. The glory of the world is infinite and will last forever. And then came the earthmen.
In the span of little more than a century
the earthmen came and did as they saw fit. Bearing visions of a better world they raped
and pilaged the land of all its riches. All that remains of the world of precious metals
and mineral riches are scars in the land. The animals which once ran free stopped running.
Species being decimated for their parts, for the sport, and for no appparent reason. Those
damn earthmen!!!
The band The Earthmen would never and could
never hurt a fly. Their ability to destroy may not be as developed as that of Atila the
Hun or of Vlad the Impaler, but their story is every bit as interesting. Sorry guys, no
gory bits here.
The Earthmen formed in Melbourne not too
long ago as a partnership between Nick Batterham and Scott Stevens. They were brought
together through the similarities in their their musical interests. This union of talent
is a smooth sounding, upbeat streak of flowing pop. The rest of the band has been
shape-shifting regularly. Without a fixed line up, The Earthmen are constantly recording
and playing with borrowed band members. Recently, they played the Popsicle show at the
Corner Hotel. Due to a lack of members, a drummer was borrowed and the bassist from
Cinema, who also played that night, was sequestered to play. The result was a spectacular
success. The Earthmen sounded as good as ever.
The regrouped Earthmen have been spending
time in the studio recording their new (untitled) album. This was done over a number of
sessions as the band did not have a complete outfit of musicians. Just as they had done
during the Popsicle tour, the album was written for various band members with only Nick
and Scott in common. "It's been really good for the making of a record. We've had a
few hired guns who have been able to put their own slant on what we do, which is a good
thing for making a record."
The album has been written in two parts due
to the inaccessibility of the band's members. This really worked to the advantage of the
"group". The songs seem to have been written with a unifying quality which has
been achieved by the differing interpretations found in the two recording sessions. Nick
recognised this in the album's studio stage and capitalised on it. Additional songs have
been written to give the album a continuous feel, rather than writing it as a static
compilation of Earthmen songs.
"We've sculpted the record to sound
like an album and not like a collection of respective singles. Essentially, they are
sculpted to fit into one another and not even cross fade into one another. We have created
a mood and seasons in the record. It sounds pretty coherent to me, but then anything
sounds coherent when I've drunk enough."
It was made clear that liquor was an
important member of The Earthmen clan. The way that Nick would like to see every show
proceed seemed to be in a drunken stupor; and not just the band. He wants everyone in the
building to be drunk when they play.
"It's good if the audience drinks so
that they get really excited before we start. I think it is very important that people are
drunk when they see us play because then we might actually sound good. We play to our
peers, all aspiring to drink as much as we do."
When I asked Nick whether he preferred the
studio to the live pub scene, he replied, "Playing live is great because you get to
drink for free".
For a great Friday night out, go to see the
Earthmen play, and challenge Nick or Scott to remain sober. You never know what will
happen, especially if you are both as drunk as each other. They will probably end up
buying you a beer. |
