You’re named after a renowned volcano, Krakatau. Have any of the band members seen this volcano?
Other than in photos and on television, no. We chose the name for its phonetic quirkiness rather than because of any particular affinity with the volcano itself. On our Facebook page one will find that James has made the analogy of our music being at times “explosive”, but that’s up to our audiences to decide!
What’s your earliest memory of performing and who inspired you to start?
Personally my first memory of playing with Krakatau was at Revellers Bar North on Johnston Street. James and I played as a two-piece. All I can say is that I’m glad we opted to bring in a third member, as the improvisational possibilities are far greater and allow for more textural layers. My earliest influence to play the drums was The Beatles, and then English hard rock bands like Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Jethro Tull, et al..
You must answer this question honestly. What and where was the first gig you went to?
The first gig I went to must have been one of my own back when I started playing with The Fearless Vampire Killers. I would have been about 16 years old. A lot of our early gigs were at a place on Smith Street called Barbuka, but as far as I’m aware the venue is no more.
‘Fess up. What records have you stolen from your parents’ record collection and why?
Well, virtually all of the records my parents owned at the time when I became interested in music are now in my possession. They no longer have a record player, hence no use for them. I think the majority of them were my mother’s and there’s a lot of Joni Mitchell and Neil Young.
What’s on heavy rotation on your iPod right now?
Most recently I’ve been listening to The Incredible String Band’s The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter album and a lot of early German and Japanese rock and electronic music. James has been listening to the albums Early Water by Manuel Göttsching & Michael Hoenig, Alien Soundtracks by Chrome and Long Burn the Fire by Mer-Da.
How do you find new music?
Usually via friends. James will scour various blogs to find new and interesting musical curios and I’ll often listen to his findings.
Do you have any particular ritual before you go on stage, or even a lucky charm you take with you
No, not really. There was a time when I’d get quite inebriated before gigs, but that was neither ritualistic nor lucky.
If you could curate your own festival, where would it be, who would be on the bill, how many people would you let in and what features would it have ?
That’s a good question, though I honestly don’t feel like I could give a satisfactorily interesting answer (me not being much of a festival goer or even someone who is very interested in current bands). But if I may rephrase the question to ask, “If you could go back in time to witness any live music event, what would it be?” I would have to say that I’d love to go back and see some of those amazing German bands play. I’m talking about groups like Amon Düül II, Ash Ra Tempel and Can. And, of course, who wouldn’t want to have seen The Beatles or The Rolling Stones in their formative stages?
Because it’s more fun to do things together, which living Australian artist would you most like to collaborate with?
I’ll have to apologise and say we have really no idea. If I had a bit more time to brainstorm I’m sure I could think of something, but I’ve been ill for the last few days and have left this almost literally to the last minute. Sorry!
What is your band’s music the best soundtrack for?
Well, James is actually studying film and has used Krakatau music for a couple of his shorts. One, in which Krakatau is filmed playing live at Riddells Creek, will be available to view online soon so keep an eye on Krakatau’s Facebook page for updates.
Where we can see you play next, what releases do you have available and where can we get them?
By the time this is published we will have played our final gigs for the year, but we do have a 12” vinyl “single” in the works which will be released early next year. That will be our debut release. In the meantime, we have a Soundcloud page you can check out which has some live and demo recordings on it (soundcloud.com/krakatau-melbourne).
Catch Krakatau at The Liberty Social Wednesday 12th December!
