Oregon band Grails are set to perform their first Australian tour this October, being on the line-up for Perth festival This is Nowhere and playing a string of shows in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney. Tone Deaf have a chat to guitarist Alex Hall about these upcoming gigs and their latest record.
This is Grails’ first Australian tour, what can Aussie audiences expect from your live performance?
AH: Grails has expanded to six members for the live shows, so it’s a bit of an assault on the frequencies. It’s the closest live approximation to date of the sound of the records.
The This is Nowhere festival commences in Perth this year, with a view to “seeing the doors of sonic perception in our fair city burst wide open by way of a shiny new music event.” How will you contribute to this ‘sonic perception’ ?
AH: Guitar solos.
Are there any particular acts on the line-up for This is Nowhere that you’re looking forward to seeing?
AH: Tortoise! Never seen them live.
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 (attractions/food/bars etc)?
AH: Nothing we could envision could top ATP at Butlins in Minehead. It’s the most perfect realisation of a music festival – perfect audience size, perfect venue, perfect promoters, perfectly debauched parties. Heaven on earth.
You recently arranged the rerelease of your first two albums allowing you to communicate directly with listeners rather than use an intermediary; do you think listeners appreciate the difficulties of a hands on approach?
AH: The listeners just want the product, they’re rarely concerned about what you may have gone through to bring it to them. And there’s nothing wrong with that at all. The ‘hands on’ aspect of the work is satisfying instead for us. There’s an inherent reward in the simple act of handing a record directly to a listener over the merch table.
Do you have any particular ritual before you go on stage, or even a lucky charm you take with you?
AH: ‘Slow down on the rituals’, doctor said..
Where would you like to be musically in five years?
AH: If we’re still able to release records in five years and have any semblance of label support, we will consider ourselves extremely lucky.
Because it’s more fun to do things together, which living artist would you most like to collaborate with? Tell us why?
AH: There’s many…but maybe Hans Joachim Roedelius. He may be the most under-celebrated figure in German progressive music. And his integrity and creative longevity are awe-inspiring.
What is your band’s music the best soundtrack for?
AH: Tender drug sex.
What’s next after This Is Nowhere and your Australian tour – have you got anything else in the pipeline that you can discuss?
AH: Volume 5 in our Black Tar Prophecies series will be released concurrently with the Australian tour.
After that, it’s hard to say…Grails has never planned anything more than six months in advance. It’s not a band that fits well with a careerist agenda.
Keen to see what Grails have to offer? Check out these shows:
Saturday October 13
The Corner, Melbourne (supporting Tortoise [USA])
Tickets: http://
Sunday October 14
This Is Nowhere UWA, Perth
w/ Tortoise, Beach Fossils, Xiu Xiu, HTRK, Puro Instict…
Tickets: http://
Wednesday October 17
The Zoo, Brisbane
w/ The Rational Academy and Turnpike
Tickets: http://
Presale $35+BF
Thursday October 18
Northcote Social Club, Melbourne
w/ Laura and High Tea.
Tickets: http://
Presale $35+BF
Friday October 19
Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
w/ Tangled Thoughts of Leaving (WA), Dumbsaint and Secret Birds
Tickets: http://
Presale $35+BF
