My name’s Chris and I’m the singer in Melbourne indie band Number Station. We’re previous Triple J Unearthed winners, and are releasing our long-awaited debut EP, called EVERYTHING WILL CHANGE, next week and launching it with a bunch of live shows shortly after.
What’s your earliest memory of performing and who inspired you to start?
I was a bit of a drama & music geek as a kid, even in primary school, so my earliest memories of performing date back to about Grade 4 or 5, when I played one of the lead roles in our School play. I think it was something like ‘HMS Pinafore’ or ‘Oliver!‘
I’m not sure whether there was one particular performer who inspired me to start, but I’ve always been drawn to it, right from a very young age. I guess sometimes it really is just in your blood.
You must answer this question honestly or we steal your rider. What and where was the first gig you went to?
If I’m honest, I think it was really cringe-worthy actually – Billy Joel, the River of Dreams tour at the Tennis Centre. For some reason I was really into Billy Joel growing up. Thankfully I grew out of that though. I’m gonna regret putting that in print, aren’t i?
‘Fess up. What records have you stolen from your parent’s record collection and why?
Love The Beatles?
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I don’t think I actually stole any of their records. See, my parents were inexplicably not really that into some of those classic bands I was into in high school (like The Rolling Stones or The Beatles). But, they were into artists like Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young & Carol King, and then in the 80s it was Hall & Oates & Paul Simon, so there was some gold in there for sure.
Why? Cos they were GOOD! Fleetwood Mac and Hall & Oates still make an appearance at almost every party I go to (especially the Yacht Rock ones)!
What’s on heavy rotation on your iPod right now?
I’ve just been on a road trip with my friends through the USA on our way to Coachella, and spent the trip listening to the bands we were about to see. Consequently, we had Radiohead, The Rapture, Miike Snow, The Shins, Bon Iver, M83, etc., etc., on repeat for those few weeks. It was great!
How do you find new music?
Although I don’t get a lot of time to do it, I still like to listen to the radio when I can, just to keep across new stuff, but I’m also really blessed with friends who have excellent taste so I also get exposed to a lot of cool stuff through them. I also follow a couple of music blogs like Deaf Ambitions, Scattered Locality and Party Aids, to keep up with the local scene, plus of course Triple J Unearthed.
Do you have any particular ritual before you go on stage, or even a lucky charm you take with you?
I always warm up in the 10-20 mins immediately before we get on stage, which I usually have to do in the toilets (no dressing rooms yet!). So, if you hear the sound of vocal exercises emanating from the toilets at one of our gigs, it’s probably me!
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)?
Like everyone, I’d probably put my favourite bands on the bill (Arcade Fire, Radiohead, Phoenix, Bloc Party, LCD Soundsystem, Strokes, Killers etc.), but if I had the choice I think I’d hold it in my backyard and invite all my friends. I’d get our guitarist, Marcus, to mix the drinks for us (he’s awesome at it), and my friends to make the food (they’re amazing cooks). Damn, it’d be killer!
When you’re Rolling Stones Big, what are you going to request on your rider: don’t be shy. We want specifics!
The Rolling Stones.
Because it’s more fun to do things together, which living Australian artist would you most like to collaborate with? Tell us why?
One of my favourite Australian artists is painter Abbey McCulloch. I love her work, and have a couple of her paintings in my house. I’d love to collaborate with her on the artwork for one of our records, or for a clip, sometime in the future. We (the band) recently collaborated with a design team called Coöp for our EP artwork & it was such a great experience I’m keen to do more!
What is your band’s music the best soundtrack for?
Our live shows.
Where we can see you play next, what releases do you have available and where can we get them? [Feel include links, dates, album titles etc.]
We’re launching our EP at The Beresford in Surry Hills, Sydney on Friday May 18th, and at The Grace Darling in Collingwood, Melbourne on Saturday May 26th.
The EP, called “Everything Will Change”, will be available from May 4 in our official store, plus iTunes, AmazonMP3, BigPond and all other major online stores.
You can find the three singles taken from it so far in iTunes etc., right now.
