Sure we’ve heard about you before, but we think it’s time for Tone Deaf to get to know you a little better. Slip in to something comfortable while we put on some music, pour us a couple of drinks and turn the lights down low.

Who are you and what do you do in your act?

Alexander Hamilton. My band and I play our own brand of folk songs. We all sing and play, we’ve got guitars, banjo, double bass, and a box that you sit on and hit it like a drum kit.

‘Fess up. What records have you stolen from your parent’s record collection and why?

A lot of jazz records from dad’s collection, a lot of Scottish music from mum’s, and Queen’s greatest hits.

What’s on heavy rotation on your iPod right now?

Patsy Cline! What a woman, she could sing the soul off a Doc Martin!

‘Home taping is killing the music business’ was the catch-cry of the record industry in the 1970s, but it managed to survive until now. What do you think is the difference between mates taping copies of friend’s records back in the 80s and 90s and file sharing now?

If we all had to sit through every album we stole while we were stealing it at least we’d have listened to it once, right? I buy all my music, and I listen to it. My first iPod almost ruined music for me! I know too many jerks with massive mp3 collections they’ve never listened to. Where’s the respect?!

You must answer this question honestly or we steal your rider. What was the first gig you went to? Where was it and what was the venue?

Parents’ family band “The Bruce Brothers” (Bruce is my dad), it could have been anywhere, I was probably less than 1 year old. My brother took me to a Jamie Oehlers (saxophonist) gig at 303 when I was 15. It was a Wednesday night and there were about 5 of us in the audience, that was probably the coolest I’ve ever felt.

What’s your favourite site to download music from and do you ever pay for it? Can we find any of your releases there?
I buy heaps of stuff on iTunes, my stuff is not yet up there but if you buy my EP at a gig and put it into iTunes you’ll find someone has spelled one of my tracks wrong in the Gracenote Database. Doh.

What artist made you want to pick up an instrument and/or sing?

My family introduced me to music pretty early on, my mum was doing classical violin exams while I was in the womb. I guess Paul Kelly was the first guy to make me cry at a gig, he’s a pretty massive inspiration.

Have you ever been arrested?

No but my mum has. Why do I keep bringing my parents into this?

Do you have any particular ritual before you go on stage, or even a lucky charm you take with you?

I pick my nose a lot when I’m nervous.

What’s been your most outrageous rider request?

A cyclist once asked me to mind his bike while he popped into the bottle shop. Outrageous!

Because it’s more fun to do things together, which living Australian artist would you most like to collaborate with? Tell us why?

A little Sydney band, Jimmy Swouse and The Angry Darts, we could make some musical babies.

Right, let’s get really intimate. Tell us what releases you have that we can listen to with the lights down low, or even better, where we can see you play in person next.

I’m playing an acoustic duo set on Sunday arvo 3rd July at 1000 Pound Bend in Melbourne from 2 til 4 pm. The full 3 piece is making its big stage debut at Northcote Social Club on Wednesday July 6th, that should be pretty spesh! I have a 5 track EP which I recorded as a demo but when I showed it to Dave from PurePop he decided to make it feature album of the week so I guess it’s not a demo anymore but either way you can get it from me at gigs as long as I have the time to make some before the gig. I make all the covers and stuff by hand.

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine