Sure we’ve heard about Drawn By Bees before, but we think it’s time for Tone Deaf to get to know them a little better. Slip into something comfortable while we put on some music, pour them a couple of drinks and turn the lights down low….
Who are you and what do you do in your act?
I’m Stew. I play bass, do a bit of singing, songwriting and pretty much babysit the other guys most of the time.
‘Fess up. What records have you stolen from your parents’ record collection and why?
I have actually stolen all of my parents’ records because they decided when they got CDs that records were out. Score for me! I have, amongst other things, an awesome Swing box-set that came down from my Grandmother, Supertramp’s Breakfast in America (which I adore, and what of it?!), a bunch of Rolling Stones, Beatles, The Velvet Underground, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd. All old stuff, but awesome stuff.
What’s on heavy rotation on your iPod right now?
I’ve had a recent re-obsession with Fleetwood Mac and have not stopped listening to them for the past couple of weeks. I have been listening to the really old bluesy stuff with Peter Green as well as the California pop version of Fleetwood Mac. I get my fix of current music through Triple J, so I kinda keep my iPod switched to classic hits! I’m also completely in love with Kimbra at the moment.
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‘Home taping is killing the music business’ was the catch-cry of the record industry in the 1970s and 1980s, 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?
What are these cassette tapes you speak of?! I think that filesharing is great. More people are listening to more music than ever before. More musicians are making more music than ever before. Who gives a shit if a bunch of overpaid record execs aren’t making the squillions they used to?
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?
It was Paul McCartney at the MCG. It was mind-blowing, especially when the first song they played was “Drive My Car”. I lost my shit. Understand that I was brought up on the Beatles and when my parents took me to see Paul McCartney in concert it was awesome.
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 am a fan of bandcamp. I like the idea of being able to choose what to pay or just streaming for free, giving an email address, or whatever. Our stuff is up on there.
What artist made you want to pick up an instrument and/or sing?
John Lennon. Need I say more?
Have you ever been arrested?
No, but I was talked to very sternly by the NYPD for going down an emergency lane on 2nd Avenue in Manhattan. That was a pretty intense moment.
Do you have any particular ritual before you go on stage, or even a lucky charm you take with you?
I drink. A lot. It helps with the nerves.
Supposing you were to be playing sold out stadiums on your next tour, what outrageous rider requests would you submit?
Raven made up a rider for us. Official Drawn from Bees Rider:
Matt requires:
• Two blonde massage ‘artists’, good oral skills, open to experimentation, enjoy swallowing things.
• Two cartons of four-ex at a temperature of –8 degrees Centigrade (not Fahrenheit), remove from refrigerator for Mr Wedmaier 4 minutes before he intends to consume so that the right amount of condensation is apparent.
• One bonds t–shirt, black medium size, heated or cooled (whichever is appropriate) to 3 degrees below body temperature and handed to him immediately after third and final encore.
Stew requires:
• One fresh pair of converse shoes, size 9, never worn or touched by a human being, (heated/cooled to) room temperature.
• Brunette massage girl, trained in Tsumi-achi (subtle Japanese massage of ‘release’).
• One carton of Corona, cooled to a temperature of – 4 Centigrade, pulled out of fridge 2.78 minutes before consumption (don’t get it wrong…he will know).
Dan requires:
• The horns of an endangered mountain goat from Venezuela.
• One carton of Bavaria, chilled to 3 degrees centigrade, Bavaria must be served with a slice of lime precisely 3mm thick, the lime must only be rare variety of import that can only be gotten at great expense from Mexico, lime slice must be positioned in a direction precisely 3 degrees north, north westerly from true magnetic north.
• Two amputated paws of rare tiger only from free roaming, north Indian variety.
Raven requires:
• Asahi beer, must be purchased from Harishuku district of Tokyo at a small clubcalled Ti To Tao Te Ta, of a gentleman named Tkiszxxuki Fzxikiush Chow Gxxtzzui, served two at a time, at precisely 7 degrees below zero, removed from fridge 2.3 minutes before consumption. The person handing beer to Mr Jones, from stage left only, must have had the legally registered name of Jeeves for a period of five years.
• Cheesecake imported 30 minutes before first encore from Bavaria district of Germany. Cheese must be renette free. Cake served at – 1 degree centigrade.
• Twin massage girls who will be given the names Shina and Tina regardless of their true identities, they will speak only the words “he he he” and “You’re so witty” to Raven and freely may choose between the two phrases.
Because it’s more fun to do things together, which living Australian artist would you most like to collaborate with? Tell us why?
I love Gotye (aka Wally deBacker) and would want to collaborate with him. The guy is a living genius.
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. Naturally, don’t forget to give us the link to your Facebook fan page too.
We have the first single from our next record coming out on August 26th, called “Of Walls and Teeth”. There’s already a b-side up on our bandcamp page that you can download for free right here. We’ll be touring around during October, which we’re really looking forward to. Our facestalker page is here too. Just in case.
