Bodie Jarman of Wollongong two-piece Mother & Son took a moment to have a quick chat about what’s been happening recently, the dying live music scene in Wollongong and why stories without happy endings have provided him with a muse lately.
MF: What’s new in the Mother & Son camp?
BJ: Just finishing off our record basically, trying to get it ready for a November/December release. Got shows every weekend this month so busy, busy!
MF: Describe your sound to the drunk guy at the bar?
BJ: I am the drunk guy at the bar haha… I guess, like a Tarantino sound track… or like Elvis in a blender, on acid.
MF: How’s the scene in Wollongong at the moment?
BJ: It’s taken a very big hit with the closure of the Oxford, which was the institutional rock venue with live music 4-5 days a week, to become a car park. Pretty much sums up Wollongong, live music seems to be an afterthought nowadays. Still some good bands kicking round though.
MF: There’s a very D.I.Y ethic in the band with making instruments and recording at home; how does this impact on the way you guys write and release music? Is it a freedom or a hindrance?
BJ: Definitely a freedom; I guess I like the control over our sound. I can experiment with recording techniques to get the trashy sound I hear in my head without the constraints of time and money.
MF: What inspires you lyrically?
BJ: Recently, I’ve been listening to a lot of old country like Jimmie Rodgers, Johnny Cash and Marty Robbins, and early Bad Seeds and Beasts of Bourbon; so definitely the dark stuff, the tales without happy endings.
MF: You guys are heading up the road for some shows in Sydney; why should readers check out your set?
BJ: If you wanna hear some old-school garage, surfabilly blues rock’n’roll by a two piece, we are your guys… also, they can expect that at any moment we’ll forget what to play and just make some shit up. I think people dig spontaneity, right? Also, most shows end with me in the crowd, and there’s a good chance of blood.
MF: What’s the first song to put on a mix tape?
BJ: Hmmm, probably the song that always gets us pumped to play, Ace of Spades by Motorhead.
Mother & Son play Mum @ Worldbar this Friday September 24th on the Music Feeds Stage
