INTERVIEW WITH NATHAN CAVALERI: PLAYING WITH JIMMY BARNES, BATTLING LEUKAEMIA, MENTAL HEALTH, AND COMING BACK STRONGER

As a kid, having the opportunity to play with the likes of Jimmy Barnes, Diesel and other music legends would have surely been a transformative experience. Could you please describe to us a bit about what that was like? 

I went from busking out front of my mum’s coffee shop, to playing on Hey Hey It’s Saturday to playing to 10,000 plus people per night supporting Jimmy Barnes and Diesel on the Soul Deep / Hepfidelity tour. At 10 years old, this was my first real snapshot of what a life in music would feel like. I loved it. Tour buses, semi-trailers, road cases, rehearsals, security, backstage passes, riders, dressing rooms, sound checks, driven by a management team and crew all working to put together a night for both the artist and the audience. It was my first experience on a real stage and as a sponge, I absorbed it all. Watching Jimmy and Diesel sing and play their hearts out leaving nothing but puddles of sweat on stage was a pivotal point in my career. I learnt that playing on stage is not just about expressing yourself. It’s about connecting. For them, it seemed as if they played like it was their last night no earth and as a kid going through Leukaemia at the time, this really resonated with me.

 Is there a favourite artist you have played/ worked with? 

I have 2 favourites for different reasons. B.B.King and Diesel. Having the privilege of playing 3 songs on stage with B.B. in the middle of his set for 3 weeks on one of his US tours is an experience that I’m still digesting! I learnt so much on tour both through observation and receiving advice. It was also the first time I witnessed blues music on a big stage and was able to see how powerful a blues show can be. My relationship with Diesel has many dimensions. I was learning from him at 10, and I’m still learning from him today. We’ve always bonded over song-writing, production and gear but now as an independent artist and father of 2, our connection has expanded into the world of music strategy as well as the more “human” aspects of being an artist. I love and respect him dearly.   

How do you think the highs and lows of your life have influenced your music?

Battling Leukaemia as a kid took a hobby into a form of self-expression and therapy. Even during recent years when I decided to call it quits, song-writing and playing even if alone, brought me catharsis. My empathetic imagination allows me to make art of what I see and feel - Be it experiences that someone else has had or through reflecting on my own, my music is definitely hinged to the dynamics of my life and is the reason why my stage shows and recordings are anything but linear. Weeping melancholy melodies to stink face triggering struts.. It’s all in there!  

 ‘Before You Check Out’ is a beautiful melody, carved by the acoustic guitar and gentle vocals. It has a powerful message, one that you have described as being “a song for those who are low on hope”. What would be your message to those who are struggling in these current circumstances? 

There’s always a way. Just because you can’t see a path, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. No matter what people say, there’s always a way and there are millions around the world who are proof of this and there are MANY paths to suit all different walks of life. The master key for me was learning to adjust my perception of adversity / discomfort / pain. When we start to see our pain as indicators rather than bullets, the situation goes from bring a battle to an opportunity for growth. I can see and learn more when I’m having a conversation rather than throwing punches or covering up. Most of my growth and resilience has come from challenges in my life. Don’t demonise them. Embrace them. Learn from them and trust that despite how it feels, it’s leading you to good places! An awakening is suppose to feel fucked because unfortunately, growth can only happen outside of our comfort zone.  

‘Hug’ is another beautiful track, with the lyrics; “All my hugs come from behind, no matter how many times you walk away from the crime”. Could you please expand on those lyrics? What does the power of forgiveness mean to you? 

For years I misunderstood the definition and purpose for forgiveness. I believed that the act of forgiving was the same as condoning and also believed that it’s purpose was to bring relief to the offender. I couldn’t be more wrong. My new understanding is that forgiveness is for the victim and is a form of acceptance. Holding a grudge, wishing something wasn’t so, hating on a past self are all acts of resistance. As long as that resistance is there, our past will continue to haunt us. For some, the past is haunting them daily through memories that are played on repeat. When we reach a state of full forgiveness we’ve accepted and are therefore released from the past. My song “Hug” is about making peace with abandonment. “Better the back of your head than the front of a lie..” means that you are willing to face the truth no matter how much it hurts. “All my hugs come from behind” is a metaphor for forgiving someone who has turned their back on you. 

The album ‘Demons’ is set to release on August 9th this year, followed by an album tour. What can fans expect from the new music? 

When I was a kid, I had something to play but now I have something to say. It was written at a time when I wasn’t intending on returning to the stage which kept the writing process from being corrupted by business goals. The sentiment of these songs are inspired by my own experiences and those around me. Organically, almost all of the songs relate in someway to how we relate to our “demons”. Whether profound or tongue and cheek, the attitudes of each song mirror the dynamics of my life and are amplified by styles of music that move me the most - Psychedelic folk, hiphop, funk, country all brought together by all my favourite types of blues. On stage, I string these songs together by sharing my own personal stories.  

 What are your favourite Aussie artists? What music inspires you?

My favourite bands are all over the place - Teskey Brothers, Ash Grunwald, Diesel, Julia Jacklin - OMG Julia Jacklin, Thelma Plum, Baby Animals, Cold Chisel, Guy Sebastian, Dope Lemon, LOVE Dope Lemon, Delta Riggs, Kingswood, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, TAME IMPALA! All different types of music inspires me…If it takes me away and makes me feel something, I’m in! 

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A GENTLE REMINDER IN THE FORM OF MUSIC FROM PEAK PARK’S NEW SINGLE: PLEASE DON’T BE SO HARD ON YOURSELF

 Pictured: Callum Lausberg, Mitchell Summers, and Thomas Hoeft from indie-rock band Peak Park.
Image: Todd Riley

As July begins, 2020 is half way through and the winter months are in full-force. Winter, along with a second wave of COVID-19 in Victoria, presents a somewhat difficult time, especially for those who are confined to the safety of their own homes. Enter Melbourne three-piece project Peak Park, who have released their new single, Please Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself, and you’ve got yourself a seasonal remedy which is sure to provide a sense of comfort amidst the uncertainty.  

 Please Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself, released on 25 May, touches on feelings of shame surrounding mental health struggles, and is an attempt to bring relief in the form of a four-minute track.

Multi-instrumentalist, producer and mixer of Peak Park, Thomas Hoeft, spoke of the source of inspiration which led to Please Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself.

“The complete process of writing, recording, producing and releasing this song in and of itself ended up being an enlightening journey for us to realise how important song writing is for our own mental health,” he said.

“It wasn’t till we started recording and finishing the mixing process that we began to critically discuss what the song was about and why we’d written it.”

This process allowed the three-piece to really tap into vulnerable moments people may encounter when facing troubling thoughts.

 “The themes explored in the song can be quite intimidating and confronting but the challenge for us (or anyone for that matter) is to find your own way of expressing these emotions,” he said.

“You should also never feel ashamed for talking about them. It’s a nice notion to be reminded that sometimes you need to cut yourself some slack.”

Pictured: Peak Park helped each other with their mental health during isolation periods of COVID-19.
Image: Todd Riley 

Hoeft added that during COVID-19 the band collectively helped each other to maintain a healthy mindset. 

“We’ve been fortunate enough that through the band the three of us have become quite close and have created an open forum to discuss our emotions and to rely on one another,” he said. 

“Talking to friends and family and admitting when things are rough has really helped me get through iso, and working on music when I’m stressed is also a big thing for me.” 

The song itself encompasses a whirlpool of genres: the beginning starting as what seems to be a lofi-bedroom sound, which quickly transcends into a synth driven indie-electronic mood, and then eventually culminates in an alt-rock breakdown (my favourite kind!) reminiscent of English alt-rock band Foals.

All of these components blend and build upon one another, ultimately creating an incredibly unique sound for Peak Park.  

 Hoeft said if Please Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself reaches even one person, the band would be “incredibly stoked”. 

“The hope is this song speaks to at least one person and they feel a sense of comfort or reassurance through the music and lyrics,” he said. 

Please Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself is a gentle reminder from Peak Park to take it easy, and whilst doing so, absorb all of the swirling sounds they’ve so wonderfully produced. 

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If you, or someone you know needs help:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800

Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636

Headspace on 1800 650 890

MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services

LGBTIQA+ Support 

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TRUTH HURTS WITH THE MOTION BELOW

“The Motion Below are back to finish what they started with "Truth Hurts", part two of their mini music series that encapsulates the inner turmoil of a man lost within himself and ultimate descent into madness.”

Jahmiele had a chat to vocalist Ryan Matheson about the release, the process, mental health, how to get the best out of your own band, and whats coming up next. We had a lot more to say so be sure to check out the full interview in the upcoming podcast episode!

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Jahmiele: So, Truth Hurts is the most recent release with the video and everything, and the second half of the series. Why did you decide to do that in a two-parter?
Ryan: We had spoken about doing a multiple part like thing, for quite a few years and um, we just sorta like never got around to actually completing it. And then after we did Chronus complex, um, last year when we went into the studio, we were going in for two singles and we'd spoken about like, like addressing a particular topic and wanting to attack it in like a multiple part series. So me and the boys like had quite a few conversations about it. And, um, Tom and Aidan had this idea that they wanted to address substance, or not necessarily like, uh, um, what's the word? Like addiction, but it wasn't, we didn't want it to be addiction in the sense of like it was particularly substance abuse or any type of like alcohol or drug. We just wanted it to be addiction in like an umbrella term. So it could be multiple things or it could be anything that someone could be dealing with or something like that. 

J: So make them more relatable across the board.

R: Yeah, exactly. So the main thing was we wanted it to be particularly about the vicious cycle of addiction though. So even though like it wasn't necessarily about substance, it sort of loosely was based on that particular concept of someone being addicted to substance. So sorta how people or people will be addicted to whatever it is and their daily life will be based around solely that particular thing that they do. So whether it's drugs or alcohol, they'll go through the cycle of getting up on any day that you will usually sleep in for majority of the day. Go about doing a few things and then end up reverting back to the substance, so the substance rules their life. And then from there, you know, they sort of, in like the story, the protagonist knows that he's addicted to something and the substance is ruling his life and you can visually see it in the music videos that he's struggling with that fact. And even though he's trying to free himself from the chains of addiction, he can't and he feels ostracized from the rest of the world and paranoid I guess. And because of that he ends up just drawing back to being addicted to something and ends up basically losing his mind because of that.

J: One of the things I kind of picked up in the music video was when he went to walk out the front door and saw someone, it was kind of like a confrontation he didn't want to deal with. 

R: Yeah. Basically. It was pretty much, yeah. He felt like as soon as he went to walk out the door, he felt like the rest of the world was sort of like just, you know, everyone was looking at him, is basically the deal. So, he feels like as soon as he leaves his comfort zone, which is his own, his own house, um, he feels as if he's being ostracized from the rest of the world and everyone is sorta just judging him from a distance, I guess. And that's why in the video he ends up just turning back around and going straight back into the house where there's nobody else. 

J: And what would be like the ideal message you'd like to convey when talking about all of these things to your audience?
R: I guess in a positive sense it would be to try and make sure that if someone is in that position, then I guess try not to do what we sort of orchestrated in the video and actually reach out to people. And you know, even though if you feel like you are being ostracised from the world, there's always someone that's going to be there that's gonna want to listen to you and gonna want to help you. Like, all you have to do is ask for help.

We obviously don't want to send the message out to people that ‘this is what you should do’, it was more sort of like, we want it to orchestrate, we wanted to attack that message in a way that, you know, people could relate to it in a personal way and then hopefully they would obviously do something positive about it.

J: Yeah, for sure. The videos for Dead End and Truth Hurts were both directed by Martin Wood. He's worked with a bunch of amazing local bands including some friends of mine. It all looks amazing, but what was it like working with Martin?
R: He’s so easy to work with. He's such a good dude and he just like, he just has the knack, he knows what his vision is and how to attack it. So we first met Martin when we shot our previous music videos with Colin Jeffs, and Martin assisted on those videos. So that's how we kind of met him. And then when we did the singles we wanted to work with him because we had already worked with him before and because he's Melbourne based as well. So that was kind of why, but working with him in general, like we told him what we wanted, what the vision was and how we wanted them to come out and he just took that idea and then just, just basically everything, the whole video, like all of it was his idea.  We sat down with him on a phone call one night and he was like, ‘This is what I've got’, like ‘this is what I think we want to, how we want to do it’. And you know, ‘this is the setting that I've got’. And even with Dead Ends, the idea of having that backdrop behind us while we’re playing, and you can visually see that it's clearly a backdrop we’re playing in front of, that was all his idea as well. He took ideas from different band concepts and music videos that he's seen in the past and worked on, and we sort of took those and tried to, I guess use it in our own way. And like all of the story in the actual videos themselves, all of that - he shot it all obviously, but the way that the actor sort of portrayed himself in the character, that was basically like just him. We just sorta just like stood there and watched and we were like, ‘Yeah, man, that's cool. Like your ideas are great. We trust you.’ Pretty much. So yeah, it's really good. he's really, really good to work with.

J: So where did the original interest in metal in particular come from? What are your roots?
R: I guess when I first started playing music I personally was like more of a rock fan, like I was always playing Green Day covers and stuff like that. And then as I guess I sorta got that into music and got a little bit older, obviously spanned out to like Escape The Fate and Parkway Drive and all that kind of stuff in high school. And I just sort of went from there. My first band we started when I was in Year 12 I think, we were more like a death core/melodic metal core band. All the inspiration from back then was definitely like those, you know, early two thousands, post-hardcore bands like Bullet For My Valentine, Escape The Fate, Parkway Drive, all that kind of stuff. And I'm sure the rest of the boys would agree, like we all pretty much have the same sort of roots there.

J: I think you'd also been asked a similar question to this before, but it's a few years later. Um, what important things have you learned in more recent years as a band? Are you still doing what you set out to do? Have you got like different perspectives or anything has changed?
R: I think, um, like the vision was always from the start- So obviously like the name itself, The Motion Below, like we always felt like we were sorta like the underdogs. We always wanted to be the band that sorta come out from underneath from nowhere, creating waves, you know, whether it's in a local level or not, that slowly emerges through, you know what I mean? And like over the years, like most of the bands that were around when we first started aren’t even around anymore. And I think that sort of goes to show, I guess in a sense, out of determination and like what we originally set out to do. I suppose like from the beginning, we went through a phase where we tried to do everything DIY and you know, like, I guess, I don't know, we sort of tried to do things where we tried to save as much money as we could.  

And no matter how hard you do it, it works for some bands, but if you try and DIY everything, it just doesn't work. You need to put the money into the band, into the right places, you know, to make the content, make those music videos, make the band sound good in the studio and take the time to make sure all those things will make you look good. Especially online like these days. Especially like obviously in the music industry and especially now with everything going on. Your online presence is everything. And if you know, someone sees you online and you have a really crappy image, you have poor quality music, your music videos aren't produced well, all that stuff, It takes away from your band and who you are. And we have definitely learnt, especially through all the process of like basically through the cycle of Chronus Complex, doing everything right and putting the money into those particular things, Like PR studio, all of the content that you create, it is really important. And we personally ourselves have seen the results putting that money in, in the last year than we have before that. I think that's like a really important thing that people sort of like don't grasp until you actually do it.

Don’t get me wrong, it costs a fortune. Like it costs money to do your band that way. But the results in saying like, I was talking to our PR agent this morning and we're all talking about how well Truth Hurts has done in the last week. And literally a year ago we had 29 monthly listeners on Spotify and like, you know, no one listened to our band, no one cared who we were, And then from that stage we made sure we did everything right. And as much as it burns out a hole in your bank account, you know, the results show. So doing those things and putting the money into it and obviously putting the money where your mouth is, it gives you results 

J: You get the delayed satisfaction.

 R: Exactly. And if you look now like almost 12 years on from release of State of Decay, sorry, 12 months. And, um, we're now, you know, comfortably sitting at over 10,000 monthly listeners. The new single came out a week ago and it's on 7,000 streams. Like, you know, the numbers don't lie. Yeah, that's sort of like one thing when we're at shows and hanging out with all the bands and friends and stuff. Um, especially bands that are younger, younger than us and sort of ask us for those that like, you know, advice or how a lot of people seem to be really impressed when we did Chronus Complex cause we sort of obviously like went from a band that was just a, you know, a local band like everyone else to sort of somewhat making a name for ourselves.  And I've had a few conversations with a few bands and like, you know, how did you do it? Like what's it like working with those people and stuff like that. And I always tell people like, you just have to put the money in. Like that's sort of at the base of it all. That's where it all stems from. Because if you put the money in, you'll get the results.

J: For new bands who haven't quite started and grasped what to put their money towards - what would you say is the first priority? 
R: It would be production. Like making sure you go to producers and engineers that are going to give you the best product. So like, in the past we've gone, don't get me wrong, previous producers we’ve gone to have been fantastic, but we didn't have that hands on experience where we went into the studio with material and we sat down for, you know, three days straight and just tore everything to shreds in pre-production. And I think it's really important these days, especially in an industry that's so built up, you know, so oversaturated, there's so many bands in Australia alone and you know, a lot of bands sound the same and when you're in an industry that is so oversaturated and everyone's trying to do the same thing, like, you know, it's hard to make a name for yourself. Production step one is really important because you can stem from there….

Once you sort of grasp the concept of letting all the right people sort of have some type of artistic direction over your music, it opens up a whole new world for your band.

Of course as musicians, we’re artists, like you do have to make sure that you still maintain some type of integrity to what you're creating. We have a really good relationship like that with our producers where they know - I suppose we've worked with them for so long now they know what our vision is and they just help bring it out that step further where we can't do it ourselves.

J: You supported Buried In Verona at Max Watts? You’ve said was your favourite venue to play because you had that massive final, final show for them. Who would be part of your sort of dream lineup to be a part of? 
R: Oh man, that's a hard question. Um, God. I think a big one for all of us would probably be Kill, Switch, Engage. Anyone who saw us in the early days, we used to play My Curse at like every single show.
Probably Parkway Drive.
Bullet For My Valentine. Architects.
These days Polaris, like that would be sick. Those guys are just insane. I think that'd be a big one. especially being in Australia. And Wage War. I mean the boys love Wage War. We went and saw them when I came out early this year and yeah, that really good. Get onto em.

J: Is there anything else coming up for you guys?
R: Obviously it’s hard to do anything at the moment. So, well we've been sort of trying to think of ways to obviously keep engaged with our audience once Truth Hurts sort of starts to die down a little bit. We’re hoping to see, you know, release a few different things, like some play throughs and maybe some covers and stuff. At the end of the year we might be going back into the studio to do another record.

J: Backbeat’s priority is to support Australian music specifically, mainly. We try to ask everyone we interview what their top three current Australian artists are at the moment. They could be new or old, but Australian.
R: Yup. Um, Polaris. Yup. Um, Oh God. Who else? Um, I gotta think about it. Polaris um, geez, that's a hard question. Well, obviously definitely Polaris. I think Alpha Wolf at the moment, they’re making waves there. They're doing great at the moment, and To Octavia, they're really close friends, so definitely To Octavia.

J: Was there anything else you wanted to check in and chat about? Any last words?

R: Check out Truth Hurts!

LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW IN PODCAST EPISODE FORM HERE!

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HOW TO SUPPORT LOCAL ARTISTS, INDUSTRY WORKERS, AND YOURSELF DURING THE COVID-19 APOCALYPSE

BECAUSE THAT’S WHERE WE’RE AT RIGHT NOW…

Unfortunately, given the current world situation, we’re all being told to lock up shop and give up on any attempts at public socialising for the next few months. This means that many MANY people are out of a lot of work - artists, bookers, venue workers, managers, plenty of general hospitality staff, the list goes on. So, what can we do to support each other in this super f*cking weird time?

STREAM STREAM STREAM
As many artists have been promoting, streaming and purchasing music (and merchandise!) is the main - and potentially only, really - way to support artists right now. With the majority of live events being canceled, largely due to capacity limits (now brought down to 100px for indoor events) artists and crew aren’t making back huge amounts of dosh that were previously planned for. Chuck ya favourite artists on repeat, and if you can, go ahead and buy that band shirt/album/cap/vinyl/various other merchandise items that you’ve been thinking about for months.

Spotify also pays a higher percentage to artists from streams from paid-membership accounts so again, if you can, stop putting off getting yourself a premium account, and stream, stream, stream.

Check out our Spotify playlist full of all-Aussie (and a few NZ) acts HERE and get yo’ streamin’ on.

CHECK OUT MY BANDCAMP, DUDE
Spotify and iTunes/Apple Music aren’t our only resources though! Go buy an album from the tonnes of unearthed artists on Bandcamp and Soundcloud. Bandcamp, in particular, are making a big move, waiving their revenue cut from any purchases made on March 20th (from midnight to midnight Pacific Time, which is 18 hours behind AEDT - for those of you on most of the south-east coast of Australia right now, that means 6pm Friday 20th through to 6pm Saturday 21st). What does that mean? It means that the artists are going to be receiving the FULL amount you pay for the purchase during those hours.

While your five streams on a song aren’t going to replace the fee from a major gig or festival slot, if there are thousands just like you and I, it could be the difference between paying rent or not. This will also help the involved studio musicians, songwriters, engineers, and producers get a little extra cash as well.

DON’T SKIP THE ADS Y’ALL
If you’re consuming through YouTube - DON’T SKIP THE ADS. Turn off that adblocker, get yo’ mouse away from that ‘skip’ button, and just give your extra 10 seconds to allow that monetized video to actually earn something for the artist/creator of the actual video.

SHARE SHARE SHARE
Share your fave artist/band’s latest (or not-so-latest) releases. Let more people know about all the awesome music you’ve got stockpiled, like a panicking boomer and their TP. Share articles like this to let others know what they can do to help. Share your own works - who knows, you might go viral, you might brighten someones day with new creative content, you might even inspire others to create - and in times like these, our imagination and creation is all we have and that can often go either way, lets’ try and keep it somewhat productive and positive.

KEEP UP WITH THE TIMES - or don’t
Thanks to the amazing technological development that is The Internet, we are able to keep up with consistent live updates from all around the world. While it is often something to be marveled, times like these combined with the frenetic nature of our news media, means that not all news is entirely accurate or helpful. Be sure to keep yourself updated with things like symptoms to look out for, new laws coming into place (such as the new event capacity limits), areas and behaviours of higher risk, and where to get your TP and pasta from, but please, if you know in yourself that negative, world-ending-style news and media isn’t great for your personal health, then perhaps avoid social media and do your best to accommodate for yourself - which leads us to our next point…

IF YOU’RE GONNA GO OUT, KEEP IT LOCAL, KEEP IT CLEAN
Do your best to support the local, independent stores. whether that be book and music stores, cafes and restaurants, small grocers, butchers…on and on. Keep it local where you can and obviously do your best to keep yourself clean, don’t touch your face, and wash your hands before, during, and after any outdoor adventures.

DISTRACT AND RELAX
No, I’m not talking to you, ScoMo - now is not the time for you to a) use this ‘pandemic’ as a distraction from your oil rigs or b) pretend this isn’t happening at all and go on a holiday. What we mean is, for those who struggle with anxiety and a range of other mental health issues that can be triggered and worsened in times like these, now is the time to crack out your own personal distractions and relaxations. Video Games? Go for it. Colouring books? Colour away! Visual art or musical creation - get on that sh*t. Solo dance party in your lounge like nobody’s watching? You guessed it. Although many of us are indeed out of work and do have a lot of stress to, well, stress about, now is also the time to take advantage of the current quarantine state of things and give some time to yourself - we literally can’t do anything else. Chuck on some music, go and sit in the sunshine (if you have some right now), read a book, eat some strawberries (seriously, why are there so many strawberries in stores right now?), slap on a face mask, make a cup of tea, draw, write, game - do whatever it is you can that will help you calm down and get you through the next few weeks as the news continues to develop. And as always, remember to sit up and adjust your posture, relax your shoulders, unclench your jaw, and breathe.

TREATMENT

Of course, we are in no way medical professionals, so please keep an eye on yourself and your loved ones and seek medical attention if you feel the need to.

For those in Australia, there is a 24-hour Coronavirus dedicated information line to call if you want advice before seeking an actual GP appointment - we would recommend using this line unless you are clearly ill and needing assistance as many doctors, clinics, and ER’s are being filled with many people who have a simple cold, taking appointments away from people who are seriously suffering - COVID-19 or otherwise.

Please call this number for phone assistance and advice regarding COVID-19:
1800 020 080

Please read up here for further information on symptoms, when to seek treatments, and other info and resources, and of course do your own research - but PLEASE, do not panic, do not bulk-buy items you do not need, and treat those who are still working during these times with the utmost respect - they’re human too and are doing their best to help the rest of us out.

Here’s a list of the major music industry developments and cancellations thus far, but of course there is always more to come.

Here at the BackBeat, we will try to bring you regular content as per usual - but given the circumstances certain guests and planned content will be impossible to provide for now. We are taking care of ourselves and we encourage you to do the same, and while we will do our best to keep you updated on our end, please check out this handful of other local music-based podcasts to keep you and your ears satisified;

What We Did On The Weekend
Backbone Sunday Sessions Podcast
The Loud Hour Podcast
Wall Of Sound
The Mosh Zone
The Killer Set Podcast
Our Mosh Pit

Chats with; Jess and Jay - Don't Fret Club

In our most recent episode, we chatted to Jess Hope and Jay Wennington about, well, everything. Here’s a funky snippet where we talked about one of their primary projects (amongst many others, including Bad Seed Agency), Don’t Fret Club, a podcast about mental health in the music industry - what it is, how it came to be, and where it’s going next! Check out the full episode here.

When and why was Don’t Fret Club started?

JESS: It started about 4 years ago just before we moved out here. It basically started because I completely burnt out in the music industry, no other way to really describe it. But it was also kind of everywhere; it was in a lot of the interviews that I did, like mental health would always come up and at the time – it doesn’t really happen so much now but at the time it was always either edited out or glamourised, or I remember it becoming art of the taglines or headlines when it wasn’t really a major part of the story. I think back even 4 years ago people didn’t really know how to talk about it. I hadn’t really thought about doing a podcast, even podcasts weren’t big then, so I didn’t really even know how to do it, but it was the only way that it couldn’t be edited, we could kind of give people a platform.

The idea was to talk to musicians about topics related to mental health and it was kind of broad enough that people didn’t feel forced to say a certain thing or touch on a certain topic. And luckily, I obviously have relationships in the industry with managers and artists and people who knew the right people to be on it. So, we actually started the podcast with Jenna from Tonight Alive and obviously she was the perfect person to start with, she steered the convo as much as I did and was very open to that, but definitely when we started no one was talking about mental health in music honestly.

We’re still not completely, in terms of the wider music industry, but it was just to get the conversation out there and not have it changed or misguided or anything like that, it was exactly what people wanted to say. That being said, being a podcast format can be a bit tricky in the sense that a lot for the artists will come to us when they’re on their promo cycle or when they’re in the mind of being very positive, not really always ready to talk, so every interview is very different and 4 years on every conversation is new and kind of challenging because we have to put a lot of ourselves into it as well. In order for people to feel comfortable, we have to create that safe space and be quite honest and open, so there have been dips in it when I’ve personally been not feeling like I was in the place to do it or vice versa.

It’s definitely been well received here in Australia, and we’ve had artists from all over the world do it and luckily we can jump on the phone with them, but I always [preffered] the face to face time versus a 10-minute phoner - it’s kind of like, I’m not really willing to put someone in that position of having to go over delicate topics on the phone with someone they’ve not met, so a lot of the episodes are with people I know or have worked with a lot, or interviewed before, it was helpful that I had already done those things that so I had those relationships already there. It was basically something that I needed to hear, and nobody had made it yet.

There’s a hashtag ‘#ShreddingTheStigma’ that pops up a lot on your social media and the website, where did that come from?

JESS: We’ve done a lot of content and admittedly a lot of it isn’t even out there, we’re very protective of it and almost to our detriment a lot. We have a lot of videos and interviews and an almost finished documentary that’s just not out because we want it to be right and perfect, and we don’t want people to think that we’re trying to glamourize the topic, which since we launched has happened a lot. People launch clothing brands with ‘I Am Sad’ and they’re almost proud of that, and we’re very wary of the reception we were getting. Some people thought they kind of had to say that they were depressed so that they could be part of the club, which is not the case at all. So [Shredding The Stigma], it’s essentially what the future documentary will be called I think, tying it back to music and widening the conversation. A lot of it is around stigma and that people aren’t ready to talk about it or deal with it or kind of put in mechanisms for people to cope with it and that's at every level.  Like its artists, managers, labels, its people at the venue, everyone, and there are different kinds of stigma at every level. So, I guess the hashtag is an overall kind of thing, to kind of battle that in a way.

A lot of people kind of think that we're at the point where we can talk about it and that the stigma is not there, but I think that’s just not the case. Obviously, it is in certain cases, but so often we talk about it and there's no kind of repercussion or act after that - there's no aftercare if you like. So, we still think talking is what's needed to kind of lead to the next step.

Do people from the general public come to you, either in person or online, asking for advice or telling you their stories?

JESS: Kind of. The ‘zine fairs that we've done, I think was kind of us there and offering that space for people to come up, but a lot of the time if I've ever brought it up people don't really realize, that either it’s us or that we've done it, or we haven't put a lot of ourselves. It's weird because even though there's obviously a lot of me on the podcast whereas on our socials there’s not. You wouldn’t know the people behind it, and even that was a transition from in the UK when we started, my profile as a writer was bigger there, so when I moved here nobody knew me, nobody kind of connected me to the podcast, which is a good and bad thing. It’s obviously important to have that so that people feel comfortable [knowing who they’re talking to] but it’s also good not to have a single face because if someone doesn’t necessarily feel they can identify with me, I don’t want that to stop them finding something in the brand.

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Today is #worldmentalhealthday, here are some ways you can steadily help to manage your own mental health, even as they serve as a reminder on those difficult days. On days like today, it’s important to listen to yourself and your body, and if you feel overwhelmed or concerned, to speak to someone you trust about how you’re feeling. 💙

A post shared by Don't Fret Club (@dontfretclub) on Oct 9, 2019 at 3:09pm PDT

And that branding change that we’ve seen on the socials and the website, what boosted that to be changed?

JESS: I think selfishly we just needed something fresh because we've obviously been working with the same ‘creative’ if you like for four years. And also, I think it's been kind of done and other people have done it and we just wanted to broaden out and I think we almost want it to become, well I think it's naturally become a wellness general space. It's not necessarily a heavy music thing even. And I want to, because we've done other content like video and some written posts and obviously we did a ‘zine and that was super popular - I want to make sure that it's maybe not even just a podcast or it doesn't just rely on that content and that other people can start kind of putting their voice into it without me even needing to kind of interview or do a podcast or anything like that. And we've kind of built the community but I think it needs other voices, not just mine and the person I'm talking to at that time.

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Have you stumbled upon our Feel Good Playlist yet? It’s on @spotifyaunz with new additions from @thehardaches, @bugsbandau & @essieholtmusic! 💙 #nowplaying #playlist #feelgood #dontfretclub #positivity #posivibes #newmusic #ausmusic #wellness

A post shared by Don't Fret Club (@dontfretclub) on Sep 27, 2019 at 4:53am PDT

View this post on Instagram

Today is #worldmentalhealthday, here are some ways you can steadily help to manage your own mental health, even as they serve as a reminder on those difficult days. On days like today, it’s important to listen to yourself and your body, and if you feel overwhelmed or concerned, to speak to someone you trust about how you’re feeling. 💙

A post shared by Don't Fret Club (@dontfretclub) on Oct 9, 2019 at 3:09pm PDT

So you’ve been primarily covering the heavier music but you talk about interests elsewhere, where else would you like to see it go?

JESS: Yeah that's kind of happened just again because that's where my relationships with artists are and I want to make sure that they feel comfortable. But we've actually done one with Kwame which is only out it’s like a 30-second video. He's maybe the first hip hop artist we've done and we've had we've been given the option recently of a few more, we definitely want to do more within that kind of scene, but it’s just it’s making sure we really know the artists and that they’re comfortable and not just doing it in a 15-minute phoner when they’re allotted that time, because we’ve done that and it’s just not ideal for either party, you’re not given the time to really delve deep or explain who you are.

JAY: Yeah it is tricky because like Jess says, with the whole you kind not necessarily ‘stick to what you know’ but like, all of our friends and the connections we have are in a heavier world and I think it's hard sometimes for merit to translate into other genres. For example, just under a year ago we were lucky enough to have Corey Taylor on the podcast, and if we mentioned that to kind of anyone in the alternative scene obviously he's like royalty and we're very proud of that because it carries a certain level of merit to his name, but to someone in the hip-hop scene or like an urban scene or even a pop scene to an extent it perhaps doesn't quite carry the same thing as it does here. I do think that we both feel that we've kind of hit a bit of a glass ceiling with the genre, I mean we've done the frontman of one of the biggest bands in the world. I think Jess and I both agree that there's only one person that we would like to do more and that is Ozzy Osborne. I think once we had those two, we could die happy, we’d be done.

JESS: I've not actually thought about it until this moment, about what he'd say, but I think the best ones we've had are where people have no inhibitions and say how it is and have a lot of stories to tell.

GABBY: I feel like he'd be an open book.

JAY: Definitely, though I'm not sure what language that book would be written in.
But yeah, I don't know. It's a good question. I don't know where it's going to go next and I think that's why we feel like internally we feel like we've perhaps plateaued slightly because we're a bit confused in ourselves where it's even going to go next.

JESS: We are very protective. We want to make sure it's done for the right reasons. We've had lot of offers from bands which obviously is amazing that people want to be involved but I always kind of want to make sure it's in their interests as much as ours and if someone's mentioned anxiety in one song on one album, it doesn't mean they're going to want to sit there and talk to Don't Fret which is absolutely fine. We’re kind of we're getting ready to record what I'm calling a second season. We've had a bit of a rebrand we'll finally bring the documentary out and then I think we'll just see where the conversation’s at and what people want Don't Fret to be and go from there let people kind of take it for what they want it to be.

We’d like to say a huge thanks to Jess and Jay, and all of our other guests, for dropping by and lending their time to chat with us .

Listen to this and more in the entire interview with Jess and Jay, in the full episode here, give them a follow below, check out our past episodes and stay tuned for our next one (and last one for 2019!) with Laura Imbruglia!

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