SPIDERBAIT – Spring Loaded and a New Album!
Written by: Tom Wilson @thetomwilsonexperiment - Sense Music Media | Tuesday 16th May 2023
Photo by: Ian Laidlaw
“It’s kind of a METALLICA vibe … I just want to do shit that blows people’s heads off…”
It’s already good enough that SPIDERBAIT are headlining the latest incarnation of 90s alternative music festival SPRING LOADED, but Kram has just confirmed to Sense that the band is busy writing their first album in almost ten years, and things are about to get a bit heavy…
You recently toured Songs in the Key of J. How were those songs received?
It was pretty emotional, to be honest. That whole project, I think Janet was pretty reluctant at first to do it, because it meant her being 100% the centre of attention [laughs] and the whole thing was kind of my idea. She was an artist before she was a musician, and I said, “Imagine if you were a painter and someone said, “Here, we want to do a book of all of your work, so that if anyone wants to find out who Janet English is, this is the book you get, and all of your paintings, all of your sculpture, all of your work is in one thing, and then it’s your body of work for you to be proud of for the rest of your life.”” The same premise, for me, was that album, because no one had ever put together all of her songs that she sings into one album, and after it was all done, she was so proud of it, and so pumped, so she’s a little bit embarrassed, I think, because she pretty much teared up at the end of every show all around the country, which we thought was really beautiful. That’s really what that tour was about, paying homage to our dear friend who we love, and who, I think, is one of the greats of Australian music of all time. She’s an amazing, unique person. The thing about her, like I said, she doesn’t like the limelight. She likes being in a band, and she likes playing with us, but there is something I’ve always loved about her reluctance to fame and all that stuff, which I think is kind of cool.
I was a huge fan of The Chaser’s War on Everything, and you got to be part of one of their stunts, which was the in-store appearances. What memories do you have of that?
Oh, it was insane. The Chaser are an amazing bunch of dudes, and it’s kind of like crossing Monty Python with a bunch of ABC journos or something. They’re a very unique troupe in the history of Australia. It’s such a shame that they’re not still together, but I guess groups like that never really stay together forever, but at that time it was such a big thing. And I just loved their balls – they’ve got balls of iron! [Laughs] I just sort of tagged along. But they’re super intelligent. I remember doing another TV show on ABC with Chas once, and they’re just really awesome dudes, and very missed. I think they could very much come back and be just as huge and just as awesome, so to be a part of that history is really special.
What plans, if any, do SPIDERBAIT have to release new music?
The last record we made was with Franc Tétaz, who we loved, and Franc obviously worked with GOTYE and KIMBRA, and he lived in L.A. for ten years, and he’s moved back, and I had a meeting with him recently. I wrote a lot of songs at the end of COVID. I bought this B.C. Rich heavy metal guitar, and I’d just always wanted one, and when I got it home it had a bit of an effect on me, a bit like when you buy a hot rod or something, or you get your first leather jacket … it was just so transformative, and I wrote so many songs on it, and was still riffing on this awesomely bizarre guitar that Whit says looks like a black corn chip. [Laughs] The new SPIDERBAIT stuff has all come pretty much out of that. Franc really liked the songs, and we’re going to do some sessions in August. So I think we’re going to be releasing a new record really soon. Let’s see how these sessions go, but it’s definitely happening. Everyone’s really pumped. This is sort of destiny. COVID did have a lot of bad, really terrible things happen, but I don’t know … somehow, right at the end, I just sort of got in that zone, and Whit’s been writing stuff, and Janet as well, and we’re all very much back together in a creative sense. I think it’s a bit harder, even when you’re best mates like we are … to actually write new music, you sort of have to spend longer together … This has been nice, to be able to reconnect, and we sort of started doing it via Zoom, because I’m up here in Byron, Whit’s in Ballarat, and Janet’s in Melbourne, so we just reconnected in that way, and it just seemed like the right time … It’s sounding pretty sick, so we’ll see how we go.
In maybe a tribute to your very metal B.C. Rich, would you say that you’re going in a bit more of a headbang-y direction, like Monty and tracks like that?
I don’t know, man. It’s kind of a METALLICA vibe. I’m just riffing majorly. It’s kind of a METALLICA, MOTÖRHEAD… I just want to do shit that blows people’s heads off, and blows my head off, and just want to smash the drum kit up at the end. It’s kind of that sort of vibe. [Laughs] I haven’t written stuff like that for a while, for a few years, and I’m suddenly like, “This is fucking sick!”
SPIDERBAIT headline the Spring Loaded Festival at Sandstone Point on Saturday June 3rd. Tickets available here.