Artist on Artist: Mosman Alder Vs Paul Dempsey

80% of Brisbane sextet Mosman Alder – JACKSON MUIR, ROBYN DAWSON, DAMIAN WOOD and KAT WIKTORSKI – reconnect with Something For Kate’s PAUL DEMPSEY, who produced their recent debut album.

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]

Part 1. Mosman Alder Ask Paul

Whilst in the studio, I (Jackson) began playing the riff from ‘Blueprint’ by Fugazi. You turned to me and said firmly, “They are greatest band of all time.” What is it that makes them #1?
Well, I guess I should’ve just said that they are my favourite band. It’s all down to personal taste, after all. I discovered them when I was about 14 and they just had a huge impact on me. It was a revelation to me hearing the way they took the usual elements of two guitars, bass and drums but made them interweave and interlock in a way that was somehow incredibly musical and incredibly anti-musical at the same time and just totally unlike anything else I had heard up to that point. They always played completely by their own rules both musically and in the way they operated as a band whilst still treating their audience with great respect (i.e. by neither pandering nor condescending to them). Their music, their unflinching commitment to their own vision and their ridiculous work ethic were a huge inspiration to me and they really defined my whole idea of being a ‘working musician’.

You also said you visited Dischord Records in DC as a young’un. How was that experience?
I was lucky enough as a teenager to have a pen pal (pre-internet!) in Washington DC and she used to send me heaps of music from her local scene (Fugazi, Trenchmouth, Shudder to Think, Sleeping Body, Lungfish, etc.) and I would send her stuff I was discovering in the Melbourne all-ages scene (Magic Dirt, Christbait, Mouth, Guttersnipes, Warped, etc.).

I went to see her in DC when I was 19 after mixing our first album [1997’s Elsewhere for 8 Minutes] in NYC, and we were walking around her neighbourhood and she casually pointed at this old house and said, “Oh, that’s the Dischord house.” I was a bit speechless. I had heard stories of people just knocking on the door and saying hi and being welcomed in and everything but I was too nervous so I just kinda stood there and took it in for a minute and we kept walking.

You are a man of science and a sinful heathen-atheist. Is there even a small part of you that believes in the possibility of a soul or some kind of afterlife?
No more than I believe in the ‘possibility’ of a tooth fairy.

If souls were/are a thing, who in our band is least likely to have one?
Judge not lest ye be judged, kids! How’s that for some delicious irony? (But seriously, you’re all doomed.)

You told us that when you were living in New York you went to see Neil deGrasse Tyson, who was giving a lecture on astrophysics, and that you got to meet him afterwards. What was your favourite thing about that experience and what did you chat about?
It was actually a panel discussion/debate about string theory and Neil was the MC/adjudicator. It was fun because I’d read books by each of the participants and I basically knew where they stood and it was oddly enjoyable to watch a bunch of physicists getting somewhat shirty with each other live onstage. Brian Greene seemed to have an unfair advantage because he was linked in via Skype on a gigantic screen behind the other participants and his head was massive … it was a bit surreal and funny watching the other, perhaps lesser-known, physicists arguing with Brian Greene’s huge best-selling head.

It was an interesting experience meeting them all afterwards because I felt like a total fan-boy, which was novel. Neil and I chatted for a few minutes, mostly about Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

If you could be locked in a pub with anyone dead or alive, who would it be?
That depends … is it a good pub? If it’s a good pub then let’s say Christopher Hitchens; I reckon he’d be perfect for getting boozed and arguing with. If it’s a shit pub then I’m going to need a locksmith. A living one.

Kat quickly ejected this particular snack; it seems mussels don’t agree with her. Have you had any edible disasters with the band or flying solo?
No. But you’ve given me a name for a restaurant venture.

Speaking of flying, what plane is most desirable for people with as much need for leg room as someone your size, and where other than your tall-person-designed house have you felt most catered for?
Any plane will do but the exit row is a must. Other than that, I can’t really think of anywhere I’ve felt particularly ‘catered for’ … Most places just don’t really account for people over a certain height.

How do you think the music industry has changed in reference to the hurdles faced by musicians since the birth of the internet? Do you feel the trials and tribulations are fundamentally the same?
A ton of things have changed and a ton of things haven’t changed. I think the only brand new hurdle is that most music is now simply there for the taking and a large proportion of the population seem disinclined to assign any value at all to the hard work and resources that went into creating it.

Other than that, the only thing that matters is the only thing that’s ever mattered (in my opinion) and that is getting out there and playing your arse off in front of people anywhere you can, anytime you can. It’s better than radio, it’s better than the internet, it’s better than a review and it’s better for you and your band. If you want to be a musician, go be a musician. Be prepared to lose money and play to no one [but] hopefully it’ll get better as you get better.

We know Fugazi and Slayer are your faves. If you had to pick, who would you cancel out of existence?)
Wow, I was previously asked to decide who does or does not have a soul and now I’m being offered the chance to cancel things out of existence! I told you I don’t do God stuff…

But in terms of your solo career, is there any artist in particular that really changed the way you wrote after discovering them?
I’m not sure anything has changed the way I write, because the way I write is still a total fucking mystery to me.

One of the great things of having you produce our record is you had an objective outsider’s perspective and were able to see things without personal biases and other clusterfuck stuff that happens when you’re so emotionally involved in your own art. Do you find it hard to be objective with your own music and is this why you haven’t solely produced any SFK records or solo stuff?
In a word, yes. It’s harder to think of the things you’re not thinking of.

And what is easier – writing music or producing other people’s? What are the pros and cons of both?
Producing other people’s music is definitely easier for me, for the reasons we both stated above. The pros of producing are the ability to be objective, the excitement of collaborating and experimenting and hopefully guiding someone towards attaining their vision. It’s a lot of fun just pulling sounds and finding the right thing for each part and hearing it all come together and hopefully seeing some satisfaction on the faces of the band. The only cons are that when it’s done, you have to let it go and hope for the best.

The only cons to writing my own stuff are just that it’s a difficult process for me but, hey, you get out what you put in so the pros are enormous. When I finally complete a record and I’m genuinely happy with the result, it’s the most satisfying and rewarding feeling I know of … so even though it’s a harder slog, it’s far more rewarding in the end and it also gives me an excuse to go back out and play my arse off for two years or so, which is my favourite part of it all.

You have a stellar rep for doing incredible covers (Shotgun Karaoke Tour etc.) and we saw you absolutely nail ‘Ashes to Ashes’ by Bowie the other night. Will you ever cover one of our songs? Please? ;) And if, so what song would you do?
Oooh, that’s a good question. I’d like a crack at ‘Colours’ or ‘Prized Paradise’… Maybe I’ll cover ‘Too Many Years’… Idiots ; )

Part 2. Paul Asks Mosman Alder

Who’s the boss?
Jackson: Bruce Springsteen, mate.

Damian: Whoever displays the fiercest anger dance.

Robyn: Ha, I’m voting Springsteen as well ;)

With six imaginative musicians and six diverse opinions, it must be hard to agree on which new ideas to work on at any given time. How do you navigate that?
Jackson: I’m not sure how it all works anymore or how things are navigated. I feel like we are like a ship lost at sea and we keep finding these abandoned little islands and just eat coconuts and fish and then get back on board. It’s all a bit of a mess. Some songs are just chosen and some are put on the backburner and there are too many on the backburner, in my opinion.

Damian: If two members still vehemently disagree after feasting upon fish and coconuts, they are placed in the coco-ring to do battle. Armed with riffs and a fish of their choosing, a champion normally will emerge after a few minutes. The loser is then strung up to a palm tree to serve as a reminder of what happens to those with poor taste suggestions.

Robyn: Our backburner needs a thorough spring clean, but it proves difficult when Liam [Haug]’s the only one who can drive the boat and Damo, drunk and indignant, demands to navigate despite Liam profusely protesting. It’s lucky we all like coconuts.

I understand that one of you generally comes in with the chords/lyrics and general bones of an idea and then you all work on it together. Do you all come up with your own parts or does someone play the part of arranger?
Jackson: Short answer: Yeah. Usually Valdis [Valodze] or myself will bring in chords, vocal melodies [and] basic structure and we arrange as a band. Everyone comes up with their own parts most of the time. But this is by no means a set formula and there are always variations. And seminal Aus rock act Paul Dempsey helped out in pre-pro with arrangements.

How do you decide when something is finished?
Robyn: With great difficulty…

Jackson: A song is never finished. Always a new way to interpret it. In the studio it was when we ran out of time or you said it was done.

How are the songs feeling to play live? Have any songs taken on a different aspect in the transition from studio to stage?
Jackson: There’s a bit of multi-tasking involved now but the hardest part is on the sound guy. We are not an easy band to mix. There is a delicate balance of sounds on our record and if that balance is out live, it can be a bit weird. We have regular sound-guy ring-ins but are yet to have a permanent sound guy (applications are welcome).

Damian: We’ve tried to incorporate a lot of the new sounds and textures from the album into the live show, but without it being a carbon copy of the record. It’s been fun trying to replicate certain sounds or samples on other instruments to produce something that feels similar but just a little different. It keeps things interesting.

Robyn: They are feeling great! Personally, I’ve finally got me mitts on some percussion. It was heaps of fun incorporating the new elements of the songs into the live set.

What were the best and worst things about the six of you sharing that tiny little hut during the recording? Or the best and worst things that happened in there…
Jackson: Best things were recording and having a beer at the end of it all. Watching you get cabin fever and yell at us through the sound desk in a Texan accent. Worst was having to share a room with four other people and wondering where Liam was.

Damian: The best part was watching everyone become progressively more insane each day. The worst was definitely the wormholes that kept stealing people’s stuff and then spitting them out in a random part of the studio a few days later.

Robyn: I miss Tex! The worst night in that room was probably the eve of the huntsman invasion. Impossible to find the little guy amongst four bunks and camping beds – too many nooks and crannies – and despite our individual body masses amounting to over 1000 times that of our eight-legged foe, panic and unjustified terror ensued. No one slept well that night, least of all Jack, whose bed was ole spidey’s last known location. Not as troublesome as trying to put Kat to bed after too many Ballast Point IPAs, however.

All six of you have to agree on one album to take to a desert island. What’s it gonna be?
Jackson: Oh here we are, the ship finally crashed. Let’s say Mosman Alder Humdrum Star. So we can speed up the process of insanity and get to killing each other faster.

My turn to play the malevolent deity game: You have to split into two trios. Explain the personnel of each one, which one is better and why. Only one will be saved from damnation…
Jackson: Oh god, I can’t do that, sorry. We are all damned, let’s face it.

Does anybody know where Liam is right now?
Jackson: Hahaha. Probably in the sixth dimension trying to remember where he parked his car. (It’s either been stolen for the third time or it has been towed.)

Damian: No verified location as such but wherever he is and whatever he’s doing, I’m sure he’s looking suave and sophisticated while doing it

Robyn: Perhaps taking a nap? Or maybe transporting a cat to Ipswich (a legitimate explanation as to why he was two hours late to a jam).

What have you learned from the experience of recording your first full-length and what ideas has it given you about how to approach your second album?
Jackson: Personally, I learnt to just push myself and to try to punch above my weight. Always listen, try and understand the other person’s perspective, and be diplomatic. Some songs don’t come together as easy as others but sometimes it’s the difficult ones that are worth fighting for. Sometimes if it comes together with zero struggle, it means you got lucky. As for a second album, all I know is I don’t want a second album to sound like our first. I’m proud of what we made but we’ve done that now and we need to progress or evolve in some way – otherwise there is no point.

Kat: Man, I can’t wait to do a second album! I feel the same as Jackson; I want to push myself and reach new ways of playing and approaching my instrument so I can contribute differently in the future when we write new music. That always excites me so much. I learned a lot about my bandmates and myself. Despite being together for years now, Paul coming in as producer not only made him someone who could look at our music with an objective perspective but someone who could also do that with us as individuals and discover new strengths and the potential in each of us. It was a really magical experience watching him challenge and encourage each of us when we were doing our takes, and you can hear the wonderful results in the music.

Who was the last person Damo offended and what did he say to them?
Jackson: Me! He told me whilst Alex [Gow, from Oh Mercy] was supporting you at The Triffid, if my songs weren’t so shit it could be have been me up there. Haha. Bastard!

Kat: He gestured to come closer to him because he wanted to tell me something … he burped into my ear.

If you could tour with any band on Earth, who would it be?
Jackson: Such a hard question ... I would love to tour with Beck.

Kat: I reckon The Mars Volta would be fun and inspiring.

I was amazed and impressed with how harmoniously you all get along and how well you communicate with each other. What are the pros and cons of being in a six-piece and how do you deal with them? Do you ever split into factions?
Jackson: We all love each other very much, and band aside we are very close friends. But I’d be lying if I said there weren’t frustrations between members at times. I don’t know if we’ve ever had factions though. Pros: that we have more sonic options than most bands, and more ideas. Cons: that we have more sonic options and more ideas than most bands.

Robyn: Cons: seems this has become my Mosman catchphrase, but it really is like herding cats trying to round everyone up sometimes! Factions? Well, I’d say they naturally happen musically: Liam and Damo gravitate, being the rhythm section, Kat and I tend to hone in on a melodic level and Jack and V are the married couple of the band … they’ve always been in something vaguely resembling a Lennon/McCartney partnership, without the egos and Yoko.

Why six? Why not five or seven?
Jackson: We didn’t decide on six – it kind of just happened and then it was like, ‘Hang on, that’s probably enough’.

Robyn: Cos we are so metal, y’know?

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Paul Dempsey is working on his second solo album; Something for Kate’s latest studio album is 2012’s ‘Leave Your Soul to Science’. Mosman Alder’s Dempsey-produced debut album ‘Humdrum Star’ is out now through Dew Process. They’re touring the East Coast in December.

Wed, Dec 3 – Brighton Up Bar, Sydney, NSW [w/Noire]
Thurs, Dec 4 – Gasometer, Melbourne, VIC [w/I, a Man + Little Desert]
Fri, Dec 19 – The Brightside, Brisbane, QLD [w/Banff + Blonde Tongues]

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