Bearing fruit (click for source)


Alicia Bridges, in STM

August 23, 2008 10:00pm

Writing about The Vines is like trying to write a cover version of a great song.

Their story to date has been so colourful, so rock ’n’ roll, that it has been told a hundred times over, using phrases like “rise to fame”, “hype frenzy” and “public breakdown”.

It’s no secret having singer Craig Nicholls as their public face has been a benefit and a hindrance.

A charismatic songwriter who sees music as art, Nicholls not only steals the limelight as the leading influence in the band, but with his onstage antics and unpredictable behaviour, and the subsequent revelation he has Asperger syndrome, a form of autism.

The dramas have boosted their profile, but The Vines hold music in high regard and it is their work that takes priority.

Melodia, released in July, is their fourth album and the closest they have come to touching upon their lauded debut, Highly Evolved.

With elements of grunge and ’60s psychedelia, it’s a return to their roots, says drummer Hamish Rosser.

“We had been rehearsing all our songs for quite a while and we were really ready to record,” he says. “We wanted it to be a classic Vines album in a lot of ways and big on the heavy stuff.”

The album also marked their return to Los Angeles producer and industry heavyweight Rob Schnapf. But true to form, recording was not without its hiccups. The band had planned to record in the US over last Christmas and New Year, but “we were arriving in LA and went through immigration and it turned out Craig had previously overstayed on a tourist visa,” Rosser says.

They didn’t like that, the US Immigration. We didn’t have work visas this time around so they detained him for about half a day, grilled him heavily, then let him go and gave him 30 days to get out of the country on the condition that he didn’t work of course.

“That was a bit of a curve ball because we had planned to stay there . . . until it was done.
“It’s not the worst thing in the world, but it delayed the process a bit.”

They finished the album in February and last week announced their first national tour since April 2007.

Rosser admits their show has changed since the days when Nicholls would take to the stage clearly drunk and stoned.

This time around the band will play a series of weekend gigs, returning home to Sydney each week.

“As far as rock tours go that makes it pretty casual,” Rosser says. “We signed up to (record label) Ivy League and they’ve known Craig quite a long time.

“They knew exactly what he was capable of and what concessions had to be made so there’s no surprises there. Things have changed a lot and we’re still a fairly tight unit. We’re not the ultimate party band.

“Craig’s really come a long way because when we first started out . . . we started touring and he wasn’t that comfortable with it, meeting new people all the time – it was really quite stressful for him. He’s a lot more social these days. We’re a lot more like a regular rock ’n’ roll band.”

In 2003, critics savaged the band’s Big Day Out performances, which Rosser admits were “like rehearsing in front of 30,000 people”.

“We just came home from overseas and went onstage at the Gold Coast,” he says. “It was pretty ill advised, I would say. We’ve worked on our live show a lot since then.”

Less time on tour has also allowed more time for writing. Rosser says Nicholls has penned a handful of songs since returning from the US.

“Craig’s got a few demos he wants to put down,” he says. “He’s really prolific most of the time. He will actually come up with the whole thing inside his head, the guitar patterns and the lyrics, and have a pretty clear idea of how things should go, even down to the harmony parts.

“He’ll be singing a lead vocal and you’ll go to record it and suddenly he will be singing a harmony. He just says, ‘I hear it in my head’.

“I’ve got a real admiration for his ability to do that. It’s one of the things that makes him unique.”

After seasons of doubt and unease, The Vines look set to keep making music for years to come.

“I’d like to be seen as a band that’s influential,” Rosser says. “That would be a great legacy to have. I think we’re going to be seen as being unpredictable and that’s kind of cool as well. Unpredictable and explosive.”

The Vines play the Rosemount Hotel, North Perth, on Nov 8. Tickets from Star Perth, Mills, Planet and www.heatseeker.com.au.

thanks for that

“He’ll be singing a lead vocal and you’ll go to record it and suddenly he will be singing a harmony. He just says, ‘I hear it in my head’.

wow. that is awesomely cool.

Wow! US Immigration detained Craig for overstaying his touris visa-which I know happens. Poor Craig!

Craig: "...I'm here to record an album. I'm in a band!"
US Immigration Dude: "NIIICE try, Kangaroo Boy. That's what EVERYONE says! Now get your ass against the wall, it's cavity search time!"

Craig:

Triple J had a slightly more detailed and more entertaining version of the story:

Ho-ly shit. How did I miss that original news blurp?

And knowing that he actually DID get a cavity search makes my dramatic fake scenario extra LOLz worthy, in my head at least

Some people have all of the luck.

*applying for a job that allows me to cavity search sexies*

Thanks for the article.



LOL...Whatever innocence I have left is definitely fading fast on this board.