Witch Hats

M+N: Why did you start Witch Hats?

Duncan: Why? There was no particular reason. I guess it was just a continuation of playing music in the first place, and being involved in musical projects for a fairly long time now. Kris and I have played music together in various bands since the late 90s; and after our last band Keiths Yard ended we both went our separate ways for a while, working on our solo stuff and what have you. I think Witch Hats may have started when I asked Kris to come around and put some guitar on a song I was doing, we ended up writing something completely different and by the end of the night we were completely trashed. When we woke up the next day 'Pepperman' was sitting there on cd.

We never really had a straight up ambition to start another band, it just kind of happened.

Over the space of a few of months we'd written a bunch of songs and started to think about getting a bass player and performing live. Kriss brother Ash had been planning to move to Melbourne to study drama, and Kris thought hed work really well as bass player. Ash moved over some time around February this year, and thats pretty much when Witch Hats took its current form

Ash: I was left feeling uninspired to pursue my childhood dream of being a stage actor after a string of plays that were too straightforward and only creative to the director. I'd always played music with friends and Kris from the age of 11, but felt I was lacking in talent compared to Kris and my father who is an exceptional drummer. So I only played for fun rather than working out songs and playing in bands. When Kris came to visit me in Tassie, he had a very early demo of songs he and Duncan had been working on. Id left school and was finding it hard to be creative in Tassie and was desperately wanting to move to Melbourne. Id learnt the bass lines from the demo (which I loved) and on Christmas day I came to Melbourne and played My Birthday with them for Duncan whose birthday falls on Christmas day.

M+N: Are the original visions on Witch Hats still around today?

Duncan: Pretty much, we just want to play music and thats what were doing. Its probably safe to say we all feel like theres a massive hole in life if theres not some kind of creative output happening, so its good to be doing something were all into. Not having a clear vision when we started gave us the freedom to do whatever we wanted. Kris was going through a massive Beatles obsession when we were writing our first batch of songs, and I think if anything his main idea was to write really catchy pop songs. Were both big fans of noisy discordant music, so there was never any question that whatever we wrote it would have a fair amount of noisiness embedded in it.

Ash: Other than not having a second guitarist Id say that my vision is still the same but continues to grow as the band does.

M+N: What are you going to say to the ex-Witch Hats ladies once you become as famous as Scientology?

Kris: I would say, Im sorry ladies but when we were together I thought I was in a Rambo film. Does anyone really know what Scientology actually entails other than praying to gigantic black lizards, wanking stainless-steel rods and spraying liquids everywhere?

Ash: Hi, Im as big as Scientology, what have you been up to?

M+N: Would you rather be growing up (music-wise) in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth or one of those other towns at the moment?

Duncan: Musically, Id say my formative years were growing up in Tasmania. For a while it was like a little underground oasis there. There is a quiet history of bands that have existed, and there was a contemporary scene of people who were inspired by it or part of it. There was a strong musical conviction and an anti industry, anti establishment mentality and it made an inspiring place to play music. Some bands completely blew my mind and changed the way I thought about music, and to be able get that kind of inspiration locally rather than abroad was a great thing. I dont know enough about Perth or Sydney to comment, but I cant imagine living there for musical reasons. Melbournes a good place, its an established place for music and venues support the bands pretty well. Theres always heaps going on here, so its good. I want to tour around Australia more, but I think moving overseas would be the natural progression from here.

Kris: I would like to be growing up in a less homogenised musical climate anywhere, really. I guess if youre to look at what those cities represent musically youve got to go with Melbourne. Then again, I dont feel particularly shaped or influenced by anything happening at this period in time anywhere in Australia, so it wouldnt matter where I was.

Ash: Cant say I would, Im new to Melbourne and find it very refreshing and full of good people. The nightlife is far greater than Tassie and its a rare sight to see a band, let alone a good one play in Tassie. At some point, it would be fun to move to Sydney for a while. But as long as Im still meeting new friends, watching great bands play week after week then it aint gonna happen.

M+N: Are there a lot more DIY gigs in Tassie than you see in Melbourne?

Duncan: If by DIY gigs you mean people hosting their own gigs at their houses, in warehouses, community halls or whatever, then I dont really know. Ive lost touch with whats going on down there now. I went down to visit recently and there was a house party with bands playing. So there is still stuff going on, but to what extent I dont know. I dont really know how much of a DIY gig scene there is in Melbourne, either. Im sure with the larger population, there would be more house parties with bands playing over here. I know Ben Seifu from DIY House Gigs has been working hard to get some DIY house gigs happening, but its really hard to cultivate that kind of thing without regular venues. Itd be great to see some regular all-age DIY gigs happening in central locations basically big warehouse parties with bands playing and people getting trashed and loving the music.

M+N: What are your thoughts on the whole DIY culture, coming from Tassie where it may be considered an only escape from the homogenised McAusTereo mind space that a lot of people share nowadays?

Duncan: Tasmania is certainly no escape from homogenised culture, far from it. The amount of people down there experimenting with music is very small, and you could easily live there without ever knowing about it. You can create your own culture no matter where you are, just seek out things that are more appealing and escape whatever it is you want to escape. If that fails become agoraphobic and play with tin pots.

As far as recording and packing your own music goes I think DIYs a good way to go, as long as it remains a cheaper, smarter way to operate. Being limited by what resources you have available can be pretty frustrating, though, so I think staying DIY purely for the aesthetic of it would be pretty obtuse. I have no qualms seeking out help where its needed. But it should go without saying that you should never give up creative control of what youre doing.

M+N: And talking about moving overseas, what can you see overseas doing for you musically and physically?

Duncan: Physically, I think I would lose some weight and then die with an infected anus. Musically, being able to play different cities and countries within close proximity of each other would be cool. Its more about the adventure than anything else. It seems kind of like a right of passage for bands, too, but really itd be more about having the experience first hand. Being on the road, being in a foreign country, and trying to function as a band. I want to move overseas for a few years at some point, anyway, I like travelling, I like playing music, so combining the two well, you get the idea.

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