Permanent Fun

Jonas:
You know, you don‘t meet that many people from Australia here. It‘s always something special for us Europeans. We have a very romanticized notion of your country – happy people, sunny beaches. Would you say that your experiences growing up confirm or deny that image?

Fraser:
I suppose a bit of both. Australia is very beautiful, and chilled-out, and sunny, and cool like that. At the same time it‘s normal. When I come here I‘m always struck by the beauty and age of everything around me, like the buildings and the mountains. In general it is true that Australians love the outdoors – the hot weather for going to the beach and getting a sun-tan.

Jonas:
Do you get bored of it?

Fraser:
Yes, you definitely can. I much prefer to be here in Berlin this summer. There‘s so much more to do. You have this great nightlife here, and stuff like that. It‘s a super vibrant kind of place with more people.
The good and bad thing about Australia is that there aren‘t that many people living there. You could probably find a tourist bar and have a pretty good time, and you could probably find a deserted beach to swim at but that‘s about the extent of it. Here in Germany you have so many people with so many cities that are worth going around. It depends on what you like.

Jonas:
I’d like to ask you about your development into a musician. It seems like the whole process was very pragmatic. For example, your stuttering was the only reason why you started singing at the age of twelve.

Fraser:
I still do stutter!

Jonas: Really?

Fraser:
Yeah, I try not to.

Jonas:
I didn’t notice.

Fraser:
Nah, just spend a little more time with me and you’ll realize that it isn’t.

Jonas:
Still, you seem very pragmatic about your music. You picked up the guitar shortly after you started making music because it was easier than singing. Then you added a letter to your performing name because you didn’t want people to mix it up with your facebook name. Is pragmatism part of your personality?

Fraser:
I guess it is. I’ve never really given it much thought. I dunno whether my pragmatism is a good or bad thing.

Jonas:
It certainly makes things easier, I should think.

Fraser:
Yeah, that it does. I’m trying to get it to a place where it’s as relaxed as possible. I’m all about chilling out.

Jonas:
Do you apply that demand to your music?

Fraser:
Yeah, we do. We aren’t a super loud band. For lack of a better word we are pretty chilled-out. I reckon it’s a very common Australian trait. When we come here, we carry our lifestyle over. Australia is just too hot to care about the small things.

Jonas:
How did your love of the musicion Justin Townes Earle come about? Does that have a pragmatic back- ground as well?

Fraser:
It actually does. When I was growing up I played in this garage punk band. I was the driving force behind that band. We went on tour but it was just hard. Anyway, I saw Justin Townes Earle play solo at a festival, and he was incredible. He’s an amazing performer. When I saw him it blew me away. He was just going nuts on-stage, and it really inspired me to make music on my own. I don’t really listen to his music that much anymore but it definitely made me want to continue.

Jonas:
Was that because he reached so many people, or because of the music itself?

Fraser:
It was everything. He makes a lot of noise for one guy. It was a great gig. I was on acid at the time which probably helped to fuel how good I thought it was.

Jonas:
How old were you?

Fraser:
Nineteen. I saw him, and pretty much went home to start writing songs.

Jonas:
So that was the turning point?

Fraser:
Yeah, I’d played in bands before but that reinvigo- rated me.

Jonas:
Did that turning point make you realize what kind of music you would like to make?

Fraser:
Justin Townes Earle is kind of this modern outlaw country musician. I found a love for that kind of music through him. His middle name comes from Townes Van Zandt who died in the late ‘90s.
I learned a lot about that style of music through his music. It’s one of those things where you find someone you really like – say Bob Dylan for example – and then through Dylan you discover Neil Young or the Stones. It’s this world of music you keep going through.

Jonas:
I remember when I was thirteen, and my dad had these Neil Young and Emmylou Harris records that I would listen to in the evening. The next morning I would go to school, and talk about liking my dad’s music. It was so uncool.

Fraser:
Oh yeah, definitely. I know that very well.

Jonas:
I read that Melbourne has a very competitive music scene.

Fraser:
Yeah, Melbourne is known for having all these great bands, even though it’s such a small place, and it’s in the middle of nowhere. It’s not very easy to get to, and because of that it’s a very tight-knit community. Bands want to be good because you’ve only got your peers. That natural competitiveness is the reason that Melbourne has such a good music scene. The competition drives the music. People want to be good.

Jonas:
At the same time you have some very special relation- ships within the community, don’t you? Your friendship with Courtney Barnett comes to mind.

Fraser:
Oh yeah. I’ve been friends with for years. She was one of the first people I met when I moved to Melbourne. We were both doing singer-songwriter things when we were starting out. We bonded over that connection. It’s like when you go to school, and you become friends with someone because you both have similar interests. We were both making music, and we both had bands. She’s fucking good at it too.

Jonas:
Who’s the guy who makes your videos?

Fraser:
His name is Sonny Leunig – an incredible guy.

Jonas:
How did you get to know him?

Fraser:
Oh, I met him years ago in Melbourne as well. Like I said, Melbourne is a pretty small place. Once your band gets a bit of note, you very quickly meet everyone there. It’s really cool because you suddenly have all these mates.

Jonas:
A few weeks ago, your first record “Slow Gum” came out – where do you want to go next?

Fraser:
I want to go everywhere. I really want to travel around Europe more. I’ve been to the UK twice, and to the US. I’m going back to the States this year. I want to come back to Berlin, as well, and just cruise around.

Jonas:
And where do you want to go generally in your life?

Fraser:
Anywhere that’s fun. My goal in life is to permanently have fun. Whenever things aren’t fun anymore, you gotta hold up, and ask where things went wrong.
That ties back into the picture we have of Australia. That’s right. It’s important to have fun. What else is there to do?