Project Description

Interview with REECE MASTIN

Reece Mastin is a busy man. Between promoting his new EP Rebel & The Reason, an upcoming tour of the same name and being an ambassador for White Ribbon,  he also made time to speak to AMNplify’s Pauli Dee

 

Pauli: G’day Reece, thanks for chatting to us! How has your day been?

Reece: “Yeah not too bad. We’ve been up to Wollongong today to visit a school that have been supporting “White Ribbon” and we’re just getting back into Sydney now, so it’s been a pretty stress-free day!”

 

Pauli: Is it a nice day for a drive up there? It’s freezing down here in Melbourne!

Reece: “It’s not too bad. I mean, it could probably be a little bit warmer, but it’s OK, I can’t complain!”

 

Pauli: You’ve just released your new EP Rebel & Reason. Tell us a bit about that.

Reece: “Yeah well it’s a little bit more of a rock record with a lot more guitars on there with a full band & I’ve never gotten to do that before so it was cool for me to go in there and watch that being done. It’s definitely my favourite work so far. I’m very proud of it and people like rock, it’s really something they should check out.”

 

Pauli: I saw the video for the single and it was quite touching and seemed to be about domestic violence. Tell us about that.

Reece: “Yeah we definitely worked the video around domestic violence because we’re working with White Ribbon, which is men standing up against violence against women, and the song is about going through hardship and losing your innocence and then having the ability to, and losing the fear of being able to stand up for yourself and regain that innocence in the end, so I saw that kind of fit, you know, the message in the video with the message that white ribbon put out; that we want to stand together and stand proud & you know, we’re not OK with how much this is going on because it’s going on a lot more than we give it dues, so it’s definitely something that I thought needed to be spread and needed to be talked about a little bit more so, hopefully the video and the song are doing that.”

 

Pauli: It’s great to see you getting behind such a good cause. 2015 has been a big year for you so far. You’ve recently changed record labels and your management. What does that mean for you?”

Reece: “Yeah it’s been good, it’s been really good. We’ve just bought the “Rebel & The Reason” record out, which is a lot more “rock” & my new label, Social Family are so supportive & right behind that so it’s good and also Mahalia (Barnes) is my manager now, so it’s smooth & everything feels like it’s going in the right direction, so I’m very happy.”

 

Pauli: Have you known Mahalia long?

Reece: “Yeah for about 4 years now. She’s been singing with me for a while now and really showing me up! She sings backing vocals for me and plays guitar with me as well, so it’s good.”

 

Pauli: You’ve announced you’ll support the EP with a national tour. What can your fans expect to see?

Reece: “Yeah, it’s going to be really cool. It’s a new band, a band that I haven’t worked with before, so it’s going to be all new for me as well. It’s all the songs off the Ep and we’ll probably throw in some new songs from the up-coming album as well, so it’s going to be LOUD but a lot of fun!“

 

Pauli: Sounds awesome, so there IS a new album on the horizon?

Reece: “Yeah, we’re slowly just putting it all together just now“.

 

Pauli: Have you finished recording all the tracks for it?

Reece: “Yeah, we’re just picking which ones to actually use on the album and which ones to leave. It’s actually the hardest part, but we’re getting there!”

 

Pauli: Out of those three things; writing, recording and touring, what do you prefer to be doing?

Reece: “I think probably getting to play live & seeing the fans singing your songs back to you, it’s a pretty cool experience and one of those things that you can’t really explain, that’s definitely my favourite thing.”

 

Pauli: You recently put a call-out on Facebook for a Sydney band to open your first show on the tour. Have you seen any of the entrants yet?

Reece: “Yeah we thought it’d be a cool idea that basically someone puts the name of their band in people vote or pledge for their favourite band to open the show in Sydney, so it’s a bit of fun & I can’t wait to see who’s going to play. There’s already been a bunch of bands putting their hands up, so it’s fun going through them. There’s a few in there and it’s pretty close so it’s going well.”

 

Pauli: You’ve just gotten back from the U.S. How was it over there?

Reece: “Yeah we got back a couple of weeks ago. We did some writing over there & we’re looking to go back again soon because we have a bunch of cool songs over there and we’re hoping they’ll go on the new record that we’re putting together now, so it’s all shaping up pretty good!”

 

Pauli: Gee, between promoting White Ribbon, your EP, the upcoming tour AND working on a new album, you’re a busy man! How do you go finding time to relax?

Reece: “hahaha! Yeah, well I mean I don’t really see it as “work,” you know, I get to travel around and sing, and it’s what I love to do, so it doesn’t really seem that much like work… I’m totally cool with not getting a lot of down-time, but I do get time to have a couple of beers & put my feet up, don’t worry about that!”

 

Pauli: You recently played a gig at The Fox & Firgin. That’s the venue you played your first paid gig at, wasn’t it? That must’ve been a bit surreal?

Reece: “Yeah it was cool going back and seeing everyone because it’s just this little pub & all the same people are there that were there years ago and it was sort of an open mic, that one, so we all just got up and had a sing, I had the whole family down there so we all got up and did a bit of a sing-along! …It was a lot of fun!”

 

Pauli: Have you caught up with your old X-Factor mentor, Guy Sebastian lately?

Reece: “No! I haven’t actually! He’s been flying all over the world and I think he’s even busier than I am so I don’t think he has a lot of time to just “hang” but I saw him on Eurovision and he did great so it sounds like he’s doing alright! I think if we bump into each other, it’ll probably be in passing at the airport or something!”

 

Pauli: Ok, I don’t have many more questions about your schedule, but I know you like your tatts and I wanted to know if you’ve got any new ones?

Reece: “No I haven’t in a while but I’m working on it. I’ve slowed down a little bit lately, but I really have to go and get some more soon. I have no idea what, but I will get back to the tattooist at some point!”

 

Pauli: Thanks for chatting to me Reece.

Reece: “No worries man. Thank you! Have a good one.”

 

Reece will play the following dates on his Rebel & The Reason Tour.
You can get tickets HERE

Friday 12 June – Factory Theatre, Marrickville, NSW
Saturday 13 June – Waves, Wollongong, NSW
Sunday,14 June – Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle, NSW
Saturday 20 June – Prince Bandroom, St Kilda Vic
Sunday 21 June – Esso BHP Wellington Entertainment Centre, Sale VIC
Friday 26 June – Old Museum Concert Hall, Brisbane, Qld
Saturday 27 June – Sunshine Coast Function Centre, Caloundra, Qld
Sunday 28 June – Church Theatre, Toowoomba, Qld

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