Project Description

A very quick chat with

KRAM

from

SPIDERBAIT

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Ash: How would you describe your band and music to someone who’s never heard of you before?
Kram:  It’s difficult to say, I think we’re a bit like If you cross the go-go’s with Black Sabbath. We’re only a three piece. We’ve been around for a long time that myself and Janet sing an equal amount of songs. We’ve done lot of pop stuff but we’ve also done a lot of really heavy rock stuff too and that’s kind of our space that we inhabit. It’s very much a punk rock ethos.

Ash: If you could go on tour with anyone, dead or alive, who would you choose?
Kram: Oh wow, well it wouldn’t be Bob Dylan, because he never talks to the other bands apparently. It would have to be the Beatles, wouldn’t it? The Beatles would be nice but it depends if why you wanna do that, like sometimes if you play with bands that are your heroes, you know they could be fairly into you so you don’t need to socialise, but sometimes it’s as much about socialising with bands and watching one of your favourite bands play live. I know in the case of ACDC, they’re really cool talking to band and hanging out but I’d much prefer The Beatles than watching them every night.

Ash: So regarding the recent ‘Don’t Kill Live Music Rally’ in Sydney, how does the new state regulation affect you as an Australian and the whole Australian music scene?
Kram: It’s difficult today for us because we haven’t played in Sydney or Newcastle or anywhere really in NSW for a while. We did quite a few shows and festivals in Newcastle in the last year, also we did some shows at the Enmore and all that. We love playing in NSW, but that was all before the insane law came in, I mean, I don’t know I couldn’t actually answer it because we haven’t got any shows booked, but I imagine that they’re freaking out about something and then making the wrong decision, like they kinda did do the bar lockout laws in Sydney and it’s the same thing in fact, just grow up and embrace pill testing so they can save lives, it would be a much better thing but they seem to go conservative thinking in government always goes the opposite way and they like to believe that no one-if they can stamp it out and stop people taking drugs and that didn’t work with smoking it didn’t work with drinking, go back to America in 1921; prohibition, which had the opposite effect. These kinds of policies never work and if they were that serious, then they should ban drinking as well and ban pubs and ban gambling but the fact is they make too much money outta that so they don’t mess with that. I think they should be thinking a little bit more about the kid’s health and welfare and less about their own agenda.

Ash: How important is it to keep the aussie music scene alive especially for younger musicians?
Kram: Well if you thought of what happened in Melbourne a few years ago-was SLAM rally, which was really an amazing thing, created by Quincey and Ellen from bakehouse?Where Quincey’s and ex musician who played in blue ruinwhich is a great Australian band and Ellen his wife, they were really thrown in the deep end in the sense that well someone else isn’t gonna do something, we will. And now they’re in direct contact constantly with government. The labour government down there has really good handle on how important music-live music and local music-locally produced, locally written, music culture isto the state and to the wellbeing of everybody including musicians and it;s just a beautiful thing and I just wish that NSW would embrace the same thing, there’s so many great bands and so many great artists, similarly to Melbourne, but it takes someone to stand up and stop something from happening that’s bad and hopefully someone in government agrees and a few years later you’ve actually got a blossoming space that creativity can flourish and everyone benefits. My answer to that question essentially is to check out SLAM and how many amazing gigs. And being a Melbourne band as well, we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Melbourne and all the shows we got to play, I’d like to see that replicated all over the country.

Ash: What are your plans for the coming year?
Kram: Well Spiderbait’s just finished this fantastic tour called ‘Hotter Than Hell’ that went all over the country with Magic Dirt and Jebidiah and a whole bunch of other bands, it was just fantastic, an amazing show. We didn’t play in NSW, maybe it’s because of the laws, I don’t know maybe they didn’t let us in there, I don’t know, we played everywhere else, so that’s just finished so now we’ve sorta concentrating on started to make preparations for this other road show with art/us? so it’s gonna be really exciting. And in between, just trying to write the new spiderbait record, which we haven’t made a record in a really long time we’re really keen to do one. And also, I’ve started this trio with James Morrison and Paul Gabawski which is called the others which is this totally trippy, kinda insane instrumental band, we’re playing at the Adelaide festival next weekend. So im sorta packing it in really, and now im talking to you which is a pleasure.

Ash: Just to wrap up, chuck in a fun question, what’s the strangest or weirdest thing someone’s ever asked you in an interview?
Kram: What’s the strangest thing someone’s ever asked me? I suck at these questions it’s like when someone asks you your most embarrassing moment, I can’t remember.  It’s probably if someone asks you, or that kinda makes it out that you’re a brand-new band when you’ve been around for years I guess I don’t know sorry I’m not very good at that answer.

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THE BEATLES’
ABBEY ROAD LIVE

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary

of the Iconic Album

Live in Concert

Featuring:
Kram (Spiderbait), Mark Wilson (Jet),

Davey Lane (You Am I), Darren Middleton (Powderfinger)
and Special Guests

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ARC – Photo Jay Wennington

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“As far as rock music swan songs go, this might be the best there’s ever been.”– Billboard

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In celebration of Abbey Road’s 50th anniversary, some of Australia’s most respected musicians and members of iconic groups, collectively known as ARC— Kram (SPIDERBAIT), Mark Wilson (JET), Davey Lane (YOU AM I) and Darren Middleton (POWDERFINGER) — all self-confessed Beatles tragics, will faithfully and lovingly bring The Beatles’ most audacious creation to life on stage, performing Abbey Road in full, from start to finish, followed by a second set comprising of a selection of hits spanning the breadth of The Beatles’ career and catalogue.

Abbey Road – The Beatles’ swansong and their crowning achievement as a recording group – is a stately, majestic, playful yet fiercely rocking masterpiece of pop music, regarded as one of the greatest records of all time.

Joining ARC live on stage will be special guests Ash Naylor (Paul Kelly, Even and Rockwiz), Linda Bull (The Black Sorrows, Vika and Linda Bull), Brett Wolfenden (The Pictures, Jim Keays) and James Fleming (Eagle and the Worm, Bob Evans).

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Tickets for all shows will go on sale at 10am (local time) this Monday, March 18.

My Live Nation members can be among the first to secure tickets during the pre-sale beginning at 10am tomorrow, March 15.

For complete tour, ticketing and VIP Experiences information – including the Ultimate VIP Meet n Greet Experience which offers exclusive access to a Q&A session and an acoustic performance – visit: livenation.com.au.

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Abbey Road is the eleventh studio album by English rock band The Beatles, released on 26 September 1969 by Apple Records. It was an immediate commercial success reaching #1 in the UK and US. Over time, the album became viewed as among The Beatles’ best and many critics have ranked it as one of the greatest albums of all time.

Abbey Road spent 81 weeks on the UK albums chart, 12 weeks at #1 on the Billboard chart and was certified 12-times platinum by the RIAA in 2001, selling in excess of 31 million copies.

The album’s iconic cover, which features the four band members walking across a zebra crossing outside Abbey Road Studios, has become one of the most famous and imitated images in the history of popular music.

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ARC PRESENTS

THE BEATLES’

ABBEY ROAD LIVE

PERTH CONCERT HALL
SUNDAY AUGUST 11

THEBARTON THEATRE, ADELAIDE
TUESDAY AUGUST 13

PALAIS THEATRE, MELBOURNE
THURSDAY AUGUST 15

FORTITUDE MUSIC HALL, BRISBANE
SUNDAY AUGUST 18

ENMORE THEATRE, SYDNEY
TUESDAY AUGUST 20

TICKETS ON SALE
10AM MONDAY MARCH 18

Live Nation pre-sale:
10am March 15 until 8am March 18

For complete tour and ticketing information
go HERE

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About ARC:

Darren Middleton (POWDERFINGER), Mark Wilson (JET), Davey Lane (YOU AM I) and Kram (SPIDERBAIT) have joined forces to become ARC, one of the most collectively celebrated and successful supergroups in Australia’s rock history with 33 ARIA Awards and 16 Top Ten ARIA albums combined.

Kram – Drummer and vocalist for Spiderbait, one of Australia’s most successful and respected alternative rock bands, and Australian rock supergroup, The Wrights.

Mark Wilson – Bassist, pianist and backing vocalist for the internationally acclaimed rock band, Jet.

Darren Middleton – Guitarist and songwriter for one of the most successful Australian rock bands of the past two decades, Powderfinger, and now successful solo artist.

Davey Lane – Guitarist for definitive Australian rock band You Am I, The Pictures and rock supergroup The Wrights.

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About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV)is the world’s leading live entertainment company comprised of global market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts,and Live NationMedia & Sponsorship. For additional information, visit www.livenationentertainment.com.

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ARC – Photo Jay Wennington

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AMNPLIFY – DB