Gay Paris began gigging in early 2009. Known for their neo-theatrical stage shows, the band are a dab hand at cramming old school rock n roll energy into their new take on the heaviest blues youre likely to hear. Stay tuned. Stay cool. And remember, no matter what you may lose, youll always have Gay Paris.
1. What was the first band you saw live? We’ve all had different experiences, Fraidy Cat was raised on black metal and won’t speak of his early experiences. WH’s first experience with live music was freestyle hip-hop cyphers, whereas Blacktooth Marks probably saw some kind of coastal funk/punk hybrid. Smokin D’ is as of yet too young to attend most gigs, so we make sure that he only ever watches one song per support band so as not to give him too many fancy notions.
2. What’d you learn from them? Write songs, throw them out, write better songs, throw them out too. Practise all the time, have fun doing that do. It’s hard and thankless work, but the music is the reward. We have also learnt that most bands don’t write enough songs or practise enough to get a real stage show going. Get one; you’ll need it.
3. Got any pre-gig rituals? Some of us smoke, some of us drink, some of us yell in corners. WH then sacrifices a black cockerel to the memory of Marie Laveau, we all nod politely and then, of course, get down.
4. What do you think the most important issue effecting aritsts in NSW is today? No decent riders (food and drink would be nice), the pay is awful (compared to the takings in Melbourne and Brisbane) and bands complain about the first two points. Forget about it. Write better songs and practise more.
5. If you weren’t a musician what do you reckon you’d be doing? Writing novels and publishing them as religious texts, laughing all the way to the bank. Then I’d be killed in some kind of bank heist after losing all my money gambling on stem cell research advances.