Charlie Horse wowed me with their debut single “Dead Roses,” so I was thrilled to catch up with one half of the band recently. Read on to see what Paul McDonald had to say about his duo’s debut album, their musical influences, and the need for “creative isolation.”
When I heard your single “Dead Roses,” I was struck by its classic sound, so I wasn’t surprised to hear you were influenced by listening to your parents’ Johnny Cash and Neil Young records. What is it about that music that really revs you?
Well, you summed it up right there; it is timeless classic music. I spent most of the ’90s coming from that school of art, have a different guitar in a different tuning for every song and then carry nine guitars with you on tour and at least five of them had to be Fender Jazzmasters and Jaguars. I started to think, are we just being clever for the sake of it and is this just sonic posing? I am not sure if you know much about music theory and chord structures, but it is generally deemed uncool to write a song that goes E, A, D but any song that is considered “classic” tends to have very simple chord structures. And we didn’t go E, A, D with Dead Roses, we went D, A, E, so how avant garde are we?
What was it about “Dead Roses” that made you want to release it?
I suppose people hassling me saying “this has to be the single,” ha! I was looking at releasing something a bit more obscure but got out voted by the band. What would I know? I do really enjoy playing it live as it tends to connect with a lot of the fans. It’s nice to have people singing the lyrics with you.
The single comes from your album I Hope I’m Not a Monster. I love the title. What’s the story behind it?
I was getting the train up to the studio when I noticed somebody had scratched “I hope I am not a sea monster” into the back of the train seat. I mean who does that, and what does it even mean? It had to be the album title.
I hear that you recorded the album in your studio in the Blue Mountains, because “creative isolation” is really important for you. Why is that?
Well, we started the album in East Balmain on Darling St. Not a lot of isolation there. Then we did some writing in Bread St in Edinburgh near the castle. Not a lot of isolation there as it is in the seedy side of Edinburgh, lots of strip clubs and drunks. So we packed up and took to the Mountains. It is important to us not to listen to trends and the opinions of all the experts. Give somebody a laptop and an e-mail account and they will want to tell you what you shoulda, coulda and woulda be doing wrong or right. The music we play does not come from any scene or desire to be cool, so that kind of counts us out of the race for a lot of things now … hah. Nobody dictates to the Drones or Jack Ladder what they should sound and look like. Well maybe they do, but I am guessing they don’t listen either.
What was the recording process like for you?
Torturous … no only joking. A lot of it is not trying to force songs, just letting them drop and appear and be ready when they do. That’s the beauty of having your own studio on hand. We tend to think we know what is best for us, so booking a studio and listening to their opinions wasn’t on the cards. A lot of the lyrics were written deep in the middle of nowhere in the Mountains away from the studio. We got accused of being pretentious for our song “Deep In The Woods,” but in fact we were being quite literal.
Now it’s finished and out there with the public, how do you feel about the album?
I am very proud of it but as most musicians will tell you, their head is always onto the next project or album. We tried to keep the album concise and of the same mood which meant we had to leave a lot of songs off. It is quite interesting to hear what people’s favorite tracks are. The song “Monsters” was particular long and difficult to record and a few people have said that is one of the best songs. It is hard for me to tell; I just remember the anguish of that one!
You’re doing a quick tour of the major capitals later this month. Do you hope to do more touring soon?
That’s right, just the East Coast this time. It would be nice to get to Perth and Adelaide but the economics are tough. We are planning to get around the cities again in Jan/Feb next year and then release another album hopefully in September 2013.
What do you love most about being on stage?
I suppose the chance to take the songs out further and add an extra element that may be missing on some songs like Neil Young and Crazy Horse does. Our live band is something to see in full flight. We are not really quiet little church mice on stage. Free beer is always good too!
What can music lovers expect from these launch shows?
We are going to play nearly all the tracks from the album but one, so there are a couple of songs we have not played live before. We are doing a couple of new songs as well, so it will be interesting to see if the people like them like I think they should. I have been wrong before you know. Live the band are a lot more visceral than the album which tends to be quite a bit more subdued and moody. Of course with Crystal [Rose] out the front doing the crazy banshee woman, subdued is not an option.
After these gigs wrap up, what’s next for Charlie Horse?
We have started our next album which should be out towards the latter half of 2013 and it would be fantastic to see both albums get an overseas release. The live band are being quite involved with the recording of the new album so that is very exciting to see. When we started the first album, there was no real live band. We hope to be touring a lot more next year as well, but that is in the hands of the powers that be … fingers crossed!
Charlie Horse will officially launch their new album I Hope I’m Not a Monster at the following shows.
26 October 2012 – Beetle Bar, Brisbane
3 November 2012 – Factory Floor, Sydney
10 November 2012 – Workers Club, Melbourne