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 The Lovetones are an Australian quartet with bassist Matthew Sigley, drummer Chris Cobb, Serge Luca on guitar and leading man, singer songwriter Matthew J Tow. Whilst this is a second incarnation for Tow, after his highly successful time with Drop City in the 90s, The Lovetones are a testament to his remarkably skilled, methodically classic song writing, [Matt has been compared to John Lennon and Paul McCartney among others], yet forever imbued with a very 21st century vibe.
June will see the release of The Lovetones’ third album ‘Axiom’ in The States, and another opportunity for the guys to show off their delicately crafted psychedelic pop. No doubt that it will be as critically acclaimed as previous offerings, Lps ‘Be What You Want’, ‘Meditations’ and Ep ‘Stars’.
As you read this, the guys are preparing to hit the road.
They are joining forces with best buddies The Quarter After to tour the West coast of America before crossing the country and teaming up with equally talented peers, however, and to my delight both The Lovetones and The Quarter After should land in Europe by the fall.
Ok that’s enough blah blah from me and without further ado it’s now time I get on the phone to that most talented of Sydneysiders....Mr Matthew J Tow.
Florence: Let’s start with your soon to be released third album ‘Axiom’.
How does it differ from your previous releases?
Matt: In some ways it’s in the same vein as ‘Meditations’ but somehow it’s less rock’n’roll than ‘Meditations’ which has a few ‘rockier’ numbers.
‘Axiom’ is more sort of mid-tempo song based. I’ve been writing the songs with melodies and chord structures in mind. It’s a pop record but it still has that psychedelic element to it. We also have string arrangements which add something special. It’s more ‘poppy’ but the songs come from the same place. We’re all very excited about it!
Florence: With already a couple of critically acclaimed albums and an Ep out there you’ve got a very healthy, respectable back catalogue.
You’ve also been praised for your song writing, at times being compared to David Bowie or Ray Davies no less....
Matt: Oh yeah! If only I was a small amount as good as these songwriters I would be very happy!
I guess that when they compare you to people like that it’s more about the way you write songs rather than the quality of the song, but of course I am very proud because I respect those guys and I try to be as good with my art and my song writing and I guess that any songwriter tries to be as good a songwriter as they can possibly be.
It’s very flattering but you need to take these things with a grain of salt!
Florence: The music you do has roots in the 60s and 70s...it’s not always easy to revisit the past and do it justice. To do something that also sounds fresh and contemporary and yours.
A lot of bands end up sounding like tribute bands and a bit of a parody...
Matt: A lot of bands try to mimic what has happened in the past but what I am trying to do is take elements from the past and also put that with what is happening now so hopefully it sounds contemporary.
I am always very conscious of the fact that I don’t want to be just another band that ‘sounds like that ’ and I also want to make it sound like my own thing, my own brand of pop music, that’s very important to me. I love the fact that people can take what they want from my songs and maybe compare it to 60s music but I am striving to make it contemporary with the overall sound.
Florence: You have succeeded in that endeavour which marks you out as a very talented artist.
Matt: I respect the past too much just to try to rip it off. I respect those songwriters but it all comes down to writing songs, so I try to learn from them and make it my own. That’s the theory anyway and I don’t know if it always happens that way but anyway I also try to draw from experiences in my own life and I guess if you do that it’s gonna sound personal and your own thing. You can learn from what the masters do but the key is to make it your own.
Florence: If what you do is to be categorised as psychedelic rock then how do you fit with the Australian music scene?
In The States or Europe it’s still very much an underground scene.
Is that also the case in your country?
Matt: Yes, it’s still very underground and there aren’t many bands that create music that myself and a few other bands are creating but I don’t mind being categorised as that if you want to categorise my music but I also want to get my music out to as many people as I can.
I am a songwriter first and foremost and I don’t mind being put in that basket, so to speak, because there is a very important music scene happening at the moment and we tend to be in that because of the bands we have been associated with and the people we know, the bands that we tour with and so forth and also our music has that psychedelic quality to it but it goes beyond that in a lot of ways.
I would like to be in a situation where people can’t pin me down too easily but I do love that psychedelic scene going on with bands like The Quarter After...I love and admire Anton Newcombe and The Brian Jonestown Massacre. They mean a lot to me and Anton’s music changed my life in a lot of ways. It’s more about his attitude towards the music than the music itself. He’s shown me that the most important thing in life is to express your art and not to compromise. I guess that’s what I learnt from Anton and his music really talks to me. I don’t want to copy what other people do but if I can take the attitude towards making music, well I think that’s the key.
Anyway, to get back to your question, yes there is a great underground scene going and I think that it’s important this is happening because people need an alternative. Psychedelic music has become an alternative, it’s not the only one because there are so many forms of music but I think that it’s an important genre. With psychedelic music there is experimentation within the music and many different things people can draw from. It’s exciting because of that aspect. It’s also very complicated to talk about because there is so much going on at the moment.
Florence: These are very prolific times for that particular genre and it’s a golden period for music lovers.
Matt: People are looking and searching for music that means something to them and I think that they can find that in bands like ourselves and The Brian Jonestown Massacre and so many other ones, because they can see through all the bullshit of the spoon fed stuff you can see on television. They want something that means something deeper, that says something about their lives and people can see that within these bands.
Florence: Talking about The BJM, you contributed, I hope that’s the right word, a couple of tracks to the album ‘... And This Is Our Music’.
‘Starcleaner’, in particular, is absolutely exquisite and a real classic.
How do you feel when Anton and the guys play it live?
Do you sometimes wish that you’d kept that song for The Lovetones?
Matt: I love it because Anton gave me the opportunity for people to hear that song. He had faith in me to come over to America and be part of what he was doing. I am really happy that The Brian Jonestown play this song and people like it. Without Anton’s help we probably would not have been known so there are no regrets. No regrets at all because this is special, even more special to me because it is on a Brian Jonestown’s record. I am very grateful to Anton for that.
However we do tend to play ‘Starcleaner’ most time we play live. People like it when we play it and it’s The Lovetones’ version of it, which is different!
I like it when people interpret songs in a different way. If a song is a good song, never mind the interpretation, it will remain that.
Florence: It is claimed that during that period you joined The BJM, even though you had your own band....
Would you say that you were part of Anton’s band for a while?
Matt: I joined because Anton asked me to and it was a great experience for me to do that. No one knew about my music before then. When I was asked I was very excited and jumped at the chance and it was something that I will always remember as being a great part of my life because it exposed me to a lot of great music and also the people that I met that love the band.
Florence: You also made sure that The Lovetones would benefit from your escapade.
Matt: Absolutely. When I first started playing in The Jonestown, The Lovetones came over to America for the first time for the West coast tour. That was back in 2003 and we were opening for The BJM so it meant that there were more exposure for my band and then Anton helped me get the first record released, ‘Be What You Want’, on the Bomp! label, which meant so much because it was the gateway to people hearing our music in The States. He made all that happen.
Florence: Anton has a very strong philanthropic streak and a big heart and it’s beautiful to see. I’m not sure enough people are aware of it.
Matt: I don’t think that he gets enough credit for that. So many bands have been discovered because of Anton and he has a knack for it.
Florence: Whenever he has recommended I check bands out he has been spot on. With Rob Campanella, they’re at the head of a huge family to be proud of.
Matt: It is like a huge family and ever since then we have felt part of it, especially when we tour America, we are considered part of that family and people recognise that.
That’s also maybe why we are part of what you called ‘the underground psychedelic scene’ because we are part of The Jonestown family.
And also Rob and The Quarter After...Rob is our brother!
Florence: Rob is everybody’s brother!
To me he is an endless supply of knowledge and also so keen to share that I could never tire of spending time with him or listening to him as I learn so much from him.
I guess now is the time to point out that as of mid June The Lovetones are touring the West coast with The Quarter After.
Matt: Rob is incredibly generous and incredibly welcoming and I think that it makes perfect sense for us to tour with The QA because our bands complement each other so well. It’s also fantastic to be with those guys.
Florence: Do you feel comfortable playing The States?
Is it like a second home to you?
Matt: Americans who listen to music love Australian bands.
It’s kind of easier for us to play there because it’s not just another band, it’s an Australian band, so maybe people pay a little bit more attention.
It’s always very good for us to tour The States because people get very excited. This will be our fourth tour.
Florence: Mentioning Australian bands, are there any of your contemporaries you would like to recommend?
Matt: Yes! I would recommend The Dolly Rocker Movement, Belles Will Ring and Gaslight Radio who are all very good. There are quite a few great bands at the moment. They are still quite underground but some are coming up, probably too many to name but it’s all very healthy!
Words: Florence ACHERY
www.thelovetones.com
www.myspace.com/thelovetones |
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