ScreamfeederScreamfeeder play Rocket 4 at the Riverstage on Saturday.
Screamfeeder frontman Tim Steward seems quite a regular fixture on Brisbane’s live scene as a soloist, but it’s becoming a rare treat to catch the whole band in action. Screamfeeder will be amongst the fray at this weekend’s Rocket finale, their first show since returning from quick tour of Singapore.
“Singapore was excellent,” Tim enthuses. “It was really weird, because it’s not a country that’s really set up for much rock’n’roll touring. I think Ratcat had been there, and Bodyjar had been there before, but that’s about it for Aussie bands. There was a big rock festival that we did that was really good, and there was a club show that was good, but all the other shows we did were weird. We did a show in the suburbs in a hall, and a gig in a library. A gig in a football field, all these weird little things. Me and Kellie got sick on the last day, and I had to run off stage during the set to go to the toilet…”
Did you take some time to adjust to the food?
“No, we just dived straight in,” he chuckles. “The first morning we were there we were out for breaky with chilli and all this weird fish.”
At present, the band is working on the follow up to their delectable Rocks On The Soul album of last year.
“We’re just doing demos for ourselves at the moment. We’re just spending time in the practice room coming up with new tunes. It’s really cool. I think this time around we’re going to make a very different sort of album. We’re not going to walk into a studio for four weeks – we’re going to record more sporadically in a lot of different places.”
Do working in the one studio for a long time tend to suck up some of the creativity of the band?
“Not really. For us we tend to get really into it and get into a routine. You’re on a 24-hour schedule and everything’s mapped out for you. Oh, it’s half past three, better have a coffee and a cigarette and we’ll do some more tracks. I really like it.”
This weekend finds the band playing the final Rocket event for the year.
“We haven’t played in Brisbane for a while, and it’s a great opportunity to get in front of an all ages crowd. There aren’t that many gigs in Brisbane any more, so we’ve found it’s better to play seldom and make it a big event for us.”
How does your solo performing, or the Tim & Kellie sets fit in with the band?
“It’s funny because I play a lot of solo gigs, and about the first dozen solo gigs I though, yeah, just get up and do my stuff. It’s really different because you’re on your own and you’re playing songs a different way. It’s only in the last six months I’ve really learned how to do it and how to play in solo mode. It’s really enjoyable, and it’s taught me stuff I can take back to the band about dynamics and the structure of songs and things like that. I think one thing’s really good for the other.”
Does it make it more enjoyable for you when you get back to playing with the band?
“It does, because when you’re on your own you just stand there, and you’re in control of everything. You can stop a song or do whatever you want. You can’t do that with a band, but you’ve got your own part of making the dynamics happen.”
