6s & 7s is a pretty unique kind of band, how long did you have this in mind for your music?
Essentially 6s &s is a continuance of the machinations that informed my previous band, The Stickfigures. At its core a similarly instrumental lined outfit, yet with more external hands available for additional detail. As time furthers, I would like to expand on this.
Was it something of adventure in recruiting the personnel?
Having members within the band that have not previously been entrenched in the same Perth musical cliques, brought a wanton ‘black book’. This outcome ensured that a chat over a drink may well entail a chance phone number of a bowed saw or tuba player, luck usually reserved beyond my Sunday norm!
What was the vision for 6s & 7s when you started… and what has it become?
I wanted to extend what I did or didn't do with my former band. Wanted to tour, release an album like all of your friends do. With this in mind we're releasing next week and touring in August, so I guess 6s & 7s are ticking some boxes for me and the rest of the band.
A few years ago your song, Holidayz, was a real staple on RTR FM, it was very much a song of the moment. How did that feel?
Since I was a teen, I always wanted to be played on RTR. It was on the initial compository of musical hope I had in a perceived obtainment of satisfaction through youthful eyes... play at The Grosvenor, show at 78's. I always imagined more a glamorous life, than what inevitably played out for the guys and girls who made the songs and ultimately cleaned your vomit in the pub toilets, filled up your car with super and had partner's by their sides with Matchbox 20 t-shirts, much like your own partner.
RTR really got behind Holidayz in a pure manner and generally fortune followed. It had always a peculiar magic from its inception. People of all walks dance to it, couples have kissed for the first time and performed bridal waltzes to it and I think it even got me out of a fight once!
What was the writing process like for the 6s & 7s album material? How much do you leave a song to breathe with this kind of outfit?
The songs tend to come from me strafing streets in the cover of night, honing their curation internally. Failing this a hovel with a 4 track. Musically, if I add the bone, tendons, skin and blood, the rest of the band brings the muscle.
The recording sounds amazing. X-Press used the words cavernous and melancholic among others. What was the aim?
I hadn't publicly documented what I do outside the release of Holidayz, I felt that I needed to rectify this and submit to issues of perfectionism that had unfortunately hindered output in the past. With all of the time that had passed since I had started being a part of ‘all of this’, the desire was greater in taking risks and imprint the album with its own identity, at the very least in a sonic fashion.
There are multifaceted ebbs and flows which manifest through its duration, somewhat mirroring the life behind it and, I’m sure, that of the listener. We aimed to match an agreeable ‘light and shade’ balance, one that permeates the sum of your top shelf records at home. In light of some of the hurt, I also felt to imbue a playfulness, give a wink to Bob Ezrin and ‘Dad Rock’ etc... a tip of the hat to Randy Newman, Todd Rundgren and Dr John. I wouldn't take it for granted that I get this chance again.
What do you feel the potential for 6s & 7s as a band is?
I hope 6s & 7s can evolve and continue to be proud of what we do. Share a couple of drinks, have tall stories to tell from our experiences, a few shy looks... some good times. The ideal has long been to be able to replicate and commit what was in my head, on to record. The goalposts are moving wider, I hope the kicks continue to be Riewoldt straight!
What are the plans now that the album is out?
We are touring the Eastern Rim in late August, planning to record a second album shortly after this. The last two years have seen an introduction of a Calvinist provision of personal labour within myself, sadly a dictum lacking in past years. I have another three album’s worth of material that I'd be interested in proliferating with some regularity. All going well things become even more fun from here on in.