INTERVIEW: MIYAZAKI!
Melbourne, Australia's Miyazaki! started around 2010 when Luke Seymoup decided to do a Bomb the Music Industry!-style project where he played most of the instruments and then performed live with a revolving door of musicians. Let's just say that didn't work out. Two guys called Jack and Mayo joined the band and they recorded two EPs and did maybe four gigs before they both quit. Luke's hetero-lifemate Josh joined on bass and their old drummer, Jack, recommended Mitchell. They all share a mutual love of Star Wars so, basically, they're bonded for life.
PX: What made you want to create music? LS: Clearly the millions of dollars that we're due to start making any day now. I think Mitchell has already placed an order for a pet chimpanzee. He's going to call it Sparkle.
PX: What influences you most? LS: I'll say the music we listen to but, really, none of us listen to the same stuff. The only artists I know for sure that all three of us like are Billy Bragg, Brand New and The Matches. That's not a bad thing though, it means we're always coming up with weird new things to try out. In terms of lyrics, I'm influenced by the fact I'm always doing stupid things and getting myself into sticky situations. I'm sure people will pick that up from the album.
PX: What’s in the near future for your band? LS: We've just put out a new album called “Thank You. Fuck You. Goodbye.” that we're really stoked about. We're launching it at 303 in Northcote, Vic on August 16th (so if anyone lives around Melbourne come down). After that we've got a bunch of awesome shows booked in and we're going to try and book some shows interstate for the first time. On top of that we've already started working on new songs that are sure to be the next “Born to Run” or Crazy Frog or something.
PX: What aspect of music excites you the most? LS: I'm sure all three of us would say something different but, for me, being able to say “hey, I made that” is totally awesome. Also, the one free beer we're allowed to drink at gigs before legally driving home is always good. Tastes like victory.
PX: What aspect of music discourages you the most? LS: The fact that The Taxpayers aren't the most successful band in the world because, hot damn, they deserve to be!
PX: If your band was an ice cream flavor (real or made up!) what would it taste like? LS: Cheap Mexican beer. If manufactured elsewhere in the world it would be made from Tecate but, since that's pretty hard to get hold of in Melbourne at the moment, we'd probably have to make it with something even cheaper like Sol.
PX: As a band, what has been the biggest obstacle you’ve had to overcome? LS: Probably finding the time to still be a band between the other things we have going on. As much as we'd all love to only do music, there's still work and other stuff that make getting things done hard. I started working full-time as a teacher this year and Josh has just got a full-time job as well so we've been really pushing to keep doing our thing and not let anything get in the way.
PX: Do any of your members have weird nicknames? LS: I love to make up nicknames for the guys but none of them have ever really stuck. Josh has got to be Patsy and J-Bone in the past and Mitchell has got Pas-Man and Vinnie Pas (after Vinnie Paz of Jedi Mind Tricks). I'm hoping one will catch on eventually. A lot of people shorten my last name to Moup and a lot of good stuff has come from that like Moup Dogg, Moup Lion... okay, so maybe it's just Snoop Dogg references but I'm fine with that.
PX: Do any of your members have interesting non-musical talents? LS: Mitchell has been World Champion of Sarcasm for 21 years and counting.
PX: Coffee vs. tea? LS: I don't drink either because I'm a softy. The other guys are coffee drinkers though. I'll stick to juice.
PX: What is your favorite food/food place when on tour? LS: We haven't had the means to go on tour yet but, if you're coming to Melbourne, buy the South American Delight smoothie from Tropicana on Elizabeth Street. It is the best thing you will ever drink.
PX: Describe your band’s sound in 5 words: LS: We are the best ever
Recommend us 3 local and/or underrated artists you think everyone should know of: Foley! are one of the greatest bands you will ever hear. They finished recording an album the other day that is going to be the greatest thing. My good buddy Steven put out two albums as Troubled Medium that are both awesome, he's recently changed the name to Team Reasonable and put a band together that's going to blow minds. Finally, The Flying So High-Os are a band that write catchy folky/punky/pop hits that I can only dream of making.
