Australian Infront

You've been in Bali - holiday business or both?
Purely a surfing holiday for myself and my girlfriend, and we were lucky enough to be joined by a few close friends so it was awesome. I'm away a lot on tour, so when I do have time off either at home or at the end of tours I really enjoying seeing new places with my girlfriend; I live a very fortunate life, it's great to share new experiences with her as well.

Any good sessions on the sponge?
I had a whole bunch of awesome sessions at Bingin, one really fun, but frustrating session at the same time out at Padang Padang and then a few fun surfs at Canggu. I think there were only two days out of twenty that I didn't surf, and then it was Bintang time hahaha

I see you're on the line up for the 'It aint dead" art show as part of the Brisbane Festival. How did that come about?
I've been working with Rabbo (Matt Rabbidge) almost as long as I've been game enough to exhibit my art, and my art being what it is - entirely type based - I guess I was already on his radar when he thought up this project. I'm also good friends with the other guys in the show (Marty & Elliot Routledge, Ed Woodley) and so it's a perfect fit, really.

What can we expect to see in the show?
Ed's pieces will be meticulously perfect as per usual, Elliot's will be quirky and colourful, Marty's will be beautiful and simple and mine... Well, I don't use brushes much so let's just say this is a steep learning curve for me, but I'm happy with what I've created. I've really tried to embrace the essence of sign writing whilst keeping it within the bounds of my own art. It's a lot more stripped back in regards to the amount of text with two of the three pieces being one word, and that's something I was conscious of purely because of the nature of the show and the spirit in which Rabbo has put it together.

For those who don't know - you are the front man of the Amity affliction - what's happening there?
We're just about to drop a new record (Friday September 7th) which we just recently wrapped up the recording of over in Orlando, Florida, then it's off on tour for two months both here in Australia and then the US. It's going to be a pretty wild two months I'd say, it's definitely the best record we've written thus far and the response here in Australia and in North America has been wild, very exciting times. After that I'll be heading straight to Puerto Escondido to surf again, then to LA to hang out with my mate Kill Pixie then home for the first Christmas at home in three or four years.

Do you find your art and music go hand in hand or do you go through periods where you like one more than the other?
They're totally separate most of the time, and I wouldn't ever say I like one more than the other, but there are definitely periods where I am far more active in one than I am in the other. I don't get too much time to draw or paint when I'm away on tour, even though I'm constantly trying to fit in painting a wall here and there sometimes it's just not possible. It's a good balance for me, I guess it keeps me from getting burnt out on either one which is great.

Tell us a good story from a live show?
I still think - aside from the massive shows here in Australia that can't really be beaten in my mind - that the best show as far as having fun goes was the last show on our US tour with Pierce The Veil and Miss May I. We don't really do the whole 'last show prank' thing here in Australia, but the PTV and MMI guys are all about it. We were playing and the PTV guys all walked on stage with a table, a shit load of those red party cups and a whole lot of beer and started playing beer pong right there on stage behind us as we played. I was laughing so hard I could barely even sing the words, we were all doing shots mid song and everyone in the whole room was having the time of their lives. After they'd had all the beer and shots they'd brought out they proceeded to start taking pieces of Ryan's drum kit away until he was left with his snare, bass drum and high hats hahaha Definitely one to remember.

Who's the next big thing in Australian music and art?
In music it's hard for me to say. I don't really keep my ear to the ground too much anymore as when I'm home I really like to just sit back and enjoy it with my girlfriend, her two kids and our two cats hahaha If I had to say anyone I would probably have to say that Northlane are on the up and up as far as heavy music goes. They're killing it at the moment, and from what I've heard they're chill guys so it's good to see. As far as art goes one of my mates Callum Preston is killing it at the moment as well, he's just getting better and better at everything he's doing. He's one of those freakishly talented multi-faceted artists who seems to take a passing interest in something art-related and then excel at it in the wildest manner. Added to that he's a full on legend and hilarious to boot.

Where can our readers see you live? What gigs you got coming up?
We've got the whole Australian Chasing Ghosts tour coming up in a few weeks which is looking like it will be a fully sold out run which is mind blowing even now, they're all capital city shows, all the info can be found here.

Who are you going to pass the Aus infront 10's onto?
Callum Preston, my pal and all 'round good guy.