The Quickening are veterans of the Brisbane music scene and are one of the hardest working, adhering to the DIY work ethic that punk rock forefathers instilled in the scene many years ago. For those who aren’t aware of The Quickening then this is the time to get acquainted. Known for their face-melting guitar work, exceptional musicianship and for being all round nice guys, we sent them a few questions to get more information. We are also streaming “Pistolaz.” The track was taken from their self-released 2009 album, “White Blossoms” which you can listen to in its entirety here.
We talked to Matt about the bands history, The Highlander series, the current state of live music and he touches on how “the internet is the new printing press.” Check out the full interview here. It’s a great read.
The band will be wowing crowds and melting faces at Spoonfest on Saturday (May 21) at The Step Inn. You can pick yourself up a ticket here.
[Audio: Pistolaz.mp3|titles= Pistolaz |artists= The Quickening]
Can you give our readers a bit more background behind your band?
The Quickening started about 12 years or so ago; before I was in the band. We all met back when I was finishing high school – I (Matt) was in a band with Dave (our drummer) at the time and the other dudes always somehow ended up at random parties at Dave’s house. They started the band (with another guitarist originally) and recorded and played songs for a while; then I joined the band sometime around 2007 and we recorded and played songs for a while. That’s about it.
How does the song writing process work for you guys?
It’s always Fazz coming up with a riff or 3; we’ll learn them, destroy them, dumb them down, rearrange parts and add a few extra bits in, then once the structure is good we’ll start adding fancy bits back in that make it interesting for ourselves to play over and over and over. Doing it like this is a bit slow but it ensures everyone is happy and part of the process.
Is the name “The Quickening” taken from the Highlander series? If so, what made you decide on that name? If not, where did you get it from?
Highlander is one of my favourite movies of all time. Ironically, Highlander II (The Quickening) is actually one of the worst movies there is. The other 2 movies (and anime and TV series) aren’t very good either but they expand on a concept I enjoyed at one stage of my life and are therefore awesome. I also believe if I want Fazz’s guitar power, at some stage I need to cut off his head, but at the moment he is TOO STRONG. I must bide my time; yet I will live for eternity. Tough times.
You guys are considered veterans of the Brisbane music scene. What are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen happen to Brisbane music since you started playing shows?
Veterans! Where’s my pension?! Heaps of people complain about changes to the Brisbane music scene but I personally can’t see an issue; at least for the actual bands or people wanting to see bands. Venues open and close all the time, bands come and go, people change – I figure it’s always going to be a state of flux – and that’s good. I certainly don’t want to play the same 4 venues over and over and over. In all honesty I don’t think “music of limited appeal” has or wants a permanent home. I’d like to be able to say that I miss certain venues and many changes have been for the worse but in truth there are many more venues I’d rather forget.
The Quickening could almost be the poster band for the DIY ethic. What are the biggest challenges you’ve encountered with this approach?
I don’t know about poster band – there are a lot of bands that have more “success” doing it themselves. The biggest challenge is caring. No one in the band is good at selling anything and perhaps we miss out on opportunities because we don’t “push” the band, but it’s just not who we are. Maybe that’s shooting ourselves in the foot, but hey, if you have to shoot someone, it may as well be yourself, right?
On the flipside, what is it about DIY that works for The Quickening?
The part that works for us is that we don’t have to answer to anyone, we don’t have to play shows we don’t want to, we don’t have an advance to pay back, and we don’t have to honour commitments that we didn’t agree to. We’re on our own schedule, and while that can be annoyingly slow sometimes, at least we can sleep at night.
If you could share a stage with any band, from any point in time, who would that be and why?
I’m really not sure. I think sometimes it’s sad when you meet your favourite bands and they end up being jerks. Maybe they’ll think we’re jerks. Maybe I’ll just stay home.
As gents with limited time, funds, real lives and jobs, what is the most difficult part of being in a band?
Just getting together is the hardest part. Finding time to practice and write songs. The rest is easy.
The Quickening is extremely technical, borderline face melting type music proven that each member is extremely proficient in their instrument of choice. What advice would you give someone who was going to pick up an instrument today and learn to play?
My only advice is that you have to like doing it and you have to keep doing it. No one is born with musical ability – you have to work at it, just like anything you want to be good at. Practicing on your own can get tedious sometimes but I’m sure running around in circles all day gets tedious for athletes; sometimes you just have to suck it up and try harder. Music also has the advantage of being a good group activity – so if you’re stuck, playing with other people can get you out of a rut pretty quickly. I’ve played music all my life but there’s always something new to learn from others, regardless if they are more “skilled” or not.
Is there anything you’ve tried that you just can’t pull off?
Drag.
What are three things the world should know about The Quickening?
a. We’ve never had a rider with food on it. I think.
b. We’ll probably play a show anywhere, if you make it fun and easy for us to do it.
c. I remember once I bought chocolates for Mother’s Day and Dave’s dog ate them and my mother thought I was a bad son.
What are your thoughts on the current state of punk rock?
I can’t really comment on any of the music, there’s just too much of it these days for me to keep track of. But I do think, as Victor Hugo said, “the book will kill the edifice”. While he was referring to the invention of the printing press I see many parallels in his statement to modern life. Before the printing press, people had to express themselves in stone and wood; creating cathedrals and palaces that still stand today. Art flourished as thousands of workers became artisans. As soon as those same people had the ability to put their creativity down in print (and fame followed much more quickly), they abandoned their chisels for pens. Much of what they knew was lost. I really think the internet is the new printing press. People don’t bother as much when they have google to answer all their questions. The quest for knowledge is a couple of keystrokes at best. I don’t think that’s particularly satisfying; I think that makes people lazy. Lazy people don’t go to shows. Lazy people don’t write music or zines or contribute to the cultural fabric. I think punk rock will always exist in some form (usually just shit bands really), but in the future will anyone turn up to shows, or will they just read a blog about it in the morning? Maybe that’s overly dramatic.
Who are you most looking forward to watching at Spoonfest…and why?
The Nation Blue and Headaches, because they are rad dudes and play good music.
Any final words to the readers of Dying Scene?
There can be only one.