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 GEARED throws some UnConvention-themed questions at panel moderator IAN ROGERS – Brisbane musician, academic, doom-rock (No Anchor)/electronica (Ambrose Chapel) aficionado and dedicated Melvins fan – and gets witty, on-the-money responses.
GEARED: It’s been a while, Ian – how’s No Anchor going?
IAN ROGERS: No Anchor is going well. We’re in the final stages of finishing the songs for our third album before disappearing into the home studio for a few months.
G: You’re going to moderate one of UnConvention Brisbane’s panels - how did you get involved with the event?
IR: I work one day a week as an arts programmer at The Edge (State Library of Queensland), where the event is being hosted. As soon as I found out what the event was about, I contacted the organisers about getting involved. Additionally, I had come across [UnConvention co-organiser] David Carter from my day job in academia.
G: How do you think UnConvention is beneficial to the development of Brisbane music scene?
IR: Well, let’s wait and see if it is going to be beneficial. I’m as interested in UnConvention as everyone else but seeing as it’s the first year, its contribution is still relatively unknown. I’m generally optimistic. The Brisbane music community can be pretty good at shaping things to fit.
G: What’s your primary goal with UnConvention Brisbane?
IR: The focus of my academic work is on the culture of music. If you think about the culture of a music community, it’s not really about money or a commercial focus. It might be for 5% of the people involved, but the vast majority of musicians in Brisbane are, for the want of a better term, hobbyists.
Despite which, there is a tendency – especially in recent years – to overlook this, and as such the story of Brisbane music has become one of increasing professionalism and commercial success. The primary goal of my panel is talk about money and careers as infrequently as possible and instead focus on music as art, communication and leisure.
G: Two of UnConvention panelists are fellow Brisbane musical experimentalists Tom Hall and Lawrence English – which topics are they going to address?
IR: My idea of what constitutes contemporary music in Brisbane is fairly broad. Tom is on my panel to provide an account of music beyond bands and venues. As the host/promoter of a moderately long-running series of house shows last year and an experimental musician, Tom is an ideal guy to have on hand. And as anyone who has met Tom knows, he’s a particularly motivated and energetic person.
G: Are you going to judge the young band competition on the second night of the event?
IR: Hell no. Band competitions are totally lame.
G: What other projects are you going to pursue post-UnConvention?
IR: At the beginning of this year, I decided I was going to manage my life a little differently. I do a lot of things (teach, academic research, write music criticism, put on shows, play doom-sludge stuff with No Anchor and drone/ambient stuff with Ambrose Chapel) and in the past I strove to compartmentalise each and keep them separate. This year I decided to throw that way of working out the window and just let everything bleed into everything else. It’s looking like it was a good decision.
So in the next six months, I’ll be doing workshops on doom/drone music at The Edge and at The Is Not Art in Newcastle, speaking at Monash University in Melbourne on the aesthetics of doom-metal, recording a solo release that mixes heavier, metallic sounds with electronic ones and recording and playing out with No Anchor.
G: You toured Europe with AXXONN last year – do you have plans to take No Anchor or Ambrose Chapel overseas this year?
IR: I did a few Ambrose Chapel shows overseas on that tour but no, I’ve got no plans to tour abroad anytime soon. I have a girlfriend and a few jobs and a half-dozen pretty rewarding projects on the go – long tours in foreign countries are just going to disrupt that. Also, I’ve done it, I don’t really need to do it again.
G: Are The Melvins still your favourite band?
IR: Yes.
G: And lastly, what advice can you give to young local artists/bands?
IR: As Van Dyke Parks once said, “There’s no shelter in the arts.” That’s pretty much the best advice any young person can hear.
UNCONVENTION BRISBANE runs June 12–13 at The Edge, South Bank, featuring panel discussions, a live music showcase featuring Laneous & The Family Yah and more. For further info, head to www.unconventionbrisbane.com. Tickets are $20 and are available through www.oztix.com.au.
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