OUTinPerth caught up with Carus, a Freo-bred indie songwriter, to beg for some concert tickets and CD giveaways (register to win!) and, more importantly, get the good word on the muso’s life.
The album: All my other releases have been thrown together ‘indie’ style, where we’d just head into the studio for a week or 10 days in between touring and bang it out. This time we changed our whole approach to record making… Financially we also approached this record as if we were on a major label, we just went for it and spent what we needed. I think it’s come in at over 35 grand to make, so that’s a big difference – one that my credit card is being very vocal about at the moment.
The songs: With this bunch of tunes I really wanted to tell stories and commentate on the world around me, in particular the state of play in Australia today. But I really didn’t want to be ‘preachy,’ instead I adopted more of a Mick Thomas/Paul Kelly approach and created characters, put them in situations and let the listener make their own conclusions.
The tours: We always seem to do more in Germany than everywhere else, sometimes ending up in some strange ‘Former East German’ towns. This year we are very happy to have Satellite Navigation [sic], as last tour we ended up driving two thirds of the way across the country heading for the wrong ‘Hahndorf.’ You have to be careful in Deutschland, as there is often more than one town with the same name.
Life as a musician: At times it’s very hard but it beats the shit out of digging a hole!
Secret musical fantasies: My secret musical fantasy is to play guitar in Cold Chisel in their glory days. Great songs, great Aussie pub rock – it would have been awesome to be on stage watching Barnes deliver the goods… I also entertain ideas of doing an ‘Aussie Reggae’ album with another big influence – Neil Murray from Warumpi Band.
If stuck in an elevator with only one song on loop: ‘Love in an Elevator’ by Aerosmith because wishful thinking never hurt anyone!
3 Boxes in three words: Love, Death & Politics
