"Greg Sanders...I play guitar in Emperors and I run a record label call Gun Fever."
Give us a quick brief rundown of who you are musically and what you try and do differently.
"I used to try and do things differently. When I joined my first band I was into the idea of pushing musical boundaries and thought I was going to be involved in some kind of important movement. It took me a couple of years to work out that everything has been done before and it’s a lot more challenging to write a memorable pop song with three chords than it is to be some avant garde noise terrorist. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…"
Who would be some key influences are that people wouldn’t expect?
"My musical upbringing was terribly uncool. I was brought up with a lot of Bee Gees, Elton John, Neil Diamond and Abba on the family stereo and I think whether I like it or not, all that stuff had a big influence on me and played a big part in the way I think about pop music. It probably affects my song writing more than discovering punk ever did, as much as it pains me to admit it."
In “Almost Famous” honour, “do you have to be sad to write a sad song, do you have to be in love to write a love song?”
"For some people I’m sure their mood affects their song writing but I’m not one of them. I don’t really care too much about lyrics anyway. If they aren’t annoying, they pass the test. For example, I don’t understand what Ian Mackaye is saying half the time and I’m not interested in his political agenda, but Fugazi still sound awesome to me and make me feel a certain way when I listen to them. That Almost Famous kid never really got another acting job did he? That’s kind of depressing."
What is your opinion on the current music scene in Perth?
"It’s not as healthy as it was ten years ago, but it’s still pretty good and better than most other cities in Australia. The biggest problem or most annoying thing is that there are a lot of bands that take themselves too seriously, and a few dickhead promoters around. But there are way more nice people than there are bastards."
If you had to put together your dream gig with any 5 bands from history + 5 local bands who would they be? "Jesus, what an epic question. I’ll change my mind in ten minutes but off the top of my head the bill would go:
"Nirvana, Weezer (playing their first two albums), The Replacements, Built To Spill, Hot Snakes."
"The local stage would have Kill Teen Angst, Grim Fandango, The Leap Year, Coveleski & Mezzanine"
What is the most annoying/difficult question to be asked in an interview?
"I think most local bands would agree that the most annoying thing is being asked how your band formed. The answer is almost always boring and generally that question is a dead giveaway that the interviewer hasn’t done their homework. Apart from that, I don’t mind what the question is, as long as whoever is asking it actually gives a shit about the answer."
What are your plans for the next 6 - 12 months
"We’ve just finished recording an Emperors album, so I’m pretty excited about that. We’ll spend the next few months working out a release plan and then it should be out early 2012 with any luck."
With Gun Fever, we’re working on promoting a few shows locally. We have an indie rock night in the works which will be held at Ya Yas on a semi regular basis, so that should be good. We won’t have any more releases out this year but have a couple of ideas for the first half of next year.
