Bob Spencer, Guitarist in The Sunpilots
Best
part of the job?
Performing - what a buzz. Nothing beats getting on stage
in front of a revved up crowd and playing your heart out. The smell of sweat,
adrenalin and stale beer is intoxicating. Recording with a great band and producer
is also a hell of a lot of fun.
Worst part of the job?
Working
your ass off to reach a high standard in your craft, but still having to live
off Vegemite and toast.
Any interesting experiences you can share?
I once played a gig in Darwin where a lady had a heart attack and died on the
dance floor - she was 60 something with heart problems and had been drinking and
smoking all day, so I guess she had made her choice. There was also a very large
croc in a cage you had to walk past to get in to the venue.
Favourite
CD of all time and why?
'Meddle' - Pink Floyd. The song 'Echoes' goes
for 23 minutes but never loses me!
Tell us about the best live show
that you ever saw?
Trilok Girtu at The Basement - it wasn't Acer Arena,
but sometimes the intimate shows are the best! He has to be the most incredible
percussionist on the planet - combining traditional Indian styles with Western
and African instruments.
Favourite bars/clubs/pubs to hang out in?
The Rose of Australia Erskineville, or The Macquarie Hotel, Surry Hills. Good
beer and original music on most nights.
What advice would you give to
someone looking at getting involved in the
music industry?
Be ready
to stick it out and believe in yourself when no one else does. Most importantly,
make your own success. Nowadays the independent scene is so much healthier than
the majors. MySpace, YouTube and Facebook are free ways of reaching the world.
You can record at home and save yourself a fortune. There's no need to waste time
and money sending labels demos and begging them to sign you (and then praying
they won't drop you when your first record doesn't go platinum).
Take
us through a typical "day in the life of Bob Spencer".
A day
in Sydney is pretty normal - Weet Bix in the morning and a bit of time working
on running the label / managing the band with Raj (the singer), then some time
playing the guitar and jamming. I teach guitar a few days a week to make ends
meet. When we're on tour - it's pretty much show after show, broken up by a radio
performance here and there and a lot of driving or flying. You never know what
to expect on the road - so it's never very typical. But that's what makes it so
much fun…
Make sure to catch The Sunpilots on their 'March of the
Drones' national tour. Dates are:
Fri 20 Feb The Oxford Tavern, Wollongong,
NSW
Sat 21 Feb The Beach Hotel, Merewether, NSW
Thurs 26 Feb The Espy (Front
Bar), St. Kilda, VIC
Fri 27 Feb DAY: City Library (ACOUSTIC), Melbourne, VIC
Fri
27 Feb NIGHT: Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick, VIC
Thurs 5 Mar Jive (Fuse Festival),
Adelaide, SA
Fri 6 Mar University of Adelaide UniBar, Adelaide, SA
Sat 7
Mar Victoria Hotel, Wagga Wagga, NSW
Thurs 12 Mar Port Macquarie Hotel, Port
Macquarie, NSW
Fri 13 Mar Old Manly Boatshed, Manly, NSW
Sat 14 Mar Park
Hotel, Bathurst, NSW
Wed 18 Mar Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle, NSW
Thurs 19
Mar Grand Hotel (The Chilli Lounge), Wyong, NSW
Fri 20 Mar Bald Faced Stag,
Leichhardt, Sydney, NSW
Sun 22 Mar Fringe Bar (ACOUSTIC), Paddington, Sydney,
NSW
Wed 25 Mar Red Room, Brisbane, QLD
Thurs 26 Mar Bar Soma (ACOUSTIC),
Brisbane, QLD
Fri 27 Mar DAY: Queen St. Mall (ACOUSTIC), Brisbane, QLD
Fri
27 Mar NIGHT: Beach Hotel, Byron Bay, NSW
Sat 28 Mar The Valley Markets (ACOUSTIC),
Fortitude Valley, QLD
Sun 29 Mar The Hive (ALL AGES), Brisbane, QLD
Sat
4 Apr The Transit Bar, Canberra, ACT
For your chance to win one
a copy of The Sunpilots debut album 'Living Receiver', simply tell us the name
of the band's guitarist. Winners will be notified via email. Good luck!
