Halfway - BIGSOUND Live 2014 Feature Artist

Hailing from Brisbane, the rocking and rolling/country 8-piece, Halfway is our next featured act for BIGSOUND Live 2014! They're riding high in 2014, with the release of the critically-acclaimed fourth LP, Any Old Love, winning them a whole bunch of new fans. We're thinking their BIGSOUND Live showcase is going to win them a whole lot more. Representing the band, John Busby joins us for a chat ahead of the event and you can check that out below! And don't forget, tickets are still available from over at QMusic, so make sure you get 'em while you still can!

HALFWAY'S

JOHN BUSBY

Performing as part of BIGSOUND Live 2014

Thursday 11 September - 8:50pm @ The Zoo

 

Hello and thanks for joining us at It's My Kind of Scene! How are you on this fine day?

John Busby: I am pretty good. I have seen Bob Dylan twice this week. So I am bleary eyed but happy.

First things first... moustaches or beards?

John: Neither. Clean cut. Like the Stones.

BIGSOUND Live brings together a huge range of incredible acts from Australia and overseas. How do you feel being part of what's quickly become one of Australia's most well regarded music showcases?

John: We feel pretty good about it. We are happy that they asked us to play and we will do our best to do a good job.

Seeing musicians I may not normally be inclined to see is one of the best things about the BIGSOUND Live experience. You have a short space of time to play for people who may not know you or your material well. So, how do you decide what or which songs to play?

John: We are still trying to work that out ourselves. But I guess we will just do what we always do and just play what we think is good.  

Speaking of punters who may not normally attend one of your shows, have you got a fave memory of someone who may have come to see one of your shows? What about a least favourite? Gig from hell you don't want to re-visit? (Hopefully it's hilarious with hindsight!)

John: A few years ago at Bigsound, Steve Earle came to our gig. He came backstage and met everyone. That was pretty cool. Peter Jesperson (TwinTone Records/the Replacements) also came along to one of our shows at The Zoo in Brisbane.

As for gig from hell: We once played a show in Bulli and when we arrived our posters were up with yesterday's day and date on them. Let's just say it was a pretty quiet show.

If you get a chance to run around like a crazy person on the night/s to check out some other BIGSOUND Live acts, who would you want to see?

John: The Church/Jeremy Neale/Hits/Blank Realm.

There's so many great venues across the Valley hosting bands and musicians, but if you could play anywhere in the world, what and where is your dream venue to play? We all know of the awesomeness of BIGSOUND and we've all heard the SXSW is pretty darn good as well, but are there any other similar showcases in the world that you'd like to play that we should know about?

John: We will play wherever they will have us, but my dream gig used to be The Borderline in London, and I was lucky enough to play there a few years ago, which was great. If I had to choose another it would be the Union Chapel in London. That's a beautiful room with a great history.

What have you got planned for the rest of 2014, post-BIGSOUND? Any tours, festivals, stand-alone gigs, cake decorating courses, TV marathons or anything else we should know about that you'll be involved in?

John: We are releasing a 7" single called "Erebus and Terror". It will be the 3rd single from our new record and we will be playing a few shows in support of that. Other than that we will be working on songs for a new album.

Do you love song covers? If you could cover one song, right here/right now... what would it be and why?

John: Not particularly, but right now it would be "Workingman's Blues #2" by Bob Dylan. Because he is the best.

Something I often wonder. How often do you think to yourself; "is this the real life, or is this just fantasy?" I think the latter all the time...

John: It's all a dream.

When they air the MTV Behind The Music special about you 31 years from now, what are they going to say about you?

John: "They were good except for their black metal phase in 2020."

We're sending our thanks John Busby's way in the form of an imaginary fruit basket. You're welcome, John. You're welcome. But a huge thanks to John for taking the time to answer our questions. Halfway are going to deliver a killer showcase at BIGSOUND Live and you're not going to want to miss it! Now, stay tuned... we'll be back with more BIGSOUND goodness soon.