BIGSOUND Live 2015 Feature Artist - Tired Lion

Did you know BIGSOUND is next week? Seriously... that snuck up on us quick. The BIGSOUND conference has sold out, but there are still a couple of tickets floating around for BIGSOUND Live, Brisbane's two best nights of music all year. You'll be able to catch artists like Tired Lion, who have been having a breakout year with songs like 'I Don't Think You Like Me' and 'Suck' winning them a vocal following. Where can you get these tickets? Over at the QMusic site! Tonight we're having a chat with Tired Lion's lead guitarist Matt Tanner about all things BIGSOUND and the band's massive 2015 and the potential of Kanye as the US President. Enjoy! 

TIRED LION:

Performing at the Title Track BIGSOUND Pre Party, Tuesday September 8 @ The Brightside

and as part of BIGSOUND Live 2015

Thursday September 10 - 11:30pm on the triple J unearthed stage @ Oh Hello

Hey there Tired Lion! Thanks for taking the time to have a chat with us. How's your day going?

Matt Tanner: Pretty good, just gearing up to fly out and play a few east coast shows before BIGSOUND next week.

Here's a pretty standard job interview icebreaker for you to get us started. If you could invite 5 people (dead, alive, whatever) to dinner, who would you pick and why?

Matt: 1.       James Iha (Guitarist from Smashing Pumpkins) cause he seems really nice and seems to like similar odd geeky things I do.

2.       Kevin Smith (Director of Clerks, Chasing Amy, Mallrats etc). His scripts and dialogues he writes are amazing, I know he'd have excellent dinner conversation. However it'd have to be 2000 or earlier K Smith cause sources indicate he's a bit rude these days.

3.       Joey Potter (the character from Dawson's Creek). I think we'd really hit it off and possibly get married, but I'm only interested in Joey not her alter ego Katie Holmes.

4.       Butch Vig (Engineer producer behind Nevermind, Gish and Siamese Dream) so he could tell me all the insiders goss from recording those killer albums.

5.       Dougie (The Pizza Hut commercial guy circa early 00's) cause I reckon he works most dinner times and would appreciate a sit down meal.

It's been a huge couple of months for you. You've released the most excellent Figurine EP, opened Splendour In The Grass, hit up Triple J for Like A Version and toured around the country. What's been your favourite Tired Lion moment in 2015?

Matt: Splendour was amazing, I remember being barefoot and muddy playing to an incredibly responsive and crazy audience. Sophie and I kept having these looks at each other on stage where like psychic we were telling each other how great the feeling was considering we started out as teenagers doing this stuff in the garage. In actual fact we had a couple of onstage hiccups with equipment not exactly agreeing with the mud, rain and bashing around on planes but none of that took away from the amazing feeling we all got from being there. Everything that's happened to us this year has really been a 'pinch me I'm asleep' vibe so it's really hard to pick one moment as we keep getting this wave of disbelief and gratitude from the support we've been getting across Australia.

You'll be heading back to Brisbane for BIGSOUND, with showcases at the Title Track party on September 8 and a headline slot on the Triple J unearthed stage at Oh Hello on the 10th. What are your thoughts on the BIGSOUND concept? Any other acts you'll be checking out while you're here?

Matt: BIGSOUND has a good reputation for being a place where friends are made and party times are had so we're definitely looking forward to the experience. Having not been before it's hard to comment really on the concept but we can say its reputation precedes it and we're super keen to party. We'll be checking out locals WAAX who we played with last time in Brisbane and also our mates Grenadiers (SA), Methyl Ethel (WA), FAIT (WA), Marksman Lloyd (WA), Mathas (WA), Darts (VIC) and Grrl Pal (WA) are making the trip so we'll be at their shows to support. Also really keen to see Babaganouj, Born Lion, Gang of Youths, Harts, Hockey Dad, Holy Holy, I Know Leopard, Katy Steele and Koi Child. Hopefully we get to meet a bunch of these guys for a drink!

With the showcases you only 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 songs you'll be playing during your showcases?

Matt: Well we have a tendency to churn through songs pretty quick live so I'm pretty sure we can fit most of the two EP's we have into the live set. Plus we rarely stop playing and put instrumental bridges between songs to get more bang out of a timeslot. If there are any fans at the showcases and they yell loud enough we may sub a couple of songs for the audiences preference... it just depends how hectic people go :)

You've been busy touring (with a British India support slot lined up post-BIGSOUND) and the Figurine EP hasn't been out for long, but is there new Tired Lion music in the works? Maybe a debut album?

Matt: We were in the studio a couple of weeks ago recording demos for our debut album which we're writing at the moment. They've come back and are sounding pretty killer. While touring is heaps fun it does make it a bit harder to write while on the road but we're getting used to it. We may even book in some studio jam time while we are away to get some more ideas worked out.

'I Don't Think You Like Me' has been one of our favourite tracks of 2015. What's the story behind the song?

Matt: This song was never pegged for a single, it came about during a jam where everyone swapped instruments and was just fun to play. Sophie started singing the lyric as a direct statement at the time and it kind of stuck. After the jam we took it away and worked on it a bit more on our respective instruments and it became what it is now. We've been told by some people they connect with the song and can relate to some of the lyrics, which is great and hopefully translates to a few different people's scenarios. It wasn't our pick from the EP at all as the main single but when showing demos to our manager and other people it became apparent it had to be the one.

QUICK HITS:

If they're going to use a Tired Lion song on a TV show, you're going to want that TV show to be? 

Matt: 'I Don't Think You Like Me' could be played every time the dude sends one of the girls home on The Bachelor.

Would Kanye West make a good American President? 

Matt: Definitely not. Adam West would though.

Your favourite vocalists are? 

Matt: My favourite singers are bad singers.

The first album you ever bought was? 

Matt: "Americana" - The Offspring

An album that every single person should listen to is? 

Matt: "Somersault" - Decoder Ring

When they air the Tired Lion MTV 'Behind The Music' special in forty-two years' time, what will they say about you? 

Matt: Sophie was unstable, Nick was too nice for his own good.


Thanks goes to Matt Tanner for taking the time to answer our q's. Make sure you head along to see Tired Lion perform at BIGSOUND Live next week. They're going to kill it!