Interview: My Fiction
Four-piece My Fiction has already received great reviews from the likes of Rolling Stone and Scene Magazine for their debut album Fire Romance Fire (produced by ARIA Award winning Magoo). They’ve also been selected to play at MUSEXPO 2011 in LA this May!
Get to know them here, by the words of Eric Robinson (lead vocals, rhythm guitar)!
What’s the story of My Fiction?
My Fiction formed out of the embers of an art rock band that Jimmi, Mike & myself had been playing in. We were then on the scout for a drummer and had seen Danny playing around Brisbane, so we invited him to drop by the ‘butcher’s shop’ for a jam…. He was simply incredible (human metronome type of guy), so we locked the door and wouldn’t let him leave ‘til he agreed to join My Fiction. Since then we have released an EP ‘Your Tokyo’ (2008), Double A-Side Single ‘Tonight Tonight’ 2009 and now our debut album ‘Fire Romance Fire’. We are now a pretty tight bunch of friends having experienced a bit together over the past few years. This makes life a lot easier when you are touring together, living in each other’s pockets and sharing floor space in motel rooms and tour vans.
How long have you been involved with writing & performing music?
Danny (drums & samples), Mike (bass, synths, piano & glockenspiel) & James (lead guitar) have all been playing music their entire lives, they are all legitimate musicians (the type whipped by their parents until they got good grades in music back in primary school). I on the other hand sadly was not whipped as a child therefore I am self-taught; I happily ride on their coat tails as the front man.
What is your creative process when writing songs as a band?
We usually get together a few times a week to rehearse and write – new musical ideas are always being tried out and if something sticks we will give it a good bash. I am always recording little ideas for melodies & lyrics so I store these all up and try it out when one of the boys brings a new riff to the table. Now and again a song will just pop out of nowhere and its structure falls into place quickly… catching us all by surprise. But usually we spend time on our writing – slow but steady. Our cliché motto is ‘quality over quantity’.
..and does everyone have their own specific role?
Yeah for sure, Jimmi’s role is to continually challenge us to believe absolutely anything is possible in this crazy industry while at the same time collecting as many guitar peddles as his over drawn credit card will allow. Mike’s role is to shoot Jimmi’s hot air balloon down and slap us about with the cold realties of what we are really up against, while smacking his temple block. Danny’s role is to sit in the corner bash his drums and throw insults at everyone, he gets away with this by showering us with cold beer at every possible occasion (therefore he is welcome to insult us all he likes). My role is pretty simple, I have to pour my inner most workings out on the table in the form of lyrics and melodies… while then attempting to hide it all away behind a wall of synth/guitar driven rock’n’roll. My other role is usually to turn the air conditioner on in the jam room and somehow arrive late to every band practice and yet still be the first one to leave (front man privileges?)
Who write your songs?
Usually Mike or James will arrive with a synth or guitar riff and Danny throws some beats into the mix and I sift through my hat of ideas for melodies and lyrics. It is very much a team effort and no one is ever afraid to speak their mind – we encourage jam room fights, it gets the creative juices flowing!
..and who or what inspires you?
As the lyricist my content is drawn from life experiences both recent and past, spanning from the busy streets of Shinjuku, the grey streets of Warsaw, massage parlours in Shanghai to the seaside at Sandgate, from dark and mischievous romance, of course heartbreak, and life growing up in the Northern Suburbs of Brisbane. We have all been through a lot personally in the past couple of years including the death of loved ones, relationships ending, new ones starting, travelling the world…
Your lead single “Every June” have received great reviews and been finalist in the International Songwriting Competition, in the categories of Rock and Unsigned; what can you tell us about it?
My mother died while we were in the middle of recording our debut album, this meant we took a break and had some time away from the studio. The song Every June was written during this break from the studio and in many ways was a cathartic experience for me. Obviously Every June is close to our heart and so it’s a great privilege to see how many people in Australia and overseas have connected with it. The other reason this song has gained so much traction for us is simply because it is the first single off the album therefore as yet a lot of people in radio land have not discovered the rest of the songs lurking on ‘Fire Romance Fire’.
Every June
How would you describe your music?
Tough question, it is music that will allow you to dance if you so desire, if you want to hide under your blankets at home and escape the world it will provide you with company. It will also set a perfect sound track to that long walk home in the wee hours of the morning when you have missed the last train and the sun is threatening to rise. I have also been told that it is great travelling music, whether it is a long road trip interstate or adventures overseas in foreign cities.
What music did you listen to when you were 15?
I grew up in a big noisy family surrounded by music, not necessarily musicians. Dad loved opera & The Beatles, for Mum it was Springsteen, Dylan & The Police, one of my elder sisters was obsessed with Michael Hutchins, while both my older brothers between them were listening to anything from The Clash, RUN DMC to RATM… I think you can’t escape being greatly affected by the music that surrounds you as a kid.
..and how do think it has influenced the music you create today?
Growing up in a big house full of different music has meant I have a pretty broad taste – one thing I leant early on was how music affected my moods. It is not rocket science but I can still be blown away with how quickly my mood can change when I hop in the car and put some music on. Therefore when I write for My Fiction the songs have to have this connection for me – there has to be some honesty behind what you are writing otherwise I think it is really difficult to have any staying power with your audience.
What have you been up to lately?
Getting our shit sorted for our LA. MUSEXPO is just around the corner so we have been doing loads of logistical stuff, rehearsing the set and planning our adventures in the U.S.A.
Since releasing our debut Album we have been fortunate to play a lot of great shows and visit some interesting places around Australia in the back of a tour van. We are also always writing new music so we have recently recorded a few rough demos of some new tracks which are sounding pretty darn good just quietly.
Do you prefer performing live or recording?
I get a massive buzz out of both – I really enjoy touring most though, visiting interesting places and meeting new weird and wonderful people each night. Our live show has grown in confidence a lot since releasing our album. I actually think that recording the album lifted our live performances and we feel really comfortable up there on stage now.
And lastly; what are your plans for 2011?
We are currently planning on shooting a music video for our next single in Hollywood next month. Following our return from the USA we are doing a string of shows down the east coast of Australia to support the single release. Continuing to write new material will also be a major focus in the coming months. We would love to get back across to NYC later in 2011 and the American College touring circuit is on very much on our radar depending how things go over the coming months. We really enjoy touring so we are keen to play this album live to as many people as possible both within Australia and overseas in 2011.
