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BLUEBOTTLE KISS |
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 On this page:
*Bluebottle Kiss interview (with Jamie)
*Bluebottle Kiss Discography (all available on Whammo)
*Bluebottle Kiss Australian Tour dates
BLUEBOTTLE KISS- THE WHAMMO INTERVIEW - NOVEMBER 5, 2003
There may have been 7 years between the time I first heard Bluebottle Kiss and the moment when I heard their last LP Revenge Is Slow. To be honest, I felt a bit foolish because I realised I'd missed an important act's development. It was an album worthy of the critical acclaim and popularity garnered both here and overseas. More unsettling than my own ignorance was the realisation that the industry in general was still suffering its own version of the same stupidity. Come Across, the band's latest effort, makes the band's situation even more frustrating because it clearly states that Bluebottle Kiss are one of the finest acts in the country. Jamie Hutching's songwriting is peaking, raising the lyrical bar another notch and the band have gelled instrumentally to forge a rich, textural sound that shows maturity while also recognising the importance of hooks, imaginative arrangements and restraint. Still on the last leg of an Australian tour, Jamie took time out to have a brief chat. It was refreshing to have a conversation with such a fine songwriter and a man who shares my love for the art of language. To give you an idea of Jamie’s status as a songwriter, the media are beginning to compare his stories to the work of greats such as Nick Cave and Tom Waits. This interview is a must for aspiring lyricists and an in-depth treat for the growing ranks of Bluebottle Kiss fans...
Whammo: I’m totally diggin the album. I wouldn’t go as far as to say I’ve been a Bluebottle Kiss fan but I err on the side of darker tunes and you’ve generated some real atmosphere on Come Across.
Jamie: We always had a reputation for being like that but his one is heavier in general.
Whammo: The sounds you use on Come Across add a few rich flavours. There’s a diverse array of instruments and even a few handclaps and a bit of foot-stomping. It’s surprising how much those simple techniques add to the songs.
Jamie: I’m not into the idea of chucking an orchestra on a song unless the song demands an orchestra. I’m always looking for opportunities to do something a bit foreign or alien but it’s got to be effective. A lot of this record is more stripped back than the last record - just us standing in a room, playing songs - but there are little bits and pieces of different instrumentation. The first song’s got some big band samples and a few little bits and pieces to create a sense of atmosphere.
Whammo: I check the liner notes to find out who producers are and gauge their work. What I find is a lot of younger bands self-producing. It’s a bad move. You need experience and objectivity. Come Across certainly proves that you should be producing Bluebottle Kiss records.
Jamie: It’s an extra thing; something else. I don’t think Australia has many producers, to speak of, in rock music. It’s a form of orchestration- an extra instrument really. It’s like being the director of a film. I just do it because I can’t think of anyone else that should do it. A lot of preparation goes into our records. We do a lot of work before we go in.
Whammo: I don’t know why bands don’t grab someone they respect…
Jamie: …or someone that’s making really good records, not necessarily a producer. It’s worth grabbing them and getting them to help you. I’ve done a fair bit of that with a few smaller bands and I think it’s always worth while.
Whammo: What was your inspiration for the album? You tell some great stories.
Jamie: I think it was the first time that I had a real go at stepping outside myself; trying to come up with some concepts; fictitious concepts but ones I could relate to; real life events that I’d read about. It’s a pretty contemporary record. With some of the stuff that’s gone on in the last few year, people are often finding themselves in alien situations and it’s interesting seeing people deal with that. For instance, if you go to work and suddenly there’s a plane going through your building, obviously it’s a situation that you haven’t been in before. So, it’s looking at those stories. Cross Purpose is probably the most epic song on the record and it’s inspired by a play I read by Albert Camus. It’s a story of a mother and daughter who are running an extortion racket and an estranged son/brother who comes to try and meet them again. They end up murdering him but they don’t realise until they look through his wallet. It's a situation where people have gone so far and they suddenly look up and think ‘how did I get here?’ With everything that’s gone on in the last few years it was a topic that I wanted to write about.
Whammo: I hate how people automatically make a judgements of writers based on their work: that old sideways glare or scowl that says ‘you’re negative’ or ‘you’re a bad man’. It’s just imagination…
Jamie: …or what you’re best at writing. Someone like Van Morrison for instance, seems to make beautiful, joyful or uplifting music and I’m a really big fan of his work but I don’t know of other people who would be able to do that. I tend to go towards more dramatic music and obviously the stories have to follow suit. You’ve got to work to your strengths and what I seem to be able to write best is that sort of stuff.
Whammo: Van Morrison can transmit power and optimism at the same time. It could be the hardest thing to do.
Jamie: Yeah, I don’t think many people can do it. A lot of black music - soul, gospel, R&B; from the 50s/60s - can do that but it’s only that culture that seems to be able to do it. Otherwise you’ve got Gary Moore doing some cheesy blues song. Somehow it’s just not the same.
Whammo: Going from a point where you may have been writing autobiographically to a point where you’re stepping outside yourself, does it give you any more freedom?
Jamie: Yeah, it does. When you’re in your early 20s, what’s going on around you and in your head seems fascinating. It’s a period that’s inspirational and it feels important. I never liked to get too overt in the way I would do it but in an ambiguous kind of way I always liked to address those kinds of things because that felt honest. If I tried to step outside myself I felt like I was trying to second guess something I didn’t know a lot about and I didn’t feel confident doing it. You just get better. You write hundreds and hundreds of songs and you get better. You start to be empowered and think ‘I can do this and it’s a valid method’. It’s just a part of growth. You’ve got to branch out and it feels really good to be able to do it because if you do it well you can go anywhere you want.
Whammo: I guess the problem when you’re creating as a youngster is the lack of self-confidence and when you finally get over the whole ‘Saturn returns’ thing, you’ve got to make that decision to either be happy with yourself or be unhappy in general. It’s that time when you can finally stop being so self-obsessed. Obviously, with the songs on the last couple of albums, you’ve been getting through that situation.
Jamie: It’s hard to do. Novelists are probably the people I admire the most. All you’ve got is words on a page. There’s nothing to dolly it up; no pictures; no music. So I find that really inspiring: to be able to take a leaf out of their book and write some sort of compelling story, then add the power of music. It’s a great combination if you can pull it off. It’s hard work, writing lyrics in a more narrative style but I was up for it on this record.
Whammo: After writing a novel, I find it tough to write a song because I’m more comfortable with writing something that’s 150,000 words rather than 100 words.
Jamie: (laughs) From songwriting and also from producing the Bluebottle records, I’ve learnt how to objectify the work and edit it. Learning how to say ‘that bit is great and I really like it but I’m going to have to chuck it on the floor and nobody’s going to see it’. Otherwise, if you get too caught up in a lyric everything is going to have to suffer for that lyric and you’ll end up with some long self-indulgent piece that may be a great read but a boring listen. That’s what I mean, with writing a narrative, it’s one of the hardest things in songwriting. In the end it’s still a song and it's still got to be able to hit you and be able to work without wearing people out.
Whammo: From what I hear at a street level it seems like the band is hitting a critical purple patch.
Jamie: It does feel like that to me too. Our first few records, I thought, were pretty uncompromising, interesting records. It’s taken a long time to really get people’s belief. We don’t necessarily have the music industry’s belief and they probably won’t ever give us much of a go but in terms of the punters’ perspective there seems to be a lot of faith in what we’re doing and people come back because they’re getting something substantial that they can keep.
Whammo: What happened with the industry? I get that kind of vibe as well. Did they write you off early and now they’re ashamed to change their minds?
Jamie: (laughs) I wish I knew. I think Australia is not a great place to be if you’re in a band. As far as I can tell, people in the industry grab bands very early and make or break them. If you’re still hanging around it’s like ‘well, what are you still here for’ and they don’t really respect the idea of growth. I don’t even believe that there could be an REM or U2 come out of this country because people just don’t have the patience to allow bands to progress. I’m not a huge fan of either of those two band – I’ve got a lot of respect for them – but REM, I think, released about 5 albums with an independent label before they hit the big time with a major label. That’s unheard of in Australia. That’s like us doing 5 albums, like we have, and then signing to a major. In Australia they throw a lot of money at a band when it first starts and if it doesn’t happen they drop them and then expect the band to disappear off the face of the earth. We’ve confounded that by continuing to exist outside the perimeter of the music industry, so we’ve managed to find a niche that people love. As far as I can tell from knowing enough booking agencies over the years, people like that (industry) don’t even go out and see bands unless it’s by referral and when they do, they just drink the free drink and talk their way through it. They know what’s hip and what’s happening because they’ve been told. Then they go and invest in it and make money out of it. That’s a bit cynical but I wish it wasn’t like that. I don’t think we’ll ever get invited to an Aria Awards dinner or nominated and that’s the way it should be.
Whammo: I totally agree and sometimes I feel jaded when I admit that stuff but it’s true. The proof is the fact that I spend half my time at industry bashes, meeting people that, I'm sure, don’t love music. It shits me.
Jamie: We were on Murmur, which is through Sony Music, when we first started and I had to do a few solo spots at music conventions. At those things, watching them and the way they worked, I thought ‘this is about product- we could just as well be toothpaste’. I guess I was naïve but it shocked me.
Whammo: It’s hard when the artist, who’s creating, meets the person who’s in charge of packaging. It almost feels like it shouldn’t happen.
Jamie: Yeah, it should be something under the table that you don’t hear about. That’s a long way from what we’re doing now. We’ve done better as an independent band. We’ve sold more records and got more people to the shows since then but it would be a lot easier if we had their support. I think we’re just focusing on getting more things happening overseas, which is fresh for us. No one really knows us over there. It may never happen for us over there but it’s worth trying.
Whammo: You’re in a good position really. You wouldn’t be putting out records like Come Across if you had a major label in your ear.
Jamie: Yeah, we’d probably be trying to second-guess what people want and trying to write stuff that’s going to sell whereas I’m just trying to write songs that are good and as a band we play them in a way that we think suits the songs. That’s all we do: we go in to make a really strong artistic statement. I know that everyone says that but that honestly is what we do. The thing is, if you go out there trying to make something that’s going to sell and it doesn’t, you just and up with egg on your face and look like an idiot. At least, if you’ve got something that’s great but nobody buys it, you’ve still got something that’s great. |
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 BLUEBOTTLE KISS
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2 cd pack
Jamie Hutchings rambles through another gripping set of stories, feet stomp, saws whine, acoustics battle beats, darkness eats light. Yep, it's another beautiful release from Bluebottle Kiss. From the eerie atmos of Scouthall to the manic guitars of Crawling With Ants, this well-established Sydney act adds to the quality achieved by 2002's Revenge Is Slow. This is a band that has grown from humble, indie-rock/pop beginnings to be one of the heavy-weights of the independent scene. With Come Across they flaunt the experience that has lead to intricate production techniques, the cohesion of a concept album and a quality of song writing that can't be taught; it must be honed by the sands of time. Bluebottle Kiss have paid their dues and the rewards can be enjoyed by their snowballing fan base. Depth and darkness rival Nick Cave or Tom Waits and if those two seminal acts can be used as a comparison, the quality of Hutchings stories can also be lifted to their level of expertise. You get the feeling that lyrics flow comfortably- there's no sense of trying to be clever but, naturally, rich images emerge and are framed with the exact musicianship and the confidence of a band that always threatens to reach their prime, yet better their previous efforts with each new release. Come Across is no exception. Die-hard fans will love the limited edition version with a bonus disc treating them to 8 unreleased tracks from the Revenge Is Slow sessions.
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 BLUEBOTTLE KISS
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cd
Revenge Is Slow, includes the three radio singles Gangsterland, Ounce of Your Cruelty & Hasten the Blows. Four records in, BBK have created the kind of meisterwerk that only comes around once or twice in the lifetime of a great band. Their hybrid of strong dynamics, subtle experimentation and an ever-present classic sense of melody has seen Bluebottle Kiss gain a highly loyal following in Australia. They've has also attracted some influential international fans, such as legendary producer Jack Endino (Mudhoney, Afghan Whigs, Nirvana) and engineers Zak & Krevis (At The Drive In), all of them contributing to BBK projects, including this album.
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 BLUEBOTTLE KISS
Add to basket. Normally ships within 10 days $9.95 (US $6.70) (UK £3.62)
cd single
The highly anticipated follow-up to their critically-acclaimed debut album in 1995, Bluebottle Kiss have built a passionate following through touring and releasing their adventurous and melodic music. With Gangsterland, Bluebottle Kiss have delivered an indication of where their future may lie- playing with Spaghetti Western and Film Noir textures, while displaying the integral sounds that are uniquely Bluebottle Kiss. The title track Gangsterland was recorded in L.A. with Zak and Krevis from At The Drive In, and several tracks, including Lovers Tiff and Everything is Wearing Me Out, were recorded with old pal and guru Jack Endino (Nirvana, Tumbleweed) and see's them change territory from a flat-out rocker with ghostly overtones to a Country, Blues and Psychedelia melange.
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 BLUEBOTTLE KISS
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cd
Once to be found on the Murmur label, Sydney outfit Bluebottle Kiss developed a reputation built on searingly intense live shows and recordings which either translated that beautifully or pulled it all back for melodies defined by their evocative restraint. This ten-track offering hones the band's emotion and angst and draws wonderful attention to the songwriting cleverness of Jamie Hutchison.
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BLUEBOTTLE KISS: NATIONAL TOUR DATES
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December
4.....The Enigma, Adelaide
6.....The Evelyn, Melbourne
7.....The National, Geelong
19....Harbord Diggers, Harbord |
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