With a membership comprising of loosely connected - but like-minded - musical souls, The Woods Themselves aren't your typical band. However, when they get together in the studio, the results are compelling. The band has just released their second album, (C'Mon) Do the Beach Thing, following on from their 2004 self-titled debut. We tried to get an insight into the workings of The Woods.
yourGigs (YG): Is it difficult to reign in the various musical influences and attitudes of the various band members towards the one aim in the studio?
The Woods Themselves (TWT): I don't think there ever is one single aim - maybe a vague goal to not suck. We all think good music is good, so that's good. I do agree that attitude has been a problem for all of us at one stage or another though; especially with the demon drink about.
(YG): What were the reasons behind the four-year gap since your debut album? Was it intentional?
(TWT): We all had better things to spend money on. I intend for you to believe that. Things just turn out the way they turn out, good or bad. Intent seems irrelevant; we are fatalists, bordering on nihilism, [or] more correctly, 'couldn't be bothered-ism'. We are a bunch of people who hate to think about anything more than a day away. We intend to try to have a good time. That having been said - with the intention of not dodging any more questions - I feel sad for bands who chase some wave of 'buzz' generated by their music - rushing out a release just so people remember them.
Reject adulation; learn to hate yourself a little: it's good for the soul in the long run.
In closing, the reasons behind the four-year gap were that we are quite unreasonable.
YG: How, if at all, has the band, its members and its intentions changed since then, and has any of that affected the recording of this album?
(TWT): We're all older by four years. I think we want to make music that won't seem ridiculous to play in four years again. Plus, The Woods aren't a band in that 'here, take our photo in an alley' sort of way. The drive to stick with each other is always kept secret; whatever makes us tick ... we don't want to jinx it. It's not explicit.
YG: Did any of the acclaim surrounding your debut put any undue or unrealistic pressure or expectations on the band?
(TWT): I don't think I know what acclaim means. Most people have forgotten us since the last album. The pressure of nonexistence is rarely felt. We don't even put pressure on ourselves anymore. We do expect, however, for industry types to be sickened by our lack of hunger and initiative.
Artists - all artists in all fields - are so deadened to the way things are run now. They figure that everybody's gotta serve someone, so they swallow their pride and dress up like maids and butlers. Everyone is so savvy with 'the game' that it's disheartening.
These cats in charge.. well, they're just that: a lot of them are animals, man. We don't owe anyone a goddamn thing and we'll drink with anyone who needs to borrow a dollar. A little more fire in the gut and a little less shrewd business tactics, please - we are meant to be rock'n'roll bands for fucks sake.
YG: How did producer Tony Dupe and his South Coast studio set-up affect the band's sound and recording?
(TWT): It affects petrol costs and wear and tear on the car. The sun disappears fairly early in the day in Kangaroo Valley; it just drops behind the escarpment. That tends to kick beer o'clock forward a few hours, which is not always a particularly good thing for us. I recall really giving it a nudge one night and ending up watching some Jim Carrey film on a black and white television and crying uncontrollably at Jim's dramatic range.
YG: What were the reasons behind utilizing your 'Fiery Domestic' method of working (one day, one song)? Was it challenging to the band as performers and songwriters? How did it ultimately affect the songs?
TWT: We have short attention spans. Plus, it's hard to remember what the hell you were talking about when you leave a song halfway and then come back to it.
YG: Will the relative freshness of the songs, due to the recording process, help when you go to perform them live?
TWT: We just do what we do, man. The songs with the least amount of chords in them seem to be the ones we really nail.
YG: What are your ambitions for the album?
TWT: To see our enemies driven before us. Plus we want a boat.
The Woods Themselves (C'Mon) Do the Beach Thing is out now on Understandation, through Inertia.
Andy Ryan
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