The Snowdroppers are an Australian blues rock band consisting of Johnny Wishbone on lead vocals, banjo and occasionally harmonica, Pauly K on lead guitar, Nick London on bass guitar and Cougar Jones on drums. Known for being a bit bada*s… (google what their band name actually means), The Snowdroppers are in Canberra this Friday to perform and launch their new album, BUSINESS. We had a chat to the boys ahead to find out more…
What are three words that best describe The Snowdroppers?
Consummate. Debonair. Hectic as.
Tell us about your new album, BUSINESS. What’s the inspiration and/or story behind it?
Taking care of business, getting down to business, mind your own business.. its a word that has many different meanings and I guess we just felt it suited the album. The goal originally was to write a dance album, or our interpretation of an album that you could dance to.. so the binding element running through the songs was that they had to have a good groove to them. We’ve been through a lot of business since the last album – some good business and some shit business! But we’re hoping people agree it’s the best thing we’ve done so far. I know.. thats what all bands say. Its a bit of a boy who cries wolf thing.. “Sure Metallica, we believe you think this Lou Reed collaboration is your career highlight. Take my money.” So i’d rather just put it out there and see what people think!
How was working with Ryan Hazell and how did it all come about?
Ryan was our live sound engineer on and off for years. When we started writing for BUSINESS he was in contact and really keen on us doing some recording with him (he’s got a small studio up on the Central Coast, Ivory Lane). Eventually we had a chance to go up for the weekend, had a few beers and did a bit of recording – and got a feel for his recording style and technical abilities. Its a hard decision to make, choosing a producer – it can be a big gamble if you’ve not worked with someone before. We had some other promising options to weigh up that were ‘bigger names’ or people with a longer resume, but in the end we just went with our gut feeling.
How did it end up? Terrible, we had to sack him in the end and re-record everything with Rick Rubin at an exorbitant cost. Never go with your gut. He’s now our manager though.
What do you guys do for work/play when you’re not being ‘rockstars’?
Our various pursuits include (you can try matching them to each member yourself as a fun game): kickboxing, motorbikes, wing chun, dungeons and dragons, having a sit down, running,
reading fantasy/sci fi, getting tattoos, watching the films of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Who in the group is the biggest party animal?
Let’s just say numerous rehearsals have had to be cut short because the youngest member of the band was suffering from a condition known as “toomanypingers-itis”.
What’s a typical day in the life on the road of The Snowdroppers?
Get up, get dressed, drive to airport. Deal with Cougar’s ‘pro farting in the van, that’s hilarious’ policy. Find free food at airport if possible. Deal with Cougar’s ‘no farting on the plane, that’s disgusting’ policy. Find out if there’s free food at the venue. Talk about what we would do if Predator came on TV just before we had to go play the gig. Play the gig. Talk to people, usually about beards or tattoos. Try and convince someone to drive to maccas. Curl up in a nest of shredded lettuce. Have a bad dream I left all my equipment on stage.
Where’s your favourite place to eat when touring in Canberra?
YASS Maccas
Where’s your favourite place to party when doing live gigs in Canberra?
We haven’t been in Canberra for a while… Mooseheads? haha J/K. Last time we walked in there 3 guys in popped up polo shirts came up and said “what the fuck are you guys wearing?” Phoenix bar was always fun.
Thanks Guys
Click here to buy tickets to the gig this Friday, 4 September.
