Sweet Sweet Music talked to Steve Smith about Bee in Your Bonnet, Fallon Cush’s new album. If you like The Jayhawks, The Well Wishers or The Junior League … please try:

 

What was the biggest fun during the making of the last album?

Well, recording in a studio chock full of vintage gear including a 70’s neve console with a bunch of great people is as much fun as you can having standing up. It’s really the reason I keep doing it and it’s always a let down when we finish. I really want to get back in there to start the next Fallon Cush record as soon as we can because it is just so much fun. If I had to pick one thing though I would say I’ve never seen anyone get such pure joy from singing or music in general as Suzy Goodwin who sings B/V’s on this record does. Watching and listening to Suzy sing when she’s in the moment is always confirmation of what everyone’s motivation for making music should be.

If we want to know you, which song do we have to listen to? And why?

Every Fallon Cush song is based on personal experience. I’ve tried to write lyrics in a detached kind of way and just can’t do it. So, pick any song and you’ll learn something but I’d probably say There’s A Dark Side To That Moon off Bee In Your Bonnet isn’t a bad place to start. It sounds pessimistic but isn’t. It’s optimistic. Stylistically it’s probably a pretty good intro to Fallon Cush.

What’s the story behind the band name?

Once upon a time, you’d think of a band name, ask your mates whether they’d heard of a band of the same name and if they hadn’t and there was no band of that name with a record in your local record store then you’d run with it. The internet’s changed all that. When we decided to release that first batch of songs as an album I needed a band name, there are too many Steve Smith’s in the world and every name I came up someone, somewhere had already thought of it and set up a Facebook page. My wife was looking at Ancestry .com one night and found this distant relative of mine, Fallon Cush. We just thought it was a great name and decided to steal it. Truth be known though I probably wish we’d come up with something a little more conventional.

The music industry has changed a lot (or so they say). What did it bring you? And what not?

Well, there’s no going back. Maybe music fans, people who buy CDs or LPs will be like stamp or antique clock collectors or those weird dudes with model train sets in the future. You know, sitting upstairs in the attic doing stuff no-one understands other than other weird dudes sitting in their own attics with their own train sets. Maybe it’s like that already.

Who is the best musician in the world nobody has heard of yet? And why will this change very soon?

Well, I don’t know that they’re the best musicians in the world but seeing this is largely a pop blog, there’s a band from Sydney, The Nature Strip who are about to release a new album, ‘Presents’ within the next month or so. They say they shamelessly raid 70’s and 80’s power pop and rock to create songs that are immediate and memorable and it’s hard to disagree. Keep an eye out for that. And it’ll be on vinyl.

She tells you she will decide on a 5-song-mixt tape if there is going to be a second date. Which 5 would you put on?

Ain’t Too Proud To Beg -The Temptations

Only Love Can Break Your Heart – Neil Young

Hot Burrito #1 – The Flying Burrito Bros

Reason To Believe – Rod Stewart

I Am The Cosmos – Chris Bell

What’s up for the next couple of months?

Gigs! We recently did the first Fallon Cush full band gig which was a blast so the plan is to do a couple more of those and we also play gigs as an acoustic trio so we’ll do some more of those as well then hopefully back into the studio before the end of the year.

Check out Fallon Cush’s website

Read what Absolute Power Pop has to say about Bee in Your Bonnet.