Interviews We Interview Last Dinosaurs
We Interview Last Dinosaurs
After a massive Satellites tour, Lisle got to catch up with Last Dinosaurs before they jetted off to Europe!
The band is just about to head back to Europe, how has the response been to your live shows over there compared to Australia?
It’s been really good. We’ve only been there once before, we had no idea what to expect. We went to a few places in Europe and around the U.K. When we played in Amsterdam they put us on after Grimes, we have no idea why we played after her. The venue we played there was kind of the “go-to” venue, just this sweaty pit of people, but then we played in Manchester to about 12 people. It’s kind of hit and miss, which I suppose it’s going to be on your first trip. This time around we’re focusing on developing more of a presence in the UK.
You're playing a hometown show just two weeks after your last UK spot, was it a conscious choice to come back to Brisbane as the first stop on the tour?
Yeah, we’ve got an all ages show in Brisbane and then we start the tour. It’s gonna be awesome, the ticket sales have gone well, we’re all really excited for these shows. I think they’re going to be huge.
Not going to have any 12 person crowds this time?
No, not this time, thank god. We’ve had some small crowds in Australia when we used to play regional shows and stuff, but we’re hoping this time there will be at least thirteen people.
I saw a string break on stage at a show when you were supporting The Grates, the lads from Dune Rats came to the rescue with a spare. What's the biggest mishap you've had on stage?
It’s usually either a dodgy foldback or one of the guitar strings breaking. Luckily I play bass so I don’t really run that risk, but if a bass string does break you are truly fucked. When you’ve got a bad foldback it’s sometimes hard to get the vibe right. For me singing in key is such an important thing, I can’t stand it when I hear a band playing and the singers off. If you’ve got a dodgy foldback you’re focusing more on not stuffing up and less about vibeing. When you’ve got good foldback and a good crowd you don’t even think, you just play, that’s the ideal.
You've obviously been playing a lot more headlining shows than you used to, are there any bands in particular you would like to share a stage with?
Phoenix is a dream for us, it would be amazing to support them. The Strokes, all your standards. It’s all your standard answers, the ones we all love listening to
Most of your music videos so far have been directed by Michael Sloane. Any special reason you keep using the same director, or any plans to change things up?
Sloane used to be the bass player for Last Dinosaurs, so he’s been part of our story for ages. Then I replaced him, which actually went over fine, because he’s so passionate about filmmaking, it was just the path he chose. He seems to click with us, we can talk to him about the vibe and toss out ideas, and he’s on the same page mentally as us. We tried making a video with someone other than Sloane once, it was a bit of a failure so we went back. Eventually we might make something with someone else, see how it turns out.
Is there any new material in the works, or are you too focused on touring?
We’ve got three or four songs that we are kicking around. We’re going to try and have them ready for the October tour to debut some new material and see what people think. It’s the second time we’ve toured the album, so I think people are expecting something new. I always love it when a band I’m seeing shows off some new stuff.
On Satellites you can hear a recording of Sean and Lach hanging out in the valley. Any other easter eggs like that hidden on the album?
I don’t think so. There are a few outtakes that didn’t make it on the album, people swearing when they stuffed up and stuff like that. Lachlan was skateboarding on the Satellites recording I’m pretty sure, they were in the Valley on the rooftop of the Chinatown car park. When we were doing the album Sean always used to carry a little Dictaphone around with him. There’s a train you can hear in Used To Be Mine that’s from the Dictaphone.
Lastly, a AAA Backstage tradition. If you could be any animal, what would it be?
I always used to like Pandas when I was a kid, but they seem a little bit useless to be honest. I need to put some thought into this, I wanna be a kick ass animal. I want to be something you don’t mess with. Maybe a big alpha male gorilla.
That’s a bit of a step up from a panda.
You know, I used to like pandas because I thought they were adorable and now I’m a man, I’m 23. I’ve got to pick a more masculine animal.
Lisle Kelly - AAA Backstage
