The Drones - Leave them scratchin'

Well, The Dwarf was very excited to interview one of their favourite bands, The Drones. A band that is not afraid to stand out form the crowd. They were winners of last years AMP and have been nominated again for this year’s prize. Shows often see the crowd divided into ecstasy or confusion. To answer a few questions, The Dwarf caught up with Mike Noga, who plays drums, but has also been known to do his own shows around town.

The Drones have been around for about ten years; winning the AMP prize last year catapulted them into the public eye, The Dwarf asked how it felt to receive public appeal from their peers and idols, such as Suicide and Nick Cave “As for the recognition, I'm not sure if those two you mentioned have 'recognised' us, but we ARE playing with them soon, so after that they might recognise us. We're pretty lucky I guess, other bands do seem to like us, it’s the record buying public who hate us!”

Although some people adore them, other music fans just find their music strange and confusing; The Dwarf asked if there was any theme behind The Drones music, “We have no grand plan when it comes to the music, we play exactly what WE want with no regard for anyone else, we really don't care if you like it or hate it...we're doing it for ourselves, and i think that’s where all the best art is derived from... people not giving a fuck about trends” On pressed more about the dichotomy in their audience, Mike explained, “Well, sure, we ain't every bodies cup of tea....we're pretty damn noisy, but personally I think (having been a big fan of the band before I joined)You’ll be hard pressed to find another band around here that puts as much soul into what they're doing. So if they're scratching their heads...let 'em scratch, they just don't get it and probably never will. But you know....That’s fine...”

It seems that the Australian music scene is finally brimming with real music, bands playing great tunes, not over produced and some great original sounds coming out of Australia, The Dwarf asked Mike if he had any ideas about what lay behind this trend, “Probably the public finally getting bored with the over produced, mass marketed, Video Hits crap that gets rammed down their throats by record companies and the media...maybe...if what you say is true....maybe people are waking up?
T' would be nice wouldn't it?”

The Drones recently installed new guitarist Dan Luscombe, originally from Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males, the band has under gone many line up changes, does this affect their overall sound, “Of course the sound changes when a different member comes aboard, it’s only natural that it will alter a bit.... but i think the 'Drones' sound (Whatever the hell that is) is always apparent.”

The Drones got signed to An English label rather than Australian; Mike explained why he thought an Australian label didn’t pick them up, “There's no particular reason that we've signed to an English label though apart from the fact that they are fantastic people who let us do exactly what we want musically and maybe it presents more inroads overseas...there's only so much you can do in Australia playing the kind of music we do... we seem to be much more at home in places like Spain and Germany...They like us.”

The Drones have played a few festivals this year, like a 48 degree day at Meredith, when asked how they managed, Mike replied, “Managed it terribly, threw up a lot afterwards” They also played Big Day Out, which Mike explained was, “The Big Day Off? It was an endless party rudely interrupted by having to be onstage for 45 minutes a day.”

Finally does Mike have any advice for aspiring young bands out there? “Wanna be broke and tired all the time? Sign here!! Um... I dunno....Stick it out, don't give up, stick to your guns, DON'T sign anything without REALLY thinking it through, play for yourself, not for anyone else. Steer clear of major labels. Always carry a handkerchief.”

Catch The Drones at The Rebublic Bar, Hobart, Friday 9th February.

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