By Crimson Cat

Rapskallion Q’s & A’s

Firstly, tell us how did you seven meet?

Much like the seven samurai, or the magnificient seven, where we all came together to perform a seemingly impossible task, against all the odds. In our case it was a gig at the Spiegeltent.

How did the band name ‘Rapskallion’ come about?

When and where was your big break?

What are some of the band’s inspirations and influences?

The name came in a flash, one stormy night, by a campfire in the desert, whilst reading the last chapter of Robert Graves’ “White Goddess”. We are influenced by many varied things in our collective, the Muppet show has figured quite strongly, as has his majesty Tom Waits, as well as European music of all kinds, and Mysterio is a big fan of Queen.

Fingali and Jeremy aka “Mysterio” can both play the accordion. How did you both get into learning how to play this interesting instrument?

We both used to play in drum circles and accordions, especially more than one, are the only instruments we could find at the time that had the firepower to compete.

Rapskallion’s debut CD ‘One Up For The Little Man’ is available in store and online, which song on the album is the band’s favourite to perform and why?

I don’t know, it’s like choosing out of your children, which is your favourite, but I do have a soft spot for “Lemons at tha door”, as it rocks, and it’s about Brunswick.

Just looking at all the scheduled upcoming shows on your Myspace is overwhelming. You’ve got numerous residencies and performances at influential venues such as Red Bennies, and then off to tour Europe late June. How does Rapskallion keep each performance fresh and exciting?

The right amount of spontaneity, alcohol, and always trying out new material, and we really love playing music together, which helps.

Does the band come across any issues when you tour together for such an extensive period of time? For example: does anyone get homesick or do any two members have constant clashes?

It is like having a relationship, but with seven people, so of course there are always ups and downs. But this in the end strengthens our group dynamic, especially as when we tour it’s pretty basic, camping in the woods, and living on wild weeds, strong cheese, and smoked fish.

Any plans to tour other parts of the world since Rapskallion have already conquered Australia and Europe?

We are doing a quick tour of California, on the way home from Europe, as a duo, so we’ll see how we go there.

Are you listening to any other artists or bands at the moment?

Listening to loads of new stuff all the time, from ancient recordings from Eastern Europe like icon Petre Stoicon, to classic Waits, to friends like Doc Jones and the Lechery Orchestra from Sydney. We listen to a lot of music on vinyl for its magical dimensions.

Rapskallion are performing Friday the 23rd of April at Red Bennies