Why howdy, It’s Shane Hicks (vox/gtr) from The Blackwater Fever.
What’s your earliest memory of performing and who inspired you to start?
It was an acoustic open mic night with my buddy Ric DeMarco and I on 2 acoustic guitars (Ric later became the first drummer of The Blackwater Fever) We were nervous as shit, playing these songs we’d written… hand shaking and my voice trembling.
Your third album The Depths is out March 22nd, are you happy with how it’s turned out?
Very happy. We did it all ourselves. Recorded, mixed and produced. I’m super proud of it. We took our time exploring and trying new ideas and I think that shows in the end result.
What was the most challenging part of recording The Depths?
Doing it all ourselves. Having only dabbled in home recording before, never taking anything too seriously nor seeing anything from beginning to end…. There was a massive learning curve, lots of trial and error. But it’s all good. We’ve come out the other side with a new skill set to keeping doing it this way.
Considering you produced the album yourselves, was there a long period of preparation?
Not so much preparation… but more collecting gear over time until we felt we had the tools needed to record at the quality and we wanted. We also built a little room under Andrew’s house were we did the main track beds. Most of the songs had been round for a while, we’d been playing them live so they were well rehearsed. Others we had iphone or mini disk demos as a reference and we just tied up their lose ends on the fly during the recording sessions which was fun. I think it’s good to make some decisions on the fly and not mull over arrangements too much.
How much of the live show impacts your songwriting?
I guess when we start to write a new song… and we think that it could be a great one to play live, it definitely spurs us on to get it done so we can try it out at the next show.
‘Fess up. What records have you stolen from your parent’s record collection and why?
Roy Orbison, Elvis, lots of Best Of 50,60,70’s and Truck Stop compilations.
What’s on heavy rotation on your iPod right now?
Truckfighters – Mania, Deftones- Saturday Night Wrist, Helmet – Betty, Unkle – Where Did The Night Fall.
Do you have any particular ritual before you go on stage, or even a lucky charm you take with you?
Not really no. I like to play through a few of the song on the setlist back stage. I’m a self taught guitarist and can’t be buggered practising…. Except at the very last minute before going on stage.
Because it’s more fun to do things together, which living Australian artist would you most like to collaborate with?
Nick Cave. He’s the master. Although I don’t know how that would go down in reality. I’d probably have a meltdown (cue Wayne’s World- “We’re not worthy!”). I’d settle just to be a fly on the wall at a Bad Seeds recording session.
Can we expect a tour off the back of the new record?
We’re doing our best to get out on the road. We’re currently fully independent and self managed… with no booking agent. L so it’s tough. Anyone willing to help please get in contact!
Where we can see you play next?
Friday 22nd March. The Joynt – West End, Brisbane.
www.facebook.com/theblackwaterfever
