Ryder here from The Mohawk Lodge. Just landed in Melbourne ~ loving the vibes! I’m down here touring my latest album Damaged Goods that’s seeing an Australian release thanks to Melbourne’s new First Love Records.
You’re playing a bunch of shows in Australia in July and early August. Is this your first time Down Under? If not tell us about the last time you were here and if so tell us about what you’re looking forward to the most when you get here.
I was here about 10 years ago surfing up and down the east coast for the better part of a year. Been dreaming about returning and I’m looking forward to getting back in the water. Look out Cabarita Beach, NSW!
Your fourth album, Damaged Goods, was released overseas last year. How has it been touring the album?
It’s been awesome. I’ve done about 100 shows for it so far, mostly in Europe, and just returned from my first proper tour of the US. We did 6 weeks of shows and, as every tour goes, some were amazing, some were tough, and others were everything in between. Always an adventure.
I play with different bands backing me on different tours and on that one the opening band (who were also my backing band) couldn’t hack it and drove home halfway through the tour. They left the same morning I found out my grandmother died. We were in Chapel Hill, NC and I carried on in a rental car. I showed up that night in Richmond, Virginia feeling like the shell of a man only to find a packed house and a night of people requesting tunes. It made me realize it was all going to be ok and I played the last 20 shows solo, including a session for the amazing Daytrotter.
The album has only recently been released in Australia and New Zealand. How would you sell it to potential Australasian listeners?
This is my punk record. I mean that more in the spirit than the genre. It’s raw, short and sweaty. It was an honor to get a Nick Cave meets Neil Young comparison for it recently.
How do you think people have responded to it in comparison to your last few records?
I think it’s been well-received, but, more importantly, I still dig it. We recorded it so quickly that I didn’t have a chance to second guess it and I think people are picking up on the energy. Records are like babies. You hope that each one finds it’s way in the world and they end up with folks who love them. This one was born in a barn. It’s mother was crazy, but, the sex was good.
Have you been recording or working on any new material since the record was released?
I like to have a few projects on the go and I’ve actually got a couple new ones in the works. One is a synths based “dance” record for lack of a better word. The idea is to get out of my comfort zone so there’s a minimal guitars rule as well as a different approach to lyrics. Tentatively titled Berlin. The other is a more organic album fuelled by a bunch of songs I wrote with some Danish songwriters. Tentatively titled Copenhagen Dreams.
Having been based in Toronto and Vancouver in the past you guys would no doubt have a pretty good idea of how Canada’s music scene works. Can you give us a few insights into what drives Canadian music?
There are a ton of great bands and albums that have come out of Canada over the past few years. I think it has to do with bands inspiring and pushing each other. Further, we’re lucky that the Canadian government has recognized the cultural value of Canadian music and provides a lot of support via grants for artists to hit the road internationally. Touring Canada is a bit like Australia in that it’s a massive country with only a few larger cities tied together with long drives. Hence, you kind of need to get of country to have a tour that stands a chance financially. The result is a lot of well travelled bands.
You recorded this album in Berlin. What did this city allow you to do that others couldn’t?
Actually, the record was recorded in Toronto just before I headed to Berlin. We did it in my living room in Toronto on one of the hottest weekend of the year in Toronto. It was a crazy heat wave and we were all in nothing but boxers, standing in pools of our own sweat. It’s amazing none of us got shocked while recording it.
How would you describe the music scene in Berlin? Does it live up to the hype?
There’s no curfew in Berlin and the club and EDM (electronic dance music) scene is insane. There isn’t as much live music in Berlin, but, I ended up living above the only venue I really knew about before moving there, Schokoladen. It was a punk squat when the wall came down and they’ve had live music in there almost every night for the past 20 years. Kraut rock is still alive and well there too and there are Brian Jonestown Massacre sightings now and then. It’s also a destination for touring bands, so there are always some amazing shows in town.
Berlin is also described as the city where young people go to retire. It seems like everyone spends their days drinking in the parks, canals and coffee shops. A lot of artists and musicians move to Berlin thinking they’re going to create a lot of art and end up just losing themselves in the nightlife and not creating anything. After 6 months I started realizing this was happening to me so I kicked myself into gear and started using Berlin more as a home-base to tour Europe. You can fly or train everywhere for so cheap. I toured through 10 different countries in the last 4 months I was there.
What are your plans for the rest of 2013?
I’ll be back in Berlin in September touring out of there and playing as many shows as possible. I’m also looking to get both of these new records done and out the door.
Where we can see you play next, what releases do you have available and where can we get them?
I’ll be rocking a bunch of shows with my new (and awesome) Aussie backing band (Larissa Tandy and Glenn Maynard), as well as some solo dates.
You can find our earlier records online of course: Rare Birds (2004), Wildfires (2007), Crimes (2010). Rare Birds started it all as a project to write songs that I could try and learn how to sing with. It’s more on the folk side of things and since then every records just gotten heavier, faster and more raw than the last one.
You can stream the new one at: http://themohawklodge.bandcamp.com and follow us at http://facebook.com/themohawklodge and on Twitter @themohawklodge
The Mohawk Lodge 2013 Tour Dates
JULY 5 – MELBOURNE @ DING DONG w/ Endless Party, Brave Face, Young Hysteria
JULY 6 – MELBOURNE @ WESLEYANNE (solo) w/ Larissa Tandy
JULY 7 – MELBOURNE @ GRACELAND (solo afternoon)
JULY 7 – MELBOURNE @THE RETREAT w/ Tracy mcNeil
JULY 11 – ADELAIDE @ THE GRACE EMILY w/ Sweet Decline
JULY 12 – SHEPPARTON @ YAHOO BAR w/ Guests
JUL 14 – CASTLEMAINE @ BRIDGE HOTEL w/ Guests
JULY 15 – MELBOURNE @ THE OLD BAR (solo)
JULY 17 – SYDNEY @ GOODGOD w/ Service Bells, Brian Campeau
JULY 18 – SYDNEY @ FBI SOCIAL w/ Hailer. Mezzanine
JULY 19 – SYDNEY @THE NEWSAGENCY (solo) w/ Larissa Tandy
JULY 20 – BYRON BAY@ BYRON BAY BREWERY (solo) w/ Larissa Tandy
JULY 25 – BRISBANE @ Black Bear Lodge w/ Rick Fights and the Lost Fortune
JULY 27 – GOLD COAST @ THE LOFT w/ The White Lodge, Kuma
AUG 2 – MELBOURNE @ CHERRY BAR w/ House of Laurence, Ali E
AUG 3 – RYE @ BAHA w/ Larissa Tandy
AUG 6 – Melbourne @ CURTIN (solo) w/ Larissa Tandy
Here’s the latest vid. It’s for “Hard Love” and I shot it on my iphone after a show in Peer, Belgium. That’s my friend Ber, a crazy trucker who calls himself the Devil. He’s awesome…
