The weather has taken a less than desirable turn as LOUIE SMITH chats with ASH GRUNWALD on a park bench in the rain behind the scenes at Fotsun. Not at all bothered by the wet conditions, Grunwald reveals his plans for the coming year and really hones in on the importance of practicing your art form.
You’ve had a massive year of touring, how do you do it? You seem to never stop.
Yeah I haven’t stopped for the last ten years but towards the end of this year, from basically mid way, I went overseas. I did a tour over in England and then met my family in America and had a little holiday there. Then did a three-week tour of Canada and then we went as a family to Bali and from that point on it’s been so chilled out. It’s been like one of the best years of my life really. It’s just been so fun and since we got back to Australia, it’s just been little events like this. Just once every week, maybe once every two weeks, do a gig and then just play guitar every day and practice and hang out with my family. It’s been great. I’ve been actually chilling out a fair bit.
Do you bring the family along when you go tours?
I often do but not on this occasion. A lot of the time it’s just whatever works you know. It’s funny how many times it doesn’t work but you know it’s just mix and match. When I go overseas I do it a bit more…if I’m going to be away a long time. I try and never be away longer than two weeks.
You released an album this year with the guys from the Living End, how did that come about?
I’m really good friends with Scotty who plays the double bass and we just hung out a hell of a lot. Last year we all went to Bali with our families together and Scotty and I also went on a surf trip to Sumatra together and we just hang out a lot. We’re very close. One day when we were playing, I had a solo tour of Victoria and at the last minute I invited Scotty on the tour to play and then he said “why don’t we get Andy?” I was like “oh really? That’s two thirds of the Living End, it’s a bit weird isn’t it?” He was like “nah nah its just music you know, let’s just have a bit of fun.” So we did and it went well and one thing led to another and we ended up with an album.
The first time I saw you play was a few years ago at Sunset Sounds. It was up in Brisbane.
Ahh yep. So I had like three percussionists with me.
Yeah I actually have a drumstick from that gig, haha.
Oh really haha that was a good gig.
Yeah it was a really fun gig. Then I saw you late last year at The Entrance Leagues Club on the Central Coast and that was just solo. Do you prefer playing solo?
I really do and I’m not just saying it. There are different things about both and I think the whole solo thing…it’s like the audience breathes with you. You can go down to a really dynamic quiet space and they can stay with you and it doesn’t really get that boring. I don’t know, it’s hard to describe but when you play solo the audience is really with you a lot more. With a band thing everything’s amplified and it just depends what kind of band. I mean the old band thing I was trying to do, I was on this tangent like at Sunset Sounds of having the solo thing and then just adding percussion percussion percussion and that was fun. Then with this seminal kind of rock rhythm section it’s a completely different thing where I don’t really play like I normally play. Normally when I play I am the bass and the drums so now I sit on top of that and it’s a radically different thing for me so I really do like it all.
This isn’t your first time at Fotsun is it?
No I think I played the first one…first or second. Yeah whatever one I did play it was very fun. I played it solo and just had the funnest gig. I just thought it seemed perfect, like it’s actually on the beach half in a caravan park, it’s BYO and it’s just very grass roots you know.
You’re kind of festival?
Ha yeah it’s great, it’s perfect for me.
Yeah I think the crowd are really going to enjoy your set tonight.
I hope I’m not jinxing myself but I’m actually excited. It’s this gig and then New Years and then that’s it for a while with these boys so I’ll just be savouring every little last note with them because they’re such good players.
Have you got any new music on the horizon or are you having a break after that?
No, I’ve been writing a lot of songs. I’m on a little bit of a mission to sort of do that solo thing but not add any…like for years I’ve been messing with heaps of beats and using synths and doing all sorts of things that are way off the path but I’d love to just go back to the pure solo thing. Just practice practice practice and now that after so long I really know what that’s like, to really practice it and hone it and get really good at it, haha. So from taking that approach of just being at home, having time and just practicing I’ve really found that it’s given me like…I had a little period the last couple of weeks of having a little song idea a day. Never a day goes past that I don’t put on my iPhone and record a song idea or get out a notepad and start sketching lyrics. So I’ve probably had the most creative time that I’ve ever had so we’ll see whether that translates into some good music or not.
It takes a lot of talent to do what you do though. You’re a multi-instrumentalist!
You just do it bit by bit. You just do it over time. You do one thing that’s a bit harder and then you work on that. Lately I’ve been playing the harmonica at the same time as well, so I add that in and a lot of different things and it’s just all an adventure you know. Everybody that does anything that’s cool or that you respect build it up bit by bit and then sometimes you look at them and go wow. It’s just bit by bit so I’m holding that in my mind and using that thinking. If I do the practice and if I’m stoked like I was when I was 15…you know how much you improve at something when you’re 15. You’re stoked on life and you’re just like yeahhh and it’s all you can think of and then after that you get to a level at something. I’ve had that with music, you get to a level and then you just cruise on that level and just think about other things but it’s really cool to get the child-like wonder back again.
Pushing yourself…
Push yourself yeah. It almost sounds boring to think “oh practicing your instrument” but actually that’s the only thing that will create more stoke and more excitement, is actually just putting something in to get something back. Which is something I never really have the breathing space to do so you know it’s good.
Do you do most of your recording at home?
Ahh not Gargantua but the album Troubles Door I did, I built a studio. We built a new house and so I built a studio there but yeah at the moment I do. We might move but if we do move I’ll probably cry when I take the last guitar out of that thing. I’ve got like ten guitars on the wall and when I’m recording it’s just like hmm…
Which one will I use today…haha.
Yeahh, I think I’ll have the national steel for this…I guess it’s every muso’s dream to have your own studio so yeah I love that.
Do you have any surprises up your sleeve for tonight’s set?
I mean if anyone hasn’t seen this project, it probably will be a surprise anyway but that’s all. If anyone’s seen us this year then they’ll pretty much know what the deal is. For my music I like to get people amped and stuff but this is um, more sound. The boys are pretty large. You could just listen to them by themselves without a front guy, so yeah I’m looking forward to it.