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CHURCH, THE |
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 On this page:
*The Church Interview (with Steve Kilbey, Bass/Vocals)
*The Church Discography including solo and side projects (available from Whammo)
*The Church Tour dates
THE CHURCH - THE WHAMMO INTERVIEW - DECEMBER 15, 2003
I blame The Church for a lot of my teenage depression. Thats right, Ive held a grudge all these years. When I was informed of my appointment with vocalist/bass player, Steve Kilbey, I started rehearsing my vengeful rant: Steve, do you know how crap I looked in paisley shirts?! Do you understand how uncomfortable stove-pipes were under the unforgiving Gold Coast sun?! Can you imagine how goofy I looked in pointy shoes?! Oh, the horror. But the only reason I opted for an impractical psychedelic image as a teen was the impact this act had on my impressionable mind. The Unguarded Moment was an anthem for unhappy teenagers (are there any happy ones?). Its laconic cool not only whispered I understand how you feel, its intelligent but cynical attack also pre-empted the sentiment of a fledgling slacker generation. I was hooked. The Church was my favourite band, bar none. Hey Day is still in my Top 5 albums of all time and now, 18 years later (ouch!) the new LP, Forget Yourself, has reignited my love for this seminal Australian act. It was the obsessive American fanbase that inspired this feature. Ever since Under The Milky Way took its place among the most enduring hits of the 80s, The Church have not only gained passionate followers around the globe; theyve also done something very rare: theyve retained them. The day of the interview loomed in the distance. I thought: how can I possibly sate my curiosity with a 20 minute interview and the most terrible question: what if hes a wanker? That would have really shattered me, but I had no need to fret; Steve Kilbey is a fascinating conversationalist, unique talent and much to my relief a great bloke...
Whammo: Ive been around for the whole time the bands been in existence and it looks like the line-up of the band is as strong as its ever been.
Steve: A bands like any relationship. It goes through changes all the time; evolving and always going one step forward and two steps back. At the moment, we feel pretty strong and united but anything can come along and defeat you at any moment. Its like life. I can do an interview and say I feel great, I feel really good and then you could read in the paper tomorrow that Ive died of a heart attack. Its in flux all the time. You can feel amazing about things. You can feel like everythings under control. I remember, about three weeks ago, I was feeling on top of the world and I looked at one of The Church websites and it was some bad reviews. It completely floored me in about ten minutes. I thought God, what was I feeling so good about? You know what I mean?
Whammo: Totally. It surprises me that a review can still effect you in that way.
Steve: It can; especially a review by your fans; the people who are talking about you on their own Church chat pages. Its funny. I can read an excellent review and go ah good, an excellent review and not dwell on it any more or I can read one bad review and Ill go home and think about it for weeks.
Whammo: The bad review surprises me because I think that Forget Yourself is a very strong album.
Steve: Yeah, people always find something that theyre not going to like about it. Theyve been pretty good so far the reviews so I shouldnt complain really.
Whammo: Youre happy with the songwriting on the album?
Steve: I think, for me, I was in a really good place. It was all coming pretty easy for me. I was enjoying it and really looking forward to it every day. Im really pleased with that aspect. Im pleased with the way the band wrote these songs together and each person could submerge themselves in the band and not worry so much about his individual glory; become more of a team player. I think thats something were all still learning. Like a football team, the most important thing to do is play together. Theres always room for losing yourself in the music.
Whammo: Youre all prolific solo artists so Id imagine that the side-projects are important to provide a release for ideas that may not be suited to The Church as a combo.
Steve: I cant see how bands stay together and not do solo things. If youre in a band like ours and you make one album every two years, thats twelve songs every two years. I could write twelve songs in a week if I really wanted to and I guess all the other guys are fiddling around, playing things, working in studios. I think its a very healthy situation.
Whammo: It must help, having your own studio and taking your time.
Steve: Tims got a studio and its better doing it in your own studio, even if its not as big or grand. I remember when we used to do things in 301 for EMI back in the 80s and you knew it was costing thousands of dollars a day. That helps you focus a bit more but if you want to spend some time and muck around, its definitely better to have your own studio.
Whammo: Tims production is really interesting on Forget Yourself. Some of it is uncharacteristically raw for a Church album.
Steve: It is. Thats one thing about this album: its the first time The Church has ever been really raw. Its the first time its been so direct. It wasnt really the plan when we started but the more we played, the more we thought this is edgy and nervy so we left that raw thing in there because to dilute it too much would have diluted the intent of the songs. But thats one of the things that the fans are complaining about: the rawness. But thats life. Some people get on there and say isnt this great, its so raw and other people get on there and go I didnt want this, its raw.
Whammo: Being such a prolific songwriter, what inspires your lyrics?
Steve: Actually, you know what inspires me? The music. I dont really write any lyrics on their own and I always wait until I get a piece of music. What happens is: The Church write a piece of music and I go great, this inspires me. I take it away, listen to it for a couple of weeks and eventually a picture of what it is starts building up. So I usually book my vocal session and about an hour before I go in I listen to it and usually write my lyrics on the spot after having had them percolating around my head for a couple of weeks. They usually come out pretty quickly.
Whammo: Youre lucky to have that gift.
Steve: Well, Ive been doing it for so long. Ive been thinking of writing lyrics ever since I was born. Ever since I was 4 years-old and listening to records, I was wondering whos singing these lyrics, did he write these lyrics, is this just a song or does the man really mean what hes saying? When someone says that their heart was broken, when youre a kid youre thinking is this symbolic or is his heart actually broken? Do you know what I mean? I was always really obsessed with lyrics and thinking about it. So Ive got lots of little techniques and ways of doing things. I can force something to happen. I never just sit there and go I dont know what Im going to write. Theres always something I can fall back on.
Whammo: Are you already thinking of what you might work on after Forget Yourself? Although, I guess its usually a six month campaign whenever you put out an album.
Steve: Definitely. Well, depending on technical or visa issues, were planning on touring America and Europe early next year. Ive just made a record with a guy in a band in America called Remy Zero. He was the guitarist. They broke up recently but they played with us in L.A. and when we were there he gave me some music that hed written and he said Id really like you to sing. I thought yeah, sure pal but I got back to my room and I had no CDs except for the one this guy had given me. I stuck it in and I was likeJesus, this is really good! So we started corresponding, musically. He was in L.A. and hed send me the music, then Id do the vocals in Australia. Thats finished now. He came out here and mastered it. Im really excited about that. Itll come out early next year. Beyond that, I guess The Church has got a load of unreleased and unfinished stuff in the vault that Tim and I will have a look at.
Whammo: Ever since I heard The Unguarded Moment as a kid, I always imagined The Churchs music to be something that the band members could look back on and not be uncomfortable with. Theres always been a sense of maturity.
Steve: Well, thanks very much. Weve always had our own peculiar standards and our own way of doing things and a lot of the time its caused a lot of friction among ourselves and whoever weve worked with because right from the word go, people want you to go for the easiest option. So, when youre starting a band, you say we want to write our own songs and they say no, no we want you to play other peoples songs. Finally, you write a song like Unguarded Moment, then people want to hear that. They say write more songs like Unguarded Moment. So weve always followed our own if you got the four members together, we couldnt even say exactly what it is its like a load of arguments and compromises between us to even try and know what were trying to do. But we have this sense of what wed like to think as integrity. Weve always done things we wanted to do and in all our back catalogue there would only be four or five songs that Id be really embarrassed about. But Im glad you say that. That really counts because when you see all the f**king bullshit being played on TV and radio you think God, why do I struggle so hard to maintain this kind of integrity nobody fucking notices or cares I might as well go out and do anything. Every now and again somebody says something like that and you think somebody does notice- it does mean something to somebody that we dont just do anything were still trying.
Whammo: Well, Im in a great position in that Im given a free hand to concentrate on the strengths of Australian music, being rock and alternative acts. Considering that, The Church is very much one of our buzz bands. Youve got a great following in America. Was that mainly a result of that Under The Milky Way period?
Steve: I think thats when it really happened. Something happened with that song and that time: 1988. I have so many people come up to me in America and say that song defined something for me- when I hear that song I remember the first time I rooted a girl or the first time I went to University or the first time I borrowed my fathers car or the first time I took LSD. Theyve always got that kind of feeling when they hear that song. I think that was when we hooked a lot of our long-term fans.
Whammo: It must be cool to have pre-empted the DIY situation thats becoming do popular now. When did you start getting into that?
Steve: Well, that happened out of necessity really when the mainstream record companies started looking at us in the early 90s and said I think weve squeezed this tube of toothpaste as far as it goes. That was basically all we had left- to do it ourselves. Its like the thing of making a raw album. Some people like it, some dont. Theres some wonderful aspects of being DIY: nobody telling you what to do, you dont have to meet those bloody fat American bastards with gold chains around their hairy chests, saying listen Steve, I think you want to write some You know? On the other hand theres huge advances and flying around the world 1st-class. Thats pretty good as well. You know, lifes likewell, whatever you get, youve got to pay for it in another way. If youre with the big record companies, theyre always interfering and if youre DIY, then you dont have the financial clout. Youre just constantly on a boat going across an ocean, readjusting your course all the time as each new thing happens. As you spring a leak or the sail falls down or if a wave comes or if a shark starts circling, youve got to readjust all the time and we just spend all our f**king time arguing and theorising and talking about how should we do this or how should we do that or how should we get this across. Its such a full-time thing. Its unbelievable. It takes up all your time, thinking what are we going to do with this thing?
Whammo: I thought you guys were living in different parts of the world, though.
Steve: Well, Martys living in America at the moment but the other three of us are living in Sydney. But it doesnt matter where youre living, you still always have this dialogue going on. Its just never-ending.
Whammo: (laughs) And youve been arguing and theorising for a long time.
Steve: I know! I was just down at a caf and one of our roadies said something about a song were playing and bang: everyone was off; arguing and talking and swearing. I was thinking I cant believe weve been doing this for so long!
Whammo: It must be part of your secret to success.
Steve: I guess so. Weve always talked a lot. I guess theres bands where people come in and say youre a f**king c**t, I dont want to be in the band anymore. Were not like that. Everything that happens- theres a five-hour discourse on it.
Whammo: Well, its good to be like that rather than be pent-up and frustrated.
Steve: Oh, theres plenty of that as well (laughs). Its very intense because we are trying to maintain our integrity and the whole force of this world is trying to make us lose our integrity. For example, someone rings up and says would you like to be on our TV show- youll play to ten zillion people across the world. We say yes, yes, yes we would. They say oh great, but youve got to play Under The Milky Way and were like well, we wanted to play a song off our new album. They say no, youve got to play Under The Milky Way. So then you think: whats more important: maintaining our integrity and saying 'f**k you' or going on the show and letting them tell you what to play? Usually we go for maintaining our integrity and saying f**k you. But every time you do that, theres a little bit of a cost to pay as well.
Whammo: Its been great chatting to you Steve. Ive been really enjoying Forget Yourself.
Steve: Did you write the review of that album?
Whammo: Yeah.
Steve: That was a fantastic review and you know what? The day I told you about, when I was miserable, that was the one thing I said to my wife: Whammo gave us a great review so thank you very much for that.
Whammo: Im glad I could cheer you up.
Steve: You did. |
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 THE CHURCH
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cd
Forget Yourself proves the impossible; that a band can exist for 23 years, consistently producing credible sounds without disappearing up their own backsides or tarnishing their name with transient musical whims. This album represents the veteran troupe as a unanimous agreement on ideology; the same idea we loved in 1980. Forget Yourself blends a magnetic brand of pop, crushes it with raw distortion and adds a psychedelic garnish to arrive at the definitive trademark sound that has attracted a truly global following for this seminal act. Recorded at Spacejunk and produced by Tim Powles, the whole LP is beautifully tarnished by a raw edge that contradicts the sweet harmonies and melodies. It adds credence to the notion that The Church's career is working in reverse, powered by a DIY philosophy that protects the group from outside influence and purifies the sound. But the true appeal is always in the combination of 4 fine songwriters blending their best ideas to arrive at a supreme compositional quality. Sealine's opening wall of distortion is the most epic sound I've heard this year. It literally left me dazed and prepared me for the 14 prime tunes on Forget Yourself. After the first single, Song In Space, I discovered my new favourite song, The Theatre And Its Double, which breaks down to hushed vocals and lightning finger-picking to achieve the level of quality I call 'goose bump material'. Lay Low finds The Church rolling like a well-oiled machine with Powles driving the chorus and adding some lush offbeat snare-work to the quiet moments. It's the carefully planned dynamics and variety of textures that makes this LP one of the best albums for 2003 and there's no doubt the obsessive fans will be sated, at least for the moment. Forget Yourself, rather than exhibiting the craft of an act in its twilight years, suggests that The Church have much more to offer: much, much more.
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 THE CHURCH
Add to basket. Normally ships within 10 days $26.95 (US $16.66) (UK £9.31)
video in pal format
(100 mins) The Church live at Sydney's Enmore Theatre recorded during their Australian 'Preist=Aura' tour. This 100 minute concert is an exciting and momentus document of the band at its creative peak on tour in Australia.
Please note: This video is PAL format, which is suitable for play in Australasia, most of Europe and the UK. If you live in the US, Canada or other country where the NTSC format is used, please purchase the NTSC version of this video also available on Whammo.
Also available in NTSC format
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 THE CHURCH
Add to basket. Normally ships within 10 days $26.95 (US $16.66) (UK £9.31)
video in ntsc format
please be aware that this item is currently on back order, there may be a delay before we can make shipments on this title
(100 mins) The Church live at Sydney's Enmore Theatre recorded during their Australian 'Preist=Aura' tour. This 100 minute concert is an exciting and momentus document of the band at its creative peak on tour in Australia.
Please note: This video is NTSC format, which is suitable for play in North America. If you live in Australia, the UK or other countries where the PAL format is used, please purchase the PAL version of this video also available on Whammo.
Also available in PAL format
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AFTER EVERYTHING NOW THIS
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 THE CHURCH
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After nearly 21 years The Church show no signs of compromising their vision. This eagerly awaited album was proceeded by the single 'Numbers' released in October of 2001. After Everything Now This is an absorbing and melodramatic collection unmistakably The Church. Bound to be one of the best albums 2002 has to offer!
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ALMOST YESTERDAY 1981 - 1990
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 THE CHURCH
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The Church have inspired an almost religious devotion in their fans, having reached not only many an Australian heart, but many European ones as well. The reasons are here in this compilation. Mesmerising from start to finish, their trademark electric soundscapes are in evidence on Tantalized and the compelling Constant In Opal. Pop tendencies are found with the classic Unguarded Moment and gorgeous Electric Lash. Covering phase one of their brilliant career, this is a perfect collection - both for the novice and the converted.
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BLURRED CRUSADE, THE (2CD EDITION)
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OF SKINS AND HEART (2CD EDITION)
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 STEVE KILBEY
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With each fresh release from Steve Kilbey, whether it be a solo project or with the Church, Whammo is always inundated with enquiries. It might have something to do with the fact that Steve Kilbey is an under-rated genius. Freaky Conclusions is a glimpse into the development of Kilbeys creative talents through the early years of the Church. 80 tapes of Steves home recordings made between 1980-84 were found in what could be likened to an archeological dig of historical proportions and now after much fuss and technical sprucing 13 songs are ready for display. Freaky Conclusions is an absolutely essential release for Church fans and the multitude of obsessive enthusiasts who religiously follow the solo careers of each member.
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 STEVE KILBEY
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Steve Kilbey is best known as the man behind the Church, but he has certainly made a mark for himself as one of Australia's best songwriters through his solo work. Dabble is Steve Kilbey's first new material since the release of 'Remindlessness' back in 1990. It features 14 new tracks recorded in the US, and is lyrically evocative and haunting. Dabble contains Steve Kilbey's most direct and accessible song writing, full of imagery both mundane and fantastic. Continuing in the theme of past works, Dabble explores the elastic nature of experience, venturing to a realm where the boundaries of understanding stretch and blur. Undeniably his best album yet!
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 STEVE KILBEY
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Recorded live at Bondi Beach (Sydney) early in 2000, Acoustic and Intimate beautifully captures a warm and generous performance by Australian music legend Steve Kilbey, formerly of the Church. Tracks recorded include Providence, Almost With You, My Little Problem, Buffalo, Under The Milky Way and (especially for the collectors) the first song Steve ever wrote. Eighteen tracks in all and an absolute delight for any fan of the Church or Steve solo.
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REMINDLESSNESS (REMASTERED)
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 NOCTORUM
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One of the beauties of creativity is its ability to morph with the style of others to form a unique blend: a new voice, a new sound. The travel-weary Marty Wilson-Piper has combined forces with Dare Mason and the result is a whimsical journey, both geographically and musically. Sparks Lane has no fixed address - its lyrics drift across countries and seas - but cohesion is achieved with the subtle arrangements, the respect for dynamics and the ability to communicate the wandering subject matter. Wilson-Piper's voice is so clean and true, only retaining the odd imperfection to prove its personality and the conversational tone adds to the 'thereness' achieved on Sparks Lane. The towering layers of melody on My Museum provide a highlight but this LP rarely demands attention, preferring instead to wait for you to join in. Musically, the focus is cruisy and country paced but instrumentally, Sparks Lane successfully combines classical, electronic and folk elements without sounding contrived: every instrument finds its perfect place within each track. It may be in the form of the shuffling beats found on Ask Again or the distorted build-up of Things To Do And Be but diversity simply adds colour to the music of Noctorum, never distracting the listener from the strength of this release: the songs.
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IN REFLECTION (RE-MASTERED)
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THE CHURCH: US TOUR DATES
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March
3.....Variety Playhouse Atlanta, GA
5.....The Birchmere Alexandria, VA
6.....Trocadero Theatre Philadelphia, PA
7.....Rams Head Tavern Annapolis, MD
8.....The Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
9.....Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA
11....The Magic Stick Detroit, MI
12....House of Blues Chicago, IL
13....Shank Hall Milwaukee, WI
14....First Avenue Minneapolis, MN
17....Shattered > Show Cancelled Columbia, MO
18....TBA Kansas City, MO
19....Bluebird Theater Denver, CO
20....Club DV8 Salt Lake City, UT
22....Crocodile Cafe Seattle, WA
23....Dante's Portland, OR
25....TBA Sacramento, CA
26....Slim's San Francisco, CA
27....House of Blues West Hollywood, CA
28....The Coach House San Juan Capistrano, CA
30....'Canes San Diego, CA |
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