ooc: I know it's fucking long. Read it, don't, whatever. I enjoyed writing it.
Keep Walking
The Q Interview: Clint Walkingshaw
Q is no stranger to interviewing Clint Walkingshaw, the more available to the media frontman of Pilot. In each interview he seems genuinely interested to discuss his plans and to consider any ideas the interviewer may put forward. Today he seems even more bright and receptive than usual. Often in Pilot's early year, interviews would be arranged at slightly odd locations. Perhaps in a nod to the past, Clint has arranged for this interview to be carried out at the beach.
Clint Walkingshaw: I've never been to the beach in England. That just struck me, just before my phone call with you so I thought we'd have the interview here. I find it fascinating that you go to the seasidie just because it's Summer, even when it's insanely cold.
Do you spend much time at the beach elsewhere?
CW: Not really, not as much as I'd like to. It's great weather for the beach in Australia obviously, and I go occassionally. It's great coz it's just like a bit of an excuse for everyone to show off what they got. That's good fun.
You seem genuinely excited about this interview?
CW: I'm real excited about what (Pilot are) doing at the moment. I've got my mojo back, you know. Creating music without trying to create an 'album' is really liberating. Ideas are flowing and I feel 17 again. Except with more talent and more experience. Also, having the money go to charity makes me feel really good about myself, you know?
Some critics have said that donating the money from the mp3 sales to charity is a cheap ploy to appear more relevant than you are?
CW: Well...I've got two things to say about that. First, it's potentially not cheap. Say we sell 100,000. And I think that's being pretty bloody conservative. That's $20,000 that's cost me roughly, that's four months' salary to some people. Secondly, and most importantly, if you can criticise someone for donating to charity I think you really need to have a look at yourself.
You say you feel more liberated making music now, in what way?
CW: I like to think Pilot has always been a band open to new ideas and open to making different sorts of music. Nevertheless, when you're making an album you go, will a dance song be out of place? Will an acoustic song fit in? If you're just making songs as their own entity it can be anything. We're exploring different types of songs. At the moment there's a dance song, a really angry song, an epic song that's our version of Stairway To Heaven...though not as good obviously. It's opened up doors and opened our minds and I feel like a kid in a candy shop. I feel like a kid who's been in a candy shop and has now been given the run of a whole candy factory and has complete control over what candy gets made.
Clint says all the talk of candy makes him want an ice-cream, so we wander along the beach to a cafe selling ice cream. Q gets a paddle pop, Clint gets a Giant Sandwich.
CW:Fucking hell. I used to eat these all the time at basketball weekends when I was a kid. Haven't had one in ages man.
There were times when you'd be under the influence of more than ice-cream during interviews.
CW: Hmm, that's true. I originally planned to be sober for all gigs and interviews, that probably hasn't happened. I was thinking it has with gigs, but that terrible Birdies performance comes to mind.
What are you still indulging in?
CW: Just booze. Haven't even smoked pot in, I dunno, months at least. I can't think. As far as I know no one in the band is doing anything but drinking these days.
Was it ever a problem do you think?
CW: Yeah...To a certain extent I guess. Stephen's pretty sure he was an alcoholic at some level. He has no problem not drinking it though, so maybe not, but he's drunk at insane levels in the past, especially after the first album. We've done some stupid things, smoked more dope and snorted more coke than we should at times. But we've come out the other side pretty good I reckon. If you're gonna be a rockstar you might as well do drugs, that was my thinking originally. Now sometimes I just want to play scrabble or watch the cricket with a cup of tea.
Q wants to change topics to Pilot's future plans but Clint is still thinking about the band's drug taking history.
CW: I suppose it's a bit ironic that we kicked Jay and Tristan out of the band for not doing drugs. It was more complicated than that obviously, but it's a popular story that it was because they weren't doing drugs with us. We've never done anything but pot and coke. And acid come to think of it. Mushrooms once as well actually. What does that leave? We haven't done heroin...or sniffed glue.
Moving back on to your music, do you think Pilot will ever make an album again?
CW: It's interesting you say that actually. We've always said, our minds are always open and the doors never shut on anything. Just yesterday we were talking about an idea for a concept album. It's pre-infancy at the moment. It's a zygote probably at this stage, but we're planning something.
A concept album? Will you ever make an album that isn't a concept album?
CW: It seems unlikely I guess. That's what the website is about. If you're just going to make a CD full of songs, why bother? It's a product of past technology and I think we can move on from that. I'm not saying everyone should and albums should be a thing of the past though. It's just, we've made 11 of them now, feels like time to do something new.
Is this plan B after your failed 'Band Open' idea? (a proposal Clint came up with earlier this year in which musicians from any band or solo acts could record songs together and sell them on a website with proceeds to charity)
CW: Yeah, I guess it's moving on from that. It's a real shame though, I really thought I was on to something with that band open idea. Oh well, I guess I'm a visionary you know, maybe a little crazy.
The traditional procedure is release an album, tour, release an album...How are Pilot going to work touring in?
CW: We see it as just a continual process of touring, resting, recording. Whenever. We want to get touring soon. We're having issues with venues. I'm keen to play smaller venues. Maybe the odd stadium, but mainly smaller crowds. There's some resistance to that. I think the motivation is mainly financial, as far as I can tell anyway.
Is that causing tension within the band?
CW: Only when we're discussing the tour. We put it aside when we're recording or hanging out and shit. I'm sure we'll come to a compromise soon. We'd love to do some shows with Archaic Couture too, something might happen there.
We get up to leave the ice-cream place and Clint walks with Q back to his car. His talking about organising a tour makes Q ponder how much work goes into managing themselves independent of the resources of a record label.
CW: There's times when it's a lot of work, but I really think it's worked for us. We've always felt under pressure to an extent when we've been with labels. We're grateful for what they've done for us but they might want an album by a certain time or might want our artwork to be a certain way. We're much happier to have control, even if it's a bit more work. There'd be no hope of fucking around choosing between smaller or larger venues if we were with a record company, we'd just be playing the stadiums. It's probably not for everyone but I think being independent works best for us.
Your most commercially successful album (The Leed Balloon) was done as part of a record company.
CW: That's true. But what I remember as being the only downside of that whole period of time was having to get approval for the artwork of the album and singles, and some of it being out of our hands. Inside Newtopia is our best record to date, and we were independent then. That album is just exactly what we wanted to say, musically, lyrically and in terms of the artwork. I think we go ok alone.
As he gets into his car, Clint has some final words for the interview. Maybe he's planned this summary all along, or maybe it's just come to him. Who knows?
CW: This whole idea's just something new you know. Maybe it'll be amazing, maybe it will come to shit. But it's fun and it's beautiful, so what more could you want?
