Ah Rocket Science… I’ll never forget seeing their film clip to ‘Burn In Hell’ on Rage late 90’s. Amongst the Korns and the Limpy Biscuits it was a breath of fresh air. I’ve been a mad fan for them ever since.
It’s great to see them celebrating their 25th year together and a brand new album ‘Push Play’ out now on Cheersquad Records.
Ads & I sent them a few Q’s and I try my best not to flirt with my all time favourite bass player, Dave Gray.
Rick
Was this album any easier to make than 2019's Snake’?
PAUL: Yes and no. it was done very differently. "Snake" was recorded mostly live once the songs had been fully developed in rehearsals.
Push Play was recorded bit by bit, as as the songs were developing and without much full band rehearsal. it was also recorded during the pandemic, which meant we only had small windows to work together. This meant a lot of work was done via emailing of home demos.
The new album doesn't have anywhere near enough theremin. Are there any plans to do a theremin plays Rocket Science album?
PAUL: Ooh, contentious! Theremin appears as and when required by the songs. So far no plans to do a "Theremin Plays Rocket Science" but that is a fantastic idea! We would all need to learnt to play it first though. Apart from Roman, of course!
You're releasing a new line of scented candles called 'Push Play to Shimmy & Shake'. How do you achieve that aroma?
PAUL: It's a trade secret.
Your band appeared in my life around the same time as UK shows Big Train, Fast Show & League of Gentleman: Royston Vasey. Are you fans of these shows? Who are your favourite comedians?
PAUL: Yes, I like all of those shows! However, my favorite comedian is Dianne Morgan. I feel it's a great loss to humankind that she wasn't in League of Gentlemen.
How has the tour been so far? We can’t wait to see you in Geelong!
PAUL: The Tour has been a hoot! Faces new and old, bedding in new songs live, eating new and strange foods. Sleeping in your clothes because the bedsheets are frightening. It's all gold!
We love Geelong, the town, it's history and the incredible music that has come from there. Can't wait to play there again! What should we have for dinner?
What are your favourite album covers?
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath.
Go Bo Diddley
Rocket Science Push Play
Favorite album art artist?
Hana Brenecki.
Roman, has living with an acquired brain injury changed your approach, or that of your bandmates, to songwriting, rehearsing or performing?
ROMAN: Well, from my perspective, living with an ABI is about managing everything differently. And yes, during my recovery, my songwriting was compromised. When you can't do things the same as you initially could, you must work out and be satisfied with what you can do. It's about ability, not disability. Luckily, I managed to keep it together enough to be in a band, but I wasn't okay for a long time; it's okay now, fortunately. I can't speak from the other's perspective, but that's how it was for me. Put it this way, I feel blessed to have such patient bandmates.
Roman, you were school friends with Tim Hemmensley. Did you ever see him play in Geelong? What was it like growing up with him?
I saw Tim play shows from when we were in Royal Flush together at the tender young age of ten until he died in 2003. But, unfortunately, I never witnessed Tim play at the Barwon Club, mainly because I don't live in Geelong. I saw a Bored show at the Barwon Club around 1994, but unfortunately, without Tim. I remember Dave Thomas breaking the neck of his guitar into two pieces, and his arm, for that matter, but Tim had already disbanded.
I first met Tim at school around the age of seven. His creative ability was intense from a very young age, Tim wrote plays, had his own Fanzine - 'Punk Purge', played bass, read extensively, he wore interesting clothes and acted differently from the beginning." He was my friend and I will always miss him.
Dave, you are my favourite bass player ever!! Who are your idols?
DAVE: Oh wow, what a compliment! Thank you. Although I don’t have idols as such, there’s an endless supply of bass players, bass lines and sounds that inspire me to keep learning. Consciously and unconsciously, I mash up all kinds of ideas based on bass (and non-bass) sounds love. I naturally gravitate towards rock bass styles, not that I shun any other styles.
As for names, I’ll say Dave Alexander and Ron Asheton from The Stooges are two of my fave bass players. When I was 19, the first music I ever heard on LSD (an intensely strong trip) was Fun House. Dave Alexander’s basslines on that album oozed like lava, which is fundamental to how I’ve approached bass ever since. Ron’s bass on I Got a Right, I’m Sick of You and Scene of the Crime (and the entire Raw Power album) are groovy and tough. I channel this approach whenever I think a song needs it, which seems to be almost every song.
John Entwistle is the greatest of all. His isolated bass tracks on Won’t Get Fooled Again and Baba O’Reilly (known as Ox Cam) make you realise complacency isn’t an option. It’s a masterclass in textures, technique and sonics. If only I could have stood a couple of metres from his amp stacks while he performed.
I could bang on for eons about the people below, but will spare you. In random order:
Dennis Dunaway (Alice Cooper)
Steve McDonald (Redd Kross)
Mick Quinn (Supergrass)
Keith Olsen (The Music Machine)
Ian Wettenhall (The Philisteins)
Ian Rilen (X)
Boris Sudjovic (Scientists)
Billy Bass Nelson (Funkadelic)
Carol Kaye
Dee Dee Ramone
Larry Graham (Sly & The Family Stone, Betty Davis)
Leigh Underhill (Tyrnaround)
Lemmy (Hawkwind)
Casey Anderson (The Carrie Nations)
Dave Christopher (The Plague)
John Stax (The Pretty Things)
Mel Shacher (Grand Funk Railroad)
Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath)
Poison Ivy (The Cramps) - A Date With Elvis LP
Tim Hemmensley (Powder Monkeys)
Bootsy Collins (Parliament, Funkadelic)
Johnny Franz (Scott Walker)
Plus the countless bass players I couldn’t even name, but whose basslines I adore.
What are your fondest memories playing Geelong?
DAVE: Playing at The Barwon Club with Guitar Wolf around 2001. Seji stage dove onto a near empty dance floor. The sound his head made when it hit the floor was as loud as the drums. In intense pain, rubbing his head for a few moments, he heroically strummed a chord on the 3 remaining strings and leaped back on stage to continue screaming into the mic.
What was the first band poster you ever put up in your bedroom?
DAVE: A Kiss poster, but I can’t remember which one. There ended up being quite a few on the wall.
What do you say to critics who think being in a band isn't Rocket Science?
DAVE: Although they might be right, a banal observation like that is a one way ticket to the bottom of the critic barrel - which is a deep, deep barrel.
See ROCKET SCIENCE at the Barwon Club this Saturday 4th November!
BANDCAMP: Rocket Science 'Push Play'
Thanks to Mad Dog Publicity