Exposed Vocals Interviews Mark from GRAVEL SAMWIDGE

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

 

Mark: I was born in Darlinghurst in Sydney, Australia and than at the age of eight or nine moved to North Queensland, Townsville actually,

as early as i can remember my sister and i taped with our little tape recorder the Australian show Countdown , hosted by Molly Meldrum, of course you had to get everyone to shut up when it was being taped!

I think countdown plus a little show that was only on for one summer called Rockline which from memory was an almalgamation of The Old Grey Whistle Test and Top Of The Pops put together by the ABC had a major impact on me..oh those shows and another called EDGE OF THE WEDGE , which was more an underground show..EDGE introduced me to bands such as SCIENTISTS ..i believe that was when i decided i want to do this..play music that is..only thing is i had to figure out how to play!

 

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

 

Mark: Our Drummer at the time John Mcmanus came up with it and the inspiration was we were trying to describe music or something that was hard to swallow, hense, the name GRAVEL SAMWIDGE..we figured that was something that was hard to swallow!

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

 

Mark: i think online music sharing is ok within reason..obviously the artist should get some decent recompense out of it and yes we do give away our music for free..in fact i think there is some of our tracks available on our  bandcamp for free!

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

Mark: Well, we didnt at all make our music known for a long time..i think it was the death of our drummer that was the reason..but i would say just keep at it..play music for the love of it..not the financial rewards also definately dont do what we did..get your music out there..send your music across the globe..be confident in your ability and go for it..don’t let rejection get at you!

 

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

 

Mark: My songwriting process is usually very quick..i will tinker on the guitar and either come up with a chord progression or riff that tickles my fancy and record that to a little tape recorder..than i come back to it and buld on it or just write the song than and there…i get inspiration from stories that i am interested in..everyday life..for example suburbia..what goes on behind closed doors in suburbia

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

 

Mark: no we dont have a band website but intend to do one if it helps ..and other online platforms we use is our Facebook page, Bandcamp, Soundcloud and twitter of course..oh and maybe Instagram

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

 

Mark: I would set up a bigger studio actually! even though we already have one..thats probably work though so i would invite some of my favourite artists to play with us and pay them the appropriate fee or go on a UFO spotting expedition around the world or see the age-old sites around the world that have a possible ancient alien connection!

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

 

Mark: I think Bandcamp works well and of course Facebook and Twitter ..i think twitter and facebook are probs the best and of course nothing works better than sending you your music off whether its online or in the post..now we just gotta do that!

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

 

Mark: Gravel Samwidge are about to record our new album with just the working title of Intersteller Highway..plus my partner and i have a new outfit called Two Chevrons with Mitchel Perkins from Per Purpose and Clever..we are very excited about this

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

 

Mark: i would be a travelling UFO investigator! that or a childrens author

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

 

Mark: I dont really have responsibilities..well i do but not compared to other people..i dont have kids …etc..

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?

 

Mark: They should look forward to the new full length Gravel Samwidge album and an east coast tour of Australia!