EMQ's

EMQ’s With Spacegoat

EMQ’s With Spacegoat

Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Australian Alternative Metal band, Spacegoat. Huge thanks to their Vocalist/ Lyricist, Ez, for taking part. 

What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?

Hey! I’m Ez, and I take care of the vocals and lyrics. Spacegoat has been doing its thing for around six years now; There’s no real exciting back-story behind how we formed, we’re just a bunch of mates who came together with a common goal of creating music. We are very fortunate to all live really close to one another, and I think that has made us quite a tight knit ensemble, both in the musical sense and as friends. 

How did you come up with your band name?

It was a simple misinterpretation of the word “scapegoat”. Spacegoat was obviously immediately dubbed as being way cooler! We love the name because we think it’s fairly ambiguous. Some band names give off a certain “vibe”, but we think Spacegoat could really be anything, and it seems to grab people’s attention. It’s a fun name, and we’re a fun bunch of people so it suits us perfectly. 

What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?

We are from Central Victoria, Australia. We live fairly close to our state’s capital, Melbourne, and the metal and rock scene there is terrific – arguably the best spot for live music in the country. Of course, things took a knock when the pandemic shut everything down, and I think the scene will be recovering from that for some time, but the spirit is there. For smaller bands, like ourselves, it can be a bit of a struggle to get traction because while the scene is great, it’s also relatively small, so to get some of the bigger opportunities can be hard. But in all honesty, we just love writing and playing, and we have a ball if the room is packed or if there’s only a small crowd. Of course, we’ll continue to strive to play bigger and better shows and push our music as far and wide as we can get it to go.

What is your latest release?

We have recently released a single titled ‘Earthquakes’. It’s been a great feeling starting the new year off with this release; we have been sitting on this song for longer than we had hoped and so there’s an element of relief that it’s finally out in the world, but we’re also excited that people are hearing this song because we’re really very proud of it. We worked with a new producer on this song, Chris Themelco, and we feel he really elevated us to new heights with what we could achieve sonically.
We self-produced the music video and have had some great feedback on that as well! We filmed it in the dead of winter, and contrary to popular belief, Australia isn’t always hot. There are scenes where we are falling backwards into a lake and the water was absolutely, bone-chillingly icy!

Who have been your greatest influences?

We all have such a varied array of influences. For me personally, I have vocally taken a lot of inspiration from singers like Sandra Nasic, Corey Taylor, Lacey Sturm, Daniel Johns and Cinder Block, and much of my heavy music foundation was forged during the Nu-Metal era of the late 90’s and early 2000’s. All the members of the band are of similar ages, so we all grew up around that time listening to a lot of the same stuff; Grunge, Punk and the huge variety of Metal sub-genres. And of course, we have influences that aren’t heavy, also. Some of us also enjoy rap, reggae and hip hop, classic rock, electronica and pop. I think if you’re not vast with your musical tastes you completely limit yourself to how good of a musician you can manage to be. 

What first got you into music?

I don’t really know. I feel like I’ve just always had it in me. I still remember the first “song” I wrote. I was probably 11 years old, or thereabouts. I was crazy about horses when I was a little kid, so I wrote a very passionate song about this horse that I loved. Maybe I should dig it up out of the archives and present it to the band?! Horses are pretty Metal, right? Ha ha! I always had a drive to perform. Any opportunity I could get, I was singing for people. I would ask teachers if I could sing for my class when I was in primary school. In high school, I made friends with the punk kids and would try to talk them into letting me do guest vocals in their bands. There was no defining moment that got me into music, I think I was born with the desire already there, planted inside me. 

If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?

On a smaller scale, I’d love to collab with friends of ours Twelve Years Today, or Tom from Patient Sixty-Seven. Aiming slightly higher, it would be amazing to do something with Emmy from Redhook or Marcus from Northlane. And if we’re talking about impossible dreams? Corey Taylor or Jonathan Davis, for sure. 

If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?

There are so many amazing festivals and I’d be happy to play any (or all!) of them! Here in Australia, we have Good Things Festival and Unify, either of those would be completely amazing. Unify is such a vibe, it’s a two-day camping affair and to be part of that would be wild. As for festivals overseas, Download UK would be badass. That always has such an epic line up.

What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?

I don’t think I’ve ever received a gift from a fan. If someone is reading this and feels like sending me a gift – weird or otherwise – go right ahead! Then I’ll have a story if I ever get asked this question again! Ha ha!

If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?

You matter and your story matters. Forge ahead and find passion in something that puts a fire in your belly and gives you a sense of purpose. 

If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?

Necromancy is totally what I’d be doing if I wasn’t doing music. Let’s resurrect Bowie, please. Although I’m not entirely convinced he didn’t just board a spacecraft and return home. If I need a plan B, then it would be Steve Irwin. I know he’s not a rock star in the musical sense of the term, but in my eyes he was a total rock star with what he was doing for wildlife and land conservation, and let’s be honest, the planet probably still needs him. His death was a tragic loss to humanity. 

What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?

I love that it’s an outlet for anything I’ve got going on. If I am feeling shitty, singing or writing will always make me feel better. Band practice is like therapy to me. We practice every Sunday, and sometimes by the end of a week I can feel really drained or frustrated. Band practice never fails to turn a bad mood around for me! I also live for the buzz of being onstage. There’s nothing like the high you feel when you’ve just finished a gig. Performing is kinda like a drug for me!
As far as what I hate… I suppose I hate that I can’t do it as a full-time profession! Unfortunately, the bills, they’ve gotta be paid and music isn’t able to be my bread and butter. 

If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

I’d love to see local bands being given a bit more of a chance. It feels like a lot of opportunities are handed out based on how many streams you have, or how many followers you have and things like that, but we all know playing the game with social media and music platform algorithms is a real headache and so those numbers often are not a good reflection of how great a band actually is. 

Getting traction online is a never ending, uphill battle and it can be disheartening to be overlooked by promoters just because your numbers aren’t massive, especially when you know you’re a really good fit for a show or extremely capable of putting on a killer performance if you were just allowed the chance. And of course, we know the numbers drive up once you are exposed to more punters, and the only way that will happen is if you’re given the opportunities. I just find, at least around our area, you start to see the same few bands being given all the decent support slots due to this mentality, and it’s not like those bands aren’t worthy and haven’t worked their butts off to get there, but, yeah, I think I’d just like to see the wealth more evenly spread out, so to speak. 

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

“In Love And Death” by The Used. 

What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs, or Downloads?

Lots of people hate me for this but I’m all for downloads. I was a horrible CD owner! Ha ha! Always losing the covers, or putting the wrong discs inside the wrong covers, or getting them scratched. I love the convenience of having all my music on my phone, I can take it wherever I go, I can’t lose it or damage it. I understand the appeal of the collector’s aspect to the other mediums, but I don’t have enough storage space in my house as it is. The only thing I dislike about downloads is how album art isn’t as prominent a thing anymore. I used to like getting a new CD and opening up the sleeve to see the artwork and read the lyrics. There was a feeling in it that you’ll never get from seeing artwork on a screen or Googling the lyrics. 

What’s the best gig that you have played to date?

Oooh, that’s a hard one, we’ve played a lot of very fun shows! Whenever we play in our home town, Bendigo, that’s always a vibe, and we tend to really let loose and have fun with the hometown crowd. Our bassist, Kid, likes to hype them up by dressing up in stupid things like mankinis and what not… he’s great at razzing up the locals and making the night memorable. We recently qualified to play for a spot on the aforementioned Good Things Festival. That was a great night with a very receptive crowd, although we didn’t take out the ultimate prize, it definitely felt good to come close!
I’d like to think our best gigs are right around the corner…

If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?

Oh, I already answered that one earlier, remember? A necromancer! Ha ha! But seriously, I’m not even sure what I would direct my energies and passions into if it wasn’t music. Probably still something creative like writing or some form of visual arts. Or something really obscure like a mortician, a tarot reader or paranormal investigator. Maybe all of the above! H aha.

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

Billy Connolly, Henry Rollins, Russell Brand, Stevie T and Colby Brock. 

What’s next for the band?

We have two more singles to be released in the coming months. So, we’ll be shooting music videos for those and doing all the necessary promo to make sure they get heard far and wide. I’ll let you in on some insider knowledge, the next single is going to be more on the heavier side than Earthquakes.
We’re also setting our sights on more gigs, and hopefully making our way interstate in the second half of the year. We’re due to start writing again, and so we’ll most certainly be getting back in the studio somewhere in the year as well. It’s always busy, busy, busy! We don’t like taking breaks.

What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?

We can be found on pretty much all the social media platforms, so we like to let people choose which is their favourite to interact with us. We check them all and try to respond and interact with everyone who posts, shares and comments! The best way to find your way into our social media circles is by using our Linktree link, which is https://linktr.ee/spacegoatband 

Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun, a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll or a Tea Cake?

Ok, this feels like a trap! Here in Australia, we would call that a roll. Baps have a COMPLETELY different meaning over here, to do with certain parts of the female anatomy! Ha ha! Bun? I don’t know. A barm cake sounds kinda fun. Tea cake sounds posh, like something only the Queen would be allowed to consume. I dunno… I think I would need a visual aid to assist me in knowing if I’ve provided you with the right answer. Am I about to be ejected from the room via a hole in the floor? Have I failed? 

Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

No, thank you for giving me the opportunity for this interview! It’s been fun! The only thing I would like to add is just for your followers (if they got this far!) to check us out, especially our new song Earthquakes, and smash all the like and follow buttons on all the places. That really helps us out. And by all means, comment or message us, we love hearing from people and like to be as interactive as possible!

Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

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