A kangaroo hops past Zack Carper as he chats with me recently, earning a slightly bewildered, Holy shit!, from the FIDLAR guitarist and vocalist. Although the band is set to travel around the country over the next few weeks, Carper’s been in Australia for a little while already; surfing, road tripping and producing some new tunes for Dune Rats being the name of the game.
“It’s great,” he says of the last week or so in studio. “They’re very creative people and it’s pretty unreal how they all work together. I’ve never really seen that with a band; it’s usually like, one dude running the show or something with the band but with them, they all work together.”
“It’s very rare to find that in a band,” Carper says of the Brisbane trio’s reckless, yet focused attitude. “Usually, bands try to change stuff up, you know? But they’re just sticking to their guns and it’s amazing. It’s crazy how infectious their mood is. You just cannot be bummed out around that. That’s what I wanna capture more than just good songs and stuff like that. They just have this thing with their music that makes you want to just smile, you know?”
The two bands having formed a fast bromance during recent touring spells in the US, Carper might not be able to remember how FIDLAR and Dune Rats came across one another, but he’s stoked that they did.
“We were actually talking about it the other day,” he laughs. “We don’t remember being with each other. It was really funny, we just went around in circles for a while. Underneath, whether it’s the scene or whatever, there’s always this thing about punk bands and rock bands and garage bands, where it’s all about image and being ‘cool’. You want look like you’re not trying hard. There’s a bunch of factors to it but what drew me [to them] was that they didn’t really care about it. They just kinda did themselves; any band that I’ve worked with has done that.”
“One of the first things I ask when people want work with me is, ‘What do you wanna sound like?’ and if they say, ‘FIDLAR,’ then I’m like, ‘Alright, dude. I can’t work with you.’ That’s not what I do, you know? I want them to sound like who they are. With these guys, it’s all about the vibe and positivity. It’s just crazy how stoked and nice they are. It’s awesome.”
As for where Carper is with new FIDLAR material? There’s an enthusiasm behind his voice as he opens up about returning to the studio with the band, especially after having spent the last year on the other side of the mixing desk, producing for other bands.
“Hopefully we’ll have another record recorded this year.” he says. “After the Australian tour, I’ve gotta get back into the studio and I gotta start working on FIDLAR stuff. I took a break, I produced for five bands in the past year so I need to get back in FIDLAR world, to be honest. I’m really excited – I think I needed to produce some bands to kind of get my chops back up; experiment with sound and see how different people do different things. It was a necessary venture that I had to do. There’s only so much of ‘me’ I can handle!”
“The last record that we put out was done in a totally different way,” he admits. “We went to a studio and recorded it with a producer; I loved it and it had to be done that way. It was one of those things where it had to be done like that, but I’m really looking forward to getting a place again. I’m gonna try and buy a little warehouse space and create my own little world. I guess it’s a weird thing. I love music and stuff like that, but I’m also dabbling in other things that are band-related, like T-shirts or drawing and painting, other creative ventures. Somehow, trying to tie that all into FIDLAR, that’s the dream.”
Before all of that can start though, FIDLAR’s sizing up a huge festival tour with Laneway just around the corner. It’s been a little while since we’ve seen the boys do their thing and with their 2015 album Too primed to present to fans, Carper and his FIDLAR brothers are set to bring some of their best yet. Carper talks about their return to Australia as if they never really left, which seems to be a sentiment felt by a lot of Californian bands in particular. Whether it’s the waves, the weed or the women out this way, there’s something about the laidback Australian culture that strikes a familiar chord – something Carper agrees with fully.
“I went on a one week road trip before I jumped into the studio with Dune Rats,” he says. “I’m glad that I did that, because I understood a little bit more about where they’re coming from. It’s funny, you stop by this beach town and you’re like, ‘Wow, if you don’t surf, then you are bored as shit!’ Let alone if you’re into music, it’s just grim!”
“We’re psyched,” he says of the band’s upcoming Laneway shows. “It’s always been just a crazy blast when we go to Australia. There’s something about Australia for me, it’s a little close to home. I’m surprised that I haven’t really just moved here yet, because there’s just something. I went on the Great Ocean Road for a week and I just surfed. I was like, ‘Oh wow, this is kinda what I like to do.’ I love Los Angeles but I work a lot there, you know? That’s where a lot of my work is so coming out here, there’s just a different piece of life here. It’s really awesome.”
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FIDLAR will be appearing at all dates of this year’s Laneway Festival, as well as dropping live sets at the official after-parties in Sydney and Melbourne.
February 5th | Harts Mill, PORT ADELAIDE
February 6th | Brisbane Showgrounds, BRISBANE
February 7th | Sydney College of the Arts, SYDNEY
February 7th | Oxford Art Factory, SYDNEY
February 13th | Footscray Community Arts Centre, MELBOURNE
February 13th | Max Watt’s, MELBOURNE
February 14th | Esplanade Reserve and West End, FREMANTLE
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