Phone Sex with "Mickey" Tomlinson

Phone Sex with "Mickey" Tomlinson

Right well last week we (well me as an individual really) attempted our first ever phone interview for the website with Michael Tomlinson, lead singer and guitarist of Yves Klein Blue.

And we stuffed it up big time (well me again as an individual really). In my defence, I hate talking to my best friends over the phone let alone the frontman of one of my favourite bands, so it was destined to fail before it began. And it wasn't the worst interview the world has ever seen, in fact it would have been completely fine if I was 40-years-old, writing for The Age newspaper and had never heard of the band. Boring, standard questions, boring standard interviewer. But we will live and learn. I have banned myself from further phone interviews. But enough about me. The man of the hour is Tomlinson. Him and his band of merry men have just wrapped up work on their debut record 'Ragged And Ecstatic', which drops on June 26th.

'Getting Wise' is the first track to be released from the album, and here's what Michael had to say about the song:  "it's really about deciding what you want to be, and what you want to do with your life. We're told when we're like 15 or 16 that we have to start choosing subjects at school that set us up for what we want to do at uni that set us up for a job and career. I thought it was an absolute crock of shit that I had to decide what I wanted to be when I was 16. Alot of people are so daunted by this task that they keep changing. But if you keep getting 2 steps of your way into a journey and then bowing out and going back to the start, you'll never get anywhere..."

On recording the album in L.A: "It was incredibly intense. And very rewarding. The studio experience was very confronting. Our producer Kevin was very down the line when he thought an arrangement wasn't working or whether a song has a part missing. His role was to tell us when he thought something wasn't working, and that was not pleasant. But this intense analysis and focus on our work really gave rise to what we think is something that surpasses what we have previously ever done. That was the final 5% between something we would have been very proud of and that we thought was great, to something that we were exceptionally proud of and that we never thought we could do." 

On the sound of the album: "In the quality of the sound, we've got alot more vintage. I guess it's alot more raw and natural sounding which we really dig. On a musical level, our listening has really exploded, and we've been listening to everything from reggae soul to New Orleans funeral jazz to 80's punk, and you can really tell. There's more ideas, there's more grooves and there's more light and shade. We think it's all cohesive and that it all works together and tells the same story and feels bonded together." 

On Touring Overseas: "We went through New York and L.A, before getting over to London and the U.K and it's been a tremendous but huge month. I mean, doing our album artwork, listening to the masters, sequencing the album all at night after we'd get home after the shows because that's office hours back in Australia, and playing shows in the U.S and U.K, each day was like living 2 days."

On the Sydney & Melbourne Single Launch Shows: "They were very very very great. For the melbourne show we were still on london time, so there was a huge build up for that one cause we were all so tired and the minute we got on stage, it was just brilliant to be back home. And murray from The Wiggles was there - that was so good. They were both really packed. It just really hit us how nice it was to finally be back home."

On The Upcoming Tour: "We're just going to do what we do. We'll be playing the record. PLus we're touring with the philly jays (Philedelphia Grand Jury) so I'm sure there'll be a few suprises once our personalities mingle. We feel more confident than ever in our songs and we're gonna play the record and mean it.  

We're catching up with the boys when they play their hometown gig at the Brisbane Powerhouse on June 26th, and Michael promised to wear his nice underwear. And I promise to not be as shit this time round. I cannot rave on enough about how great this gig is going be. Tickets are only $15 or something stupid like that. Absolutely cannot wait. -JB-

For all tour dates check hither.

For the YKB myspace click hither.