Tshitaki Goddam Jellyfish Interview

World Keeps Turning

Barrelling out of the illustrious rock n' roll crucible of Sydney's Northern Beaches, Tshitaki are an unrelenting assault of choppy guitars offering up a groundswell of in-your-face, turbo charged surf rock n' roll. As the band gear up for their album launch in March and get set to take their turbocharged rock n' roll on an extensive tour to push their baby out in to the big wide world, with World Keeps Turning to be available on all major streaming and downloading platforms, as well as a super limited release of 150 individually numbered vinyl pressings.

Keeping it to the bare essentials as a three piece, Tshitaki distil fuzz guitars over a tightly wound rhythm section creating a searing assault on your more genteel senses, divining their own unique brand of musical alchemy.

With the spirit of DIY infusing the recording and production of their highly anticipated sophomore album, World Keeps Turning, the band have jacked up excitement levels with the release of the first taster from the LP, single 'Surfing In The Sink', which recalls the buzzsaw sound of the Pixies, Husker Du and Dinosaur Jr.

Tshitaki release new album 'World Keeps Turning' independently on Friday 27th March 2020.

Interview with Paul Noaks

Question: How would you describe your music?

Paul Noaks: For the most part… high energy music with loud fuzzy guitar, hard hitting drums and catchy melodies with lyrics we hope some can relate to, heavily inspired by the day to day experiences living near the beaches and influenced by awesome amazing rock bands past and present. As much as we like to play loud, we don't mind bringing it down to a quiet level. For the most part, we come off the stage wrecked from giving the music everything we've got.


Question: Can you tell us about Goddam Jellyfish?

Paul Noaks: Jellyfish was a riff for a long time, and then one rehearsal in pre-production, Niko came out with the lyrics describing his experience while on a surfing trip in Indonesia where he got stung by a goddamn jellyfish! I wasn't there, but it sounded pretty horrible and kind of messed up his holiday. Niko's hands and ears were completely swollen; he was like that for days.

One of Nik's friends later told me, that once it was clear that the pain had gone away and Nik was going to be okay, the worst part had to explain to people that Nik wasn't actually elephant man's cousin.

I love the way Nik has captured that story in the song.


Question: Is there a particular message you hope listeners take from your music?

Paul Noaks: We've talked about video clip ideas for some of our songs, in that process it became apparent that we really felt that clips that try and literally represent the songs weren't what we wanted to do. We wanted to leave listeners free to interpret the songs as they find them. So I guess in the same way, we don't have a particular message to give, we just love playing our music and love to share it and are happy for people to find their own message if any in our music .


Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Paul Noaks: Short answer – Both!

We've put together our own rehearsal and recording studio, we get plenty of time to play. 'The World Keeps Turning' is our first recording that we have made ourselves. Having to make sure you get the consistent sound when strumming, or that constant crack when you hit the snare can be frustrating trying to make it perfect, but makes you better for when you do have to perform the songs live.

We have put together out own studio to give us flexibility and steer away studio crew who always say "if only we had more time". It definitely has had its challenges and is an ongoing learning experience, but really enjoyable at the same time. Playing live is always exciting as well and we have had songs evolve after recording. Overall, we are happy when there's a good turnout but always play just as hard when there's not.


Question: Which is your favourite song to perform live and why?

Paul Noaks: Inside Out would have to be one of my favourites; it changed completely during the recording process and kind of blossomed into a whole new song. As well as Waves and Goddamn Jellyfish, which go hand in hand when we perform, live and have become conjoined twins. Waves has a really nice flow and has bits and pieces of all of the styles we like to play in one song. It steps away from the typical 4/4 time signatures and we can really let go in that one.


Question: What should we expect from your upcoming tour?

Paul Noaks: Loud drums, fuzzy riffs and plenty of fun. We can't wait to travel up and down the east coast. Hopefully we will make an impression in new places, meet new people, experience new venues and you can expect a high-energy good and great vibe. Bring ear plugs, if you have them.


Question: If you could have anyone, in the world, attend a show, who would it be?
Paul Noaks: I think musically, Dave Grohl would be an amazing guy to have at a show. He seems like such a good guy as well as being like a mega superstar! I'd love to hear his feedback about our stuff... Yep bit of a band favourite I'd say!


Question: What is the story behind the band name?

Paul Noaks: Names have been a problem for us in the past, we have come up with some shockers or at least ones we really didn't actually like, but luckily one day Nik noticed a Shitake mushroom at the supermarket and he put the idea up for approval! We didn't want to become the "Shit-takers", so we swopped the spelling to Tshitaki and well Mushrooms are just cool.


Question: How did the band come together?

Paul Noaks: If I told you we met on Tinder you'd probably think I was lying… and you'd be right about that! But I wonder if any bands have formed through Tinder? For sure they would have!

Niko and Paul (bass) went to school together and have played in bands forever together and then we met Paul (drums) on Grinder! Actually that's not true either, but again, I wonder how many bands have met like that? We met Paul through well Nik met Paul drums first while helping in production for another band and then I chimed in soon after.


Question: What motivates you most when writing music?

Paul Noaks: Listening to music of all types, new and old, everyday experiences and sometimes stuff you just want to get off your chest.

Sometimes these song ideas are like a bad itch, they keep popping up and when you get into the right mindset to make sense of them. It's always great fun to bring a partial song to the rehearsal space and a lot of our songs have grown with us.


Question: Which music/artists are you currently listening to?
Paul Noaks: Lots, Tropical Fuck Storm, Manchester Orchestra, Steve Poltz, Tool, just to name a few along with some old favourites like Sugar, Paul Kelly and The Church have been seeing me through the last couple of months, a fair bit of variety on my most recent playlists.


Question: What or who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Paul Noaks: Nik has had a lot of influence from his family, his folks use to run a youth music theatre company, which he and I were both involved in I think it had a big influence in his Nik's song writing, It was huge music influence that we both shared through our mid-teens.

Gwarpy (a.k.a. Paul drummer) – his grandfather started teaching the basics with drums from about 10 years old. Playing with many bands in high-school, he was exposed to many different genres of music from other band mates and friends. Sometimes music reminds you of good times you have with people, and sometimes reminds us of struggling times. Ultimately, moulding us into who we are today.


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Paul Noaks: Dave Grohl, the guys a musical freak, and is wizard in any and all of his projects. His passion for music, ignites a spark in many musicians.

It would be such good fun to get into a studio with him and just bash out ideas and see what that energy brought out of us.


Question: What's a typical day like?

Paul Noaks: We all work full time jobs and balance family life. We try and make as much time as possible to get together to put our music together.


Question: What has been your favourite part of becoming a music artist?

Paul Noaks: It's a really amazing feeling putting songs together from nothing. Being able to collaborate with your mates is an amazing experience. Once the songs are out there in the world, they are here for good in some capacity. The way the song takes shape as the three of us nut it out is a great feeling. Playing live and letting all that energy loose it's so addictive, and probably the main cause of us being deaf.


Question: What's next, for you?

Paul Noaks: Next will be the album release, which will also be in tandem with the next single release. The itch has been pretty strong lately and I feel like there's a whole lot more music ready to be born in the not so far off. So, watch this space!


Question: Can you share your socials?

Paul Noaks: https://www.facebook.com/tshitaki/
@tshitaki/
https://tshitaki.bandcamp.com/releases


Interview by Brooke Hunter