Shawn ‘Harpoonist’ Hall and Matthew ‘Axe Murderer’ Rogers do more than evoke grisly nautical imagery. Armed with an arsenal or harmonicas, a mess of foot percussion and a road-worn Telecaster, the duo kick out raw and primal blues while infusing the genre with a jolt of renewed energy.
Just meeting up to play is a bit of a challenge as it’s quite a travel, especially for Hall.
‘We don’t have a ridiculous distance between us but we do have a salted body of water between us; that’s difficult. I am usually flying to Vancouver – I live in a town called Miniami – on an island; it’s an hour-and-a-half north of Victoria, and Matt is in north Vancouver. It means the time we allocate to play together is very funnelled and it’s concentrated. I moved to this island four years ago. It is a real quality-of-life choice; I have two little boys and the lifestyle here is amazing, but not so amazing for rock’n’roll! I spend a lot of time jumping on a ferry!’
‘Music wasn’t a career choice,’ says Hall, ‘but it has to become a career when you put kids in the mix you have to make it work for you!’
Although success comes at a price. It means Hall spends a bit more time than he’d like in airport lounges.
‘I spend a massive amount of time in lounges, and lounges are pretty much the most lonely places in the world. The energy is that they are generally type A people, usually people who behave themselves… I mean, where are the handjobs in these secret lounges…?’
Hall laughs. He’s funny. I get the feeling he’s going to really like Mullumbimby. Especially if he doesn’t like airport lounges.
The last visit to Australia wasn’t so inspiring for Hall, who ended up spending a week in Brisbane.
‘Canadians have a very different vision of Australia. It’s based on those who have left home and have come to live here. They come to roost in our mountain areas and they end up shagging all our Canadian women. I thought, great, going to Australia. It’s going to be wild. But Brisbane – well once you get over the tropical foliage, it felt like bankers by day and spankers by night, and not in a great way!’
Yep. He’s definitely going to Love Mullum Music Festival.
I tell him how jealous we are of the Canadian prime minister. It seems that most of the intelligent, empathy-loving world is in love with Justin Trudeau.
‘He came along at a time when it was so desperately needed,’ says Hall. ‘Our former prime minister was so business hungry and trying to close down arts and things that were good for the arts, draining the funding. When you get this guy in you know you are in different times. The former cabinet ministers would never have shown up to a concert of ours! A cabinet minister turned up to our gig recently! We didn’t know who she was, we were oblivious to her status; people were exclaiming, ‘Melanie Joly is here!’
Canada really nurtures its creative community. The level of government funding from province to province is really really impressive.
That sort of thing doesn’t exist in the states. The music industry and the circuit is far less cutthroat in Canada. We have a much more socially connective community minded country.’
Like their conversation, the music of The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer are unapologetic. And they love festivals. It’s where they believe musicians make their best music.
‘You get community in a festival – you aren’t alone in a hotel room after a show winding down by yourself, you are among your peers and that is where you thrive. It is where your heart makes a connection and you get to be in the community of people who are making music. You aren’t just there for a night. You are there for days – and that’s where you get stories… and you get to hang with the wild characters in the community!’
Tickets on sale now at mullummusicfestival.com.au or phone 6684 6195. Mullum Music Festival 17–20 November.
Full lineup for Mullum Music Festival:
Eilen Jewell (USA), Harpoonist and The Axe Murderer (CAN), Julien Baker (USA), Lior, Tash Sultana, Henry Wagon & The Only Children, Olympia, Gareth Liddiard (The Drones), Matt Andersen (CAN), Fourplay String Quartet, Suzannah Espie, Yirrmal, William Crighton, Bobby Alu & The Palm Royale, King Tide, Hat Fitz & Cara Robinson, The Wilson Pickers, Jordie Lane with The Sleepers, Epizo Bangoura (West Africa), Julia Jacklin, Sahara Beck, The Meltdown, Áine Tyrell, Allensworth (USA), Ethno Folk Orchestra, King Curly, Yeshe, TEK TEK Ensemble, Tina Harrod, Arakwal Dancers, Sal Kimber & The Rollin’ Wheel, Madeline Leman and The Desert Swells, Liz Stringer, The Buckleys, Mandy Nolan, Hamish Stuart: ‘Someone Else’s Child’, Round Mountain Girls, The Old School Funk Band, The Golden Mile, Ladyslug, The Button Collective, Shelly Brown, Honey & Knives, Mrs Miyagi, Lez Karski Trio, Tullara, Levingstone, The Hottentots, Two Lions, Ben Wilson and the Job Seekers, Aloha Baby, Dustyesky, Mario Queen of the Circus, Spaghetti Circus, Funmaker Silent Disco, Bush Dance, Wild Science, Roundabout Theatre, The Magic Bus, and more to be announced.
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