Scott Wilson

Country- and punk rock loving Scott Wilson is an Australian guitarist and member of the Dan Sultan Band (reviewed and interviewed for Music-News in July).
Having played well-received London gigs at Somerset House and Monto Water Rats, UK audiences are bound to hear a lot more of Scott and Dan Sultan in the future.

Claudia A. felt an in-depth interview with Scott in sunny Down Under was in order.

Music-News:
Scott, which other musical projects were you involved in before you collaborated with Dan Sultan, and what made you decide to stick with Dan?

Scott Wilson:
I started with punk / rock n’ roll bands when I was 14 years old and that’s where I stayed for a long time. I got sick of the band thing in my later 20s and started writing my own stuff in more of a country /soul kinda style and I planned to do a solo album. This was before every man and his dog were in an 'alt country' band. I reckon I can still make those clowns run back to the suburbs if I put a George Jones or Merle Haggard record on the turntable. I started a band playing early 50s R&B just for fun and to keep the skills up during the solitary writing time. It was a good opportunity to grease up my hair, put on my red silk dinner suit, get pissed and stir up the yobs in local pubs. Gina (our current keys player) was in that band. I met Dan around then and we started performing my songs as a duo at first. We worked well together and kept going. He loved my songs and inspired me to believe that we could do it.

MN:
Are Dan and you sharing the same amount of songwriting / composing duties?

SW:
I have a heap of songs so I get a few more in. We co write quite a few as well.

MN:
Do you know upfront what direction (bluesy soul, rock, country) a new song will take when you write it, or do you experiment with various styles first to see what works best?

SW:
Usually the song will choose its own style. Sometimes I might say to the drummer "Play it like Charlie Watts, but make it sound like the Troggs, too!", and somehow he will know what I mean. We have a great band.

MN:
What inspires you to your lyrics?

SW:
Anything can make it into a song. Often it’s people I know and interesting places I’ve seen.

MN:
Do you guys disagree sometimes on a composition or the musical style of a song?

SW:
If we don’t agree it generally wont happen until we do.

MN:
Are there any other instruments that you play aside from guitars?

SW:
Nothing but guitars really. I have a nice old piano but I am not very good at playing it. I have recently bought a pedal steel guitar and am currently struggling with that.

MN:
What are your musical influences?

SW:
So many!! In no particular order: Hank Williams, MC5, Sex Pistols, Jerry Lee Lewis, Eddie Cochran, RL Burnside, The Sonics, Link Wray, Rolling Stones, T-Rex, Gene Vincent, The Loved Ones, Tom Waits, Johnny Cash, Bobby Bland... I could go on.... My earliest musical memories are listening to glam rock with my eldest sister, my parents’ Bill Haley record and AM radio in the car. It all leaves an impression. We had a weekly music show in Australia called Countdown that my three sisters and I would watch religiously every Sunday afternoon.

MN:
What was the first record that you bought, and why?

SW:
I had a voucher from a record shop but not enough for an album, so I got three single 45s – ‘Another One Bites The Dust’ (Queen), ‘Can You Feel It’ (The Jacksons) and ‘Rock n’ Roll High School’ (The Ramones).

MN:
As a whole, would you say that Australia provides an ideal platform for the kind of music that you play, or does it vary from region to region and the various local scenes?

SW:
We have a good music scene here, especially in Melbourne. Our own music is quite broad in appeal, as we don’t stick to a particular genre. Maybe that could work against you but we are doing alright. We have played rock, country, world music and indigenous festivals and I don’t think many bands can do all that. We performed in China recently and they dug it, so we don’t see any limitations.

MN:
If you weren’t a musician, what other profession would you carry out now?

SW:
I don’t know... I don’t want to think about it. I’ve worked a lot of shitty jobs in the past and I’m not good at anything else but what I’m doing so lets hope it continues. The creative part is what I like; the performing and touring is what I have to do... I enjoy that part sometimes too, especially when I get to meet cool people like you!