At one point The Basics were recognized for being the hardest working band in Australia. Across a ten year period the trio clocked over a 1000 shows, received international screen features for their music (Scrubs and Californication), and built a loyal following both locally and overseas, yet they strangely divided local radio critics with their distinct flavour and amalgamation of music styles.
Since their planned hiatus in 2010, Kris Schroeder has been working for the Red Cross as an aid worker in Kenya, Tim Heath has spent his time working in film, and Wally De Backer has made an international name with his ‘other’ music project. Earlier in 2013, The Basics released a Best Of and a collection of rarities in the lead up to their much anticipated return to the live scene. One third of The Basics, Kris Schroeder, talks to More Than Disco about the band’s history on the music scene, and his recent work in Ukambani, Kenya.
Indie pop band Palorus Jack once described you as a band that was “45 years behind, but a million years ahead". Can you explain their analogy?
Futuristic dinosaurs of rock? Hell, I’d forgotten about that quote. I’d forgotten about that band. But yeah, I guess the music we played at the time was that sort of 60’s stuff, but I remember another quote which I still like from a reviewer in Beat Magazine: “They play 60's-style music, but they play it like they invented it,” which I think is pretty cool. Dunno about the million years ahead, but it sounds impressive.
For those who don’t know, your new album, Leftovers, is a collection of B-sides, demos and previously unreleased tracks. Which track should’ve seen the light of day but didn’t make it onto one of your previously released albums?
So Hard For You - that’s a kickass track. But we only ever did a demo of it. Although I have to say, that the demo sounds much more kickass and like us than most of the actual tracks we put out! I always wished Wally had finished his remix of With This Ship (labelled as the Downstares remix). That’s really got a great vibe.
Apart from your fans, do you think that the Australian music industry ever really got your music?
Nope. Even the industry people that seemed to like it and support it seemed to like it for reasons we couldn't relate to. Maybe that’s the million years ahead notion? We’re like the real-life Wyld Stallyns (Tim can be Eddie Van Halen).
You’ve performed over 1000 shows across a ten year period. What was the toughest gig you played?
Cripes, we’ve had a few. We really shipped ourselves around Australia and parts of the world on razor-thin budgets, sleeping on floors and eating dirt, so we’ve put ourselves through hell for our music. Definitely one of the toughest was in Goulburn (can’t remember the name of the hotel), but we pissed off some old guy during sound check who was trying to watch the races - he ended up crying, so I think there was something more to it. It was not long before one of those classic bar-fights erupted while we were playing Ryan Adams’ Shakedown on 9th Street. Then there was a guy playing tricks on his mate’s girlfriend and at one point he pulled the chair out from under her (champagne comedy, that). Of course, his mate didn’t take kindly to his girlfriend finding herself ass-down on the floor so he king-hit his mate, and then all hell broke loose. The whole pub was like a swarm of bees - flurries of punches buzzing past us outside, then back in, then out again. The only people left in the bar were some folk from Sydney who were passing through and decided to drop in. They were thoroughly amused and loved that we’d just kept on playing throughout. Very Blues Brothers-like. Wally then had to tolerate the chef who was now drunk performing a shonky a cappella version of Out Here In The Cold (from Gotye’s debut album, Boardface). It was all to our amusement.
Given the band’s planned hiatus (2010 – 2013), what aspects are you most looking forward to when the three of you unite again to continue The Basic’s journey?
Listening to The Bangles’ Eternal Flame together, hand-in-hand…it could happen. Honestly, I just look forward to us being mates and traveling around together again and just enjoying performing. We’re a good little band like that. We really support what we all do.
The three of you have been working on some incredible side projects outside the band. You've been working with the Red Cross in Ukambani (Kenya) at the moment on a two year project. What sort of work are you doing with the communities there?
I started out in food security but the area I work in is the desert for most of the year. They’re trying to build a local branch for the Red Cross so they’re less reliant on outside (usually international) funding. It gives them some freedom to help their own people do things the way they want to do them, rather than being endlessly dictated by everyone else.
Have you penned any songs during your time in Kenya which will make it onto future material for the band?
Good question. I have written a few but guess we’ll have to wait until the time comes and we’ll try them out. Tim wants to ‘get back’ to doing more 60’s rockin’ stuff, so we’ll see how it all balances out.
If the three of you could leave one last collective quote with the listeners of the world it would be…
Be excellent to each other.
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