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InAlternative had the pleasure of interviewing Melbourne-based alt-rockers Catholic Guilt. The band marked their return with a new single "Live For The Rush" off their upcoming sophomore LP due out later this year on Wiretap Records. In this interview, vocalist Brenton Harris discusses creative process, memorable shows, and pre-show rituals.
Tell us about your latest release Live For The Rush. What inspired this song? Was there anything unique about the creative process?
The song was inspired by a desperate longing to feel again after a prolonged period of emotional paralysis. The past few years were quite challenging on many levels and a lot of really difficult and traumatic stuff happened, on both a personal and societal level, yet it felt like I was never really able to process any of it. So lyrically it is an expression of that experience and that desire to feel the rush of life again. Musically it has quite a nostalgic vibe, with emotive storytelling drenched in some classic late ‘90s/early-00s punk and emo soundscapes. This was the first song that we’ve released that was written from scratch, in a room, with our new-ish guitarist/vocalist Megan Sidwell, so that was a really fun process for us creatively, exploring how to incorporate the unique characteristics of her guitar playing and her vocal tone and how those fit into our existing sound.
How would you describe your current sound? Which of your songs would you
recommend to first-time listeners?
I’ve always said that Catholic Guilt isn’t a sound, it’s a feeling and you’ll know it when you feel it. I still agree with that statement, but in more typical genre-based terms I’d say we’re a very honest, emotive modern alt-rock band with a punk ethos and a love for storytelling through music. For a five-song overview of our sound, I’d suggest "Live For The Rush," "Talking Fake," "Song Of The Renter," "Paper & Ink" & "Nothing."
What does your process look like when writing/creating music?
The creative process varies quite a lot for us, especially in the wake of the last couple of pandemic-impacted years, but typically I’ll have written some lyrics and have an idea of a melody and perhaps a few chords that I want to attach to it and I’ll bring that to Dean, who is a far superior musician to me and we’ll workshop an initial arrangement. We’ll then bring that into the room and build out the song as a group, doing pre-pro demos in Dean’s studio and testing the songs out live. We’ll then take them into the studio and work with our producers to refine them even more.
As for what inspires those initial ideals, those initial lyrics or melodies, they tend to come to me as a wave of inspiration, usually at the tail end of some heightened state of emotional duress or excess, which ties into the cathartic nature of our songwriting. I wish I knew how to conjure it intentionally, without having to live those experiences, but at present, I don’t. I can’t speak to what inspires the others to write, but I can say that the sheer volume of musical ideas that Dean can conjure is breathtaking to me and watching the way he, Megs, Ben and Michael play off each other in the writing room and live, always amazes me. They’ve got a bit of a special language, the rest of the band, sometimes at practice, I’ll just stop singing and watch and listen and be thankful for getting to create music with them.
Tell us about the Melbourne music scene. How would you describe it? What are the best parts about it? It’s amazing. Honestly, it is one of the most unique, diverse and supportive scenes you’ll find anywhere in the world. Music has always been a part of the core fabric of this city, as a result, a genuinely wild number of musicians live and play regularly here. No matter what night of the week it is or what your personal music preference is you’ll be able to find a gig that fits the bill. We really are very lucky to live in a city that has such an array of venues, ranging from small, community focused 50 cap bars to legendary dive bars, iconic mid-level rooms, a smattering of upper-tier venues and some seriously massive arenas. Punk and rock music both have such a strong history here too, so to be able to take our place on these stages and in some way contribute to the furthering of that legacy, is just awesome. Every now and then we’ll find ourselves in the greenroom of one of these gloriously sticky-carpeted rooms and see evidence that classic Melbourne-bred acts like The Living End, The Birthday Party, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, TISM, Bodyjar, or newer acts like Camp Cope or Amyl and the Sniffers have played that venue. We just get so stoked to be able to follow in their footsteps, if only for a night.
One of our favourite venues, The Last Chance Rock N Roll bar, is currently trying to raise enough money to buy one of the most historic venues in Melbourne, The TOTE in order to heritage list it and save it from the greedy mitts of developers. If anyone wants to help a punk-as-fuck group of people do something amazing and help to preserve a space for independent music in Melbourne, head over to Pozible and contribute.
What was the most memorable show you’ve played, and what was great about it?
We’ve played a lot of really enjoyable headline shows over the years and some equally enjoyable support slots and festival slots. The show that currently stands out to me is a support slot we had with Switchfoot a few weeks ago in our hometown of Melbourne/Naarm. It was in this 850-cap venue called Max Watts House of Music. We didn’t really know what to expect, because the two bands aren’t really an obvious fit, stylistically, but when we went on the place was completely full and the crowd turned out to be SO endlessly supportive and receptive of our music and our live show. It ended up being one of the best nights of our lives. We love the challenge of taking an unfamiliar audience and winning them over with our live show. Switchfoot were super nice to us too and that’s not always the case with bands at that level.
Do you have any pre-show rituals? How do you relax or celebrate after a live show?
I personally always go to one of my favourite local cafes (Melbourne is inarguably the good coffee capital of the planet) and just sit with an espresso or a pour-over and just let myself decompress from whatever else that I have going on in my life, and use that time to set myself mentally for the show. The moment I walk out of that cafe, I’m in the pre-show mode, which means, getting merch together, doing vocal warmups, hitting the venue, and singing the most random song I can think of at soundcheck (if we get one). If I’m interstate I’ll ask another band for a cafe recommendation or failing that, just the most hipster-looking person I can see on the street.
As for pre-show rituals as a band, we all do a bit of a vocal warmup together, then we tend to huddle up and do a version of the Mighty Ducks quack thing, but we say “meow” instead of quack, just to remind ourselves that cats fly together or something. The aftershow for me is usually a quick de-brief, grabbing a drink if we have a rider and heading to man the merchbooth. If we’re on tour we’ll head out and check out the local bars after that.
If you could get any artists to tour with you, dead or alive, who would be on the bill?
I can obviously only answer this for myself, but sticking with acts that are alive, in the hope that we might somehow speak it into existence, I’m going to say Jimmy Eat World, Against Me!, Thrice, The Living End, The Wonder Years with Teenage Wrist, Softcult and Eliza and The Delusionals alternating at openers. I feel like that would be a package that people would like to see and also one that’d be delighted to play!
What artists did you grow up listening to? Do they influence your music today, or did you branch to different styles?
I connected with music on an instinctive level as a young child, largely as a result of the influence of my two elder siblings. So I’ve been obsessed with it since I was a toddler. I distinctly remember being about three years old, running around the living room, doing my best to yell the rather age-inappropriate lyrics of the metal, punk, grunge and alt bands of that time period, and smashing away to Nirvana records on a bunch of biscuit (cookie) tins I’d arranged as a makeshift drumkit, and I’ve been obsessed ever since. Music has played a huge role in providing not only the soundtrack to my life and the force behind most of my most memorable and enjoyable moments, but it has also been the best friend I’ve ever had. So many times in my life when I’ve needed someone to understand or comfort me, music has been there for me.
To list all of the acts that have had an influence on me, would be an impossible task. A few that stand out to me at this moment are Against Me!, Bad Religion, Frank Turner, Refused, Paul Kelly, Silverchair, Thrice and The Wonder Years. Each of those acts has inspired me in numerous ways, but one way that ties all of them together is their ability to tell stories and convey emotion with a level of great sincerity. They're all completely unafraid to be themselves and the result is continuously compelling. The fact that they’ve all evolved their sound as they’ve grown, also speaks to me as well, as does the fact that in most instances we are ethically and politically pretty closely aligned.
What is your favorite venue to play and why? What is one venue you dream of playing in one day?
My favourite of the bigger venues to play is Max Watts House of Music in Melbourne/Naarm, the sound quality and vibe there are incredible. My favourite of the slightly smaller venues is Stay Gold for similar reasons while my favourite punk venue is The Last Chance Rock N Roll Bar because it is freaking loose and the people rule. My dream venue is The Forum in Melbourne/Naarm. It’s a gorgeous old theatre that opened in 1929 and it has the most spectacular acoustics and some of the most unique architectural quirks. I’ve seen so many extraordinary shows there, basically, anyone who has ever been anyone of note in this city has performed there, so to be able to look out at the people from that stage and look up and see the sculptures and the stars on the ceiling, that’d be a dream come true.
What can we expect from you in the future?
We’re about to hit the road around Australia in support of ‘Live For The Rush’, then we’ll be back in the studio to record the follow-up to our Wiretap Records debut "This Is What Honesty Sounds Like." Then with any luck, we’ll be headed overseas. If anyone wants to have us over, hit us up!
Keep up with Catholic Guilt:
Stream Live For The Rush:
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