By Mark Bridgeman
/bandpics/subterfuge_band.jpg
Subterfuge are an up-and-coming band on Australia's east coast, regularly playing the pub circuit and amassing a small but loyal following amongst the heavy music fans of Newcastle. Guitarist and band co-founder Christopher Peacock sat down with UM to discuss the local scene, the trials of being an unsigned band, and their upcoming EP, Souls.
Ultimate Metal: Tell me about the beginning of Subterfuge. It started with you and your brother James, and bassist Shane Pascoe - is that still the main core of the band?
Christopher Peacock: James, Shane and I have similar interests in heavy music. All the guys contribute to the band, we all add our own style. I wouldn't consider anybody the core of the band anymore.
UM: What's with the name 'Subterfuge' - where the hell did it come from, and why?
CP: I tell you coming up with a decent band name is one of the hardest tasks around. James came up with the name. He reads a lot of books. To use Subterfuge is a strategy to decieve somebody. We thought that had an evil enough meaning for a heavy band.
UM: Did you form the band intending to actually play gigs, or was it just to fuck around a little?
CP: From the start we wanted to play gigs. There is nothing better than playing to people who enjoy your music. I think also we would go out to local gigs and see no bands out there like us (bands that play decent heavy music). So we decided to add a bit of life to the dead local scene.
UM: Would you still describe the Newcastle scene as 'dead'? Do you think Subterfuge have taken advantage of being the only decent heavy band locally?
CP: The Newcastle scene is your choice of cover bands, strange techno raves and aweful punk wanna be's. We are working on getting the heavy scene revived in Newcastle, but I feel it will take more than one band. Hopefully we can encourage more young bands to start up and create a better scene. You can tell there are people out there that like this music. Its just a myth that heavy music is dead.
UM: Do you manage to get a fair number of people to your gigs in Newcastle, though, or do you have to travel out of the area sometimes?
CP: We mainly gig around Newcastle and the Lower Hunter Valley. We have had over 200 people to some of our gigs. Its hard to get venues that want to take bands like us on. We're looking at playing around Sydney in the near future.
UM: I can imagine it's hard for any band on the pub scene to get gigs, even moreso when they're a heavy band. How do venues react when you DO manage to pull in a couple hundred people to a gig? Do you think it makes it easier to get another show there, or is it still a chore?
CP: The venues are very surprised. We have regular gigs at certain venues because we actually play music that makes sense. You can have a techno rave next door and you will see most of the people standing outside. At our gigs you have people enjoying the music, drinking beer and singing along. Most venues only care about money. They would pay us $50 if they could get away with it. For us to travel an hour each way and split $50 between 5 people, it isn't worth it. Thats why we want to get our EP out and have people want us to play, rather than the venues.
UM: Do you think that the 'underground' metal community in Australia is good at helping bands get heard, or is it really a case of bands having to go it alone more often than not, unless they're really making a name for themselves?
CP: The Australian metal scene is strange. I mainly see a lot of Death/Black Metal bands hanging around. Its a shame really because a lot of those guys can play well. From what I've seen, most bands go it alone. There are groups of bands that support each other, its just getting into those groups that's hard. Especially when you're not Death/Black metal. To tell you the truth, I would rather try and get more commercial success than be in the underground scene. I'm not saying I want to play commercial music, but some metal bands like Metallica have had commercial success. I can't see why it can't happen more often.
UM: Do you think the aussie heavy music scene is solid? Is there an audience for it, and are there bands catering to that audience?
CP: I think the Aussie metal scene has a hell of a lot to offer. Bands like Dungeon and Alchemist are very popular among the metal community. Unfortunately there are a lot of Death/Black metal bands out there destroying the scene. There is definitely an audience, it's just that most of the Aussie bands don't seem to be attracting them. There are better things to come.
UM: Your demo (Souls EP) was recorded earlier this year with Mark Tinson, who worked with silverchair on their first recordings - how'd you hook up with him?
CP: Mark has been a family friend for years now. He's also very well known in the Newcastle music industry. He was our first choice to record our EP.
UM: Are you happy with how it turned out?
CP: I think the EP gives the listener an idea on how Subterfuge sounds live. I think our song writing has improved since the recording. The songs are very catchy. Although I'm happy with the songs, I think we have some more tunes that would fit very nicely on a record. We just need the deal.
UM: How many originals do you have in the live set? Do people go for them as much as the covers you play?
CP: I think we have 10 originals in the set at the moment. We're always working on new songs. We do play covers, however we try and mix them all together. We find a lot of people enjoy our originals as much as the covers.
UM: What kind of interest have you had in the EP so far? Have you started promoting it yet?
CP: We get a lot of people at our gigs wanting the EP. We also have a lot of interest around the internet. Promotion hasn't really started yet. We plan on getting the Souls EP out in a month or so and will then start promoting big time.
UM: What's in the immediate future for Subterfuge, apart from getting your EP out to the people?
CP: Our short term goal is to get a good fan base and expand that to the rest of Australia. While this is happening we'll be trying our best to get a good record deal so more people can hear what we have to offer.
UM: Finally, anything you'd like to say to UM readers?
CP: I would just like the readers to give our music a go. We believe we are a very original band and have something to offer to everybody.
Visit the Subterfuge Website
/bandpics/subterfuge_band.jpg
Subterfuge are an up-and-coming band on Australia's east coast, regularly playing the pub circuit and amassing a small but loyal following amongst the heavy music fans of Newcastle. Guitarist and band co-founder Christopher Peacock sat down with UM to discuss the local scene, the trials of being an unsigned band, and their upcoming EP, Souls.
Ultimate Metal: Tell me about the beginning of Subterfuge. It started with you and your brother James, and bassist Shane Pascoe - is that still the main core of the band?
Christopher Peacock: James, Shane and I have similar interests in heavy music. All the guys contribute to the band, we all add our own style. I wouldn't consider anybody the core of the band anymore.
UM: What's with the name 'Subterfuge' - where the hell did it come from, and why?
CP: I tell you coming up with a decent band name is one of the hardest tasks around. James came up with the name. He reads a lot of books. To use Subterfuge is a strategy to decieve somebody. We thought that had an evil enough meaning for a heavy band.
UM: Did you form the band intending to actually play gigs, or was it just to fuck around a little?
CP: From the start we wanted to play gigs. There is nothing better than playing to people who enjoy your music. I think also we would go out to local gigs and see no bands out there like us (bands that play decent heavy music). So we decided to add a bit of life to the dead local scene.
UM: Would you still describe the Newcastle scene as 'dead'? Do you think Subterfuge have taken advantage of being the only decent heavy band locally?
CP: The Newcastle scene is your choice of cover bands, strange techno raves and aweful punk wanna be's. We are working on getting the heavy scene revived in Newcastle, but I feel it will take more than one band. Hopefully we can encourage more young bands to start up and create a better scene. You can tell there are people out there that like this music. Its just a myth that heavy music is dead.
UM: Do you manage to get a fair number of people to your gigs in Newcastle, though, or do you have to travel out of the area sometimes?
CP: We mainly gig around Newcastle and the Lower Hunter Valley. We have had over 200 people to some of our gigs. Its hard to get venues that want to take bands like us on. We're looking at playing around Sydney in the near future.
UM: I can imagine it's hard for any band on the pub scene to get gigs, even moreso when they're a heavy band. How do venues react when you DO manage to pull in a couple hundred people to a gig? Do you think it makes it easier to get another show there, or is it still a chore?
CP: The venues are very surprised. We have regular gigs at certain venues because we actually play music that makes sense. You can have a techno rave next door and you will see most of the people standing outside. At our gigs you have people enjoying the music, drinking beer and singing along. Most venues only care about money. They would pay us $50 if they could get away with it. For us to travel an hour each way and split $50 between 5 people, it isn't worth it. Thats why we want to get our EP out and have people want us to play, rather than the venues.
UM: Do you think that the 'underground' metal community in Australia is good at helping bands get heard, or is it really a case of bands having to go it alone more often than not, unless they're really making a name for themselves?
CP: The Australian metal scene is strange. I mainly see a lot of Death/Black Metal bands hanging around. Its a shame really because a lot of those guys can play well. From what I've seen, most bands go it alone. There are groups of bands that support each other, its just getting into those groups that's hard. Especially when you're not Death/Black metal. To tell you the truth, I would rather try and get more commercial success than be in the underground scene. I'm not saying I want to play commercial music, but some metal bands like Metallica have had commercial success. I can't see why it can't happen more often.
UM: Do you think the aussie heavy music scene is solid? Is there an audience for it, and are there bands catering to that audience?
CP: I think the Aussie metal scene has a hell of a lot to offer. Bands like Dungeon and Alchemist are very popular among the metal community. Unfortunately there are a lot of Death/Black metal bands out there destroying the scene. There is definitely an audience, it's just that most of the Aussie bands don't seem to be attracting them. There are better things to come.
UM: Your demo (Souls EP) was recorded earlier this year with Mark Tinson, who worked with silverchair on their first recordings - how'd you hook up with him?
CP: Mark has been a family friend for years now. He's also very well known in the Newcastle music industry. He was our first choice to record our EP.
UM: Are you happy with how it turned out?
CP: I think the EP gives the listener an idea on how Subterfuge sounds live. I think our song writing has improved since the recording. The songs are very catchy. Although I'm happy with the songs, I think we have some more tunes that would fit very nicely on a record. We just need the deal.
UM: How many originals do you have in the live set? Do people go for them as much as the covers you play?
CP: I think we have 10 originals in the set at the moment. We're always working on new songs. We do play covers, however we try and mix them all together. We find a lot of people enjoy our originals as much as the covers.
UM: What kind of interest have you had in the EP so far? Have you started promoting it yet?
CP: We get a lot of people at our gigs wanting the EP. We also have a lot of interest around the internet. Promotion hasn't really started yet. We plan on getting the Souls EP out in a month or so and will then start promoting big time.
UM: What's in the immediate future for Subterfuge, apart from getting your EP out to the people?
CP: Our short term goal is to get a good fan base and expand that to the rest of Australia. While this is happening we'll be trying our best to get a good record deal so more people can hear what we have to offer.
UM: Finally, anything you'd like to say to UM readers?
CP: I would just like the readers to give our music a go. We believe we are a very original band and have something to offer to everybody.
Visit the Subterfuge Website
