Thanks so much to Patrick William Woodward for the interview! Billycart was a terrific but short-lived Australian band from the late 90s. Their recorded output is small, just a few songs, some of them that appeared on the “Clippings” compilation on Candle Records. One of its members, Kellie Sutherland, would later be in Architecture of Helsinki, which probably all of you know.
I wrote about them some weeks ago, and it was great to hear from Patrick and even better that he was up to fill in the blanks, answer all the questions I had!

++ Hi Patrick! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? You were telling me you are not involved with music anymore? Why is that?

Hey thank you for having me!! I am very well, living my fullest life through a cold winter here in the Southern part of NSW in Australia. Music has taken a back seat to life as a father… for now!!

++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what your first instrument was? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen to at home while growing up?

My first instrument was a guitar, well my sisters! I was playing it upside down but hey! She taught me the correct way in time. I listened to a lot of Australian rock/pop… Midnight Oil, INXS, Kids in the Kitchen etc

++ Had you been in other bands before Byllycart? What about the other band members? Are there any songs recorded by these bands?

Billycart was my first venture into music with my mate Kellie Sutherland. Kellie is a great friend and a very talented musician who went onto create some amazing music.

++ Where were you from originally?

I grew up in the western suburbs of Sydney about 1 hour from the city, which felt like a lifetime away as a kid!

++ How was Sydney at the time of Billycart? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

Sydney in the 90’s had a vibrant music scene, on any given night you could see an amazing band! The Annandale hotel and the Sandringham hotel were my favs.. never still exist unfortunately. Billycart were lucky at the time to play these venues with some of our personally favourite bands such as The Simpletons and The Lucksmiths! The city was the place to see music.. my town of Penrith provided quality cover bands!! Not to my liking

++ How was the band put together? How was the recruiting process?

Kellie and I meet at a music festival in Byron Bay northern NSW.. We hung out then lived together and started creating music together. Was mainly just Kel and I. We had a few friends such as Ryan James and Darren Hanlon play at times!

++ Was there any lineup changes?

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

We wrote most songs together, sharing lyric duties… i often came up with tunes then we would write lyrics to suit!

++ What about influences? I read that Kellie was a big fan of the Portland band Kissing Book for example. What about you?

I loved the Go-Betweens big fan!! Crowded House, Midnight Oil.. then were and still are today favourites!

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name?

Billycart the name… well at first we were called Cul de sac as in dead end street… no future there we thought! Then we settled on Billycart.

++ So I know the band through the songs that appeared on the “Clippings” compilation on Candle Records. How did your songs end up on this compilation? Were you familiar with this label? Had a good relationship?

So we arrived on the clippings compilation via Chris Crouch who Kellie and I lived with! We were such great house mates he felt it was only fair that we appear!

++ The obvious question is, why didn’t you get to release any records with them afterwards? Was there any interest from them or yourselves to do so?

I guess i feel out of love with music for a while.. Kellie moved to Melbourne and greener musical pastures and i stopped playing for a bit.. i found playing gigs pretty stressful and not really my cup of tea. Till a few years down the track and started another band called Aer Cadets.

++ And what about other labels? Did anyone knock your door to release your songs?

I never really took it seriously so i guess i never pursued labels or anyone releasing song.. never too late i guess!!

++ I ask these questions as the two songs on the compilation are great and it surprises me the band didn’t get to release a proper record. Strange to say the least! But do tell me a little more about these songs. Were they perhaps part of a demo with even more songs?

The two songs we recorded were just for the compilation, prior we recorded 8 songs i think which was released on cassette by us!! Darren Hanlon also played with us on that!

++ I read they were recorded by Angus Kinston. He was a regular in Candle compilations, recordings. How was that experience?

Angus Kinston was a great engineer and fun to work with as he was a friend! He recorded the cassette we realised as well!

++ The song “Cherish” had the help from Darren Hanlon and Ryan James from The Simpletones. What was your relationship with them? And what did they add to this great tune?

Cherish ( not the Madonna one ) was fun as Kellie and I only really played live as a two piece.. Ryan played drums and Darren guitar which made us sound and feel like pro’s!!

++ Going back to that compilation,”Clippings”, there are many bands I am unfamiliar with. Were you familiar with many of them? Knew them? Played with them?

Most of the bands on the clippings compilation were friends with each other which was amazing.. all would play together, some toured together.. Kellie was also in a band which appeared on the album, Falcon 500!

++ Are there more songs recorded by the band? Unreleased ones?

No further songs were ever recorded other than the tape and the clippings compilation.

++ My favourite song of yours is “Cherish”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

I guess cherish was a bit of a love song.. not necessarily about me but just others i observed in my 20’s.. such a time when one is learning so much… to do with love

++ If you were to choose your favorite Billycart song, which one would that be and why?

We had a song called “Bingo”.. it was about playing bingo!! It was a favourite of mine!

++ What about gigs? Did you play many?

Billycart played a fair bit in Sydney and Melbourne.. loved playing at the punters club in Melbourne.

++ When and why did Billycart stop making music?I had read that Kellie ended up moving to Melbourne to be part of Architecture in Helsinki, was this the reason the band stopped, or had it already stopped by then?

Kellie moved to Melbourne and we still played occasionally down there.. we played with AIH in Melbourne at this old warehouse, think it was the first gig they played. Bunch of other bands played too. It was a memorable gig. I just didn’t appreciate how good to play shows like this was at the time. Kellie remained in Melbourne playing with AIH and I returned back to Sydney. We now ironically live pretty close to each other in Regional Australia. She has two kids and I do as well. Similar ages. We all hang out still!! I formed a band back in Sydney called the Aer cadets, again never to it to serious but enjoyed played with different people and new songs!

++ Was there any interest from the radio? TV?

I believe Cherish got played on radio in Taiwan of all places! We received a royalty check from a radio station one year which was crazy.. should have cashed in and toured in Taiwan

++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?

We had a few street press reviews of our tape which were all positive! Nothing major but nice words were written.

++ Looking back in retrospect, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

I think to say we played with such a great band such as AIH in the early days for them was a tremendous privilege and hi light for Kellie and I.

++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have? Newcastle United fans?

Having a young family is my hobby these days, well takes up most of my time.. which is fun.. i do still tinker with the guitar and hope to play again someday.. I love aeroplanes and all things aviation which one of my sons now does too! We have a radio scanner so we can hear planes coming into our local airport, if it’s something of interest you can assured we will be first out there to see it…

++ I’ve never been to Sydney so I’d love to ask a local. What do you  suggest checking out in your town, like what are the sights one shouldn’t miss? Or the traditional food or drinks that you love that I should try?

Sydney was a great city to live in.. we got out around 15 years ago and now live 6 hours away!! Nice to visit and take our kids to but we don’t miss it!! Its such a picturesque city.. the harbour is beautiful.. you can just catch a ferry and cruise around all day taking it all in.. never appreciated that when i lived there.. worth a visit one day for you!!

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Listen
Billycart – Cherish