Thanks so much to Kieren for the interview! Love Minus Zero was a great Sydney band who released just one mini-album back in the 80s. In the past I tried to interview Kieren, but after many years we reconnected and here is a fantastic trip through memory lane. The occasion is important too. Love Minus Zero is releasing a retrospective compilation called “No Limit” on Method Records as well as a very limited 7″ with “Mary Says”/”Don’t Bring Me Down”, two songs that would have been their 2nd single. Definitely you can’t miss this one. Discover them if you don’t know them already!
++ Hi Kieren! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? Still making music?
I’m good! Its great to finally have the Love Minus Zero compilation out after 30 years! And yes I’m still making music and writing new songs. Recently the band “Fast Cars” asked me to contribute guitar to their new single ‘Real Love?’. I did the jangle and backwards psychedelic guitar stuff for them. You can hear/watch it at https://www.youtube.com/
++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what was your first instrument? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen at home while growing up?
I think my first musical memory was the break up of the Beatles when I was 9 years old. But my love of music really started in 1976 when I was 15 years old with the explosion of punk (Sex Pistols, Clash, Jam, Damned etc) and, at the same time, discovering some fantastic compilations of 1960s bands – the double Red and Blue Beatles compilations and the double ‘Best of the Byrds’ in particular. So from 1976 I was looking forward and looking back at the same time.
My brother, Brad Fitzpatrick, was two years older than me and he bought a guitar and started to learn how to play. I tried to learn as much as I could from him and I probably got my first guitar when I was 17 years old.
++ Had you been in other bands before Love Minus Zero? What about the rest of the members? If so, how did all of these bands sound like? Are there any recordings?
My brother and I started a band in my last year of high school called ‘The Bland’ in 1979 – a classic garage band in that we rehearsed in a garage! It was my brother and myself on guitar, Alan Hislop (later of the Moffs) on drums and Trevor Conomy (later of the Introverts). My friends in high school all loved music so, in addition to Alan joining the Moffs (and many other bands!), we had Ashley King and Greg Kasch (who were in a psych band called the ‘Suicidal Flowers’ and Greg was later a member of Love Minus Zero and Ashley did the cover artwork for our most recent album and single), Matthew Myerscough (who formed the ‘Skolars’) and Tom Ellard (who formed the ‘Severed Heads’). We all got together to record a song as ‘Agent Orange’ on an EP released by Tom Ellard on his ‘Terse Tapes’ record label with the ‘Wet Taxis’ as one of the other bands. I’ve know Ashley and Alan since we were all five years old – so we have a long standing friendship!
The Bland played a couple of gigs and it was my start of learning how to play other people’s songs and trying to figure out how they constructed them. One of our early gigs was at a pub in central Sydney that became ‘ground zero’ for the Sydney Mod scene. The Bland broke up and then my brother and I formed another band called ‘Division 4’ in 1980 and I recruited Joe Genua as our drummer from an ad stuck up on a notice board at the university I was now studying at. Joe brought in a friend of his on bass. By this stage Brad, Joe and I had discovered 1960s punk bands via the ‘Nuggets’ and ‘Pebbles’ compilations and we basically worshipped these! We used the Yardbirds as our musical template. The Sydney Mod scene loved us and we ended up playing 3 to 4 gigs a week, 52 weeks a year with a guaranteed audience of 300 people. We were still learning our instruments so we had to do all that in public. When we started we probably played almost 100% covers – stuff like ‘Happenings Ten Years Time Ago’ by the Yardbirds, ‘Night Time’ by the Strangeloves, ‘Dirty Water’ by the Standells etc. But by the time the band finished in 1984 we were playing almost 100% originals. Division 4 released a self pressed EP in 1982 with two original songs and a cover of the Dovers ‘She’s Just Not Anybody’. But we couldn’t hold onto our bass players and we went through 4 of them during the life of the band – after the last one left we thought it was time to quit.
++ Where were you from originally?
Born and bred in Sydney, Australia.
++ How was your town at the time of Love Minus Zero? 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?
The live music scene is Sydney was incredible from the late 1970s till about 1985. From 1985 onwards it started to drop off, audiences went down, venues started closing, the number of bands started to get smaller. There were many bands I loved to go and see but, in particular, Died Pretty, the Triffids, the Sunnyboys and the Moffs. You could go out any day during the week and there would be something on you really wanted to see. This fantastic live scene was supported by many great venues and records stores. Some of best record stores established their own record labels and that was the case for Phantom, Red Eye and Waterfront Records.
++ When and how did the band start? How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process?
After Division 4 finished in 1984, Joe and I decided we wanted to continue and collaborate as song writers. We both loved the Byrds and the Velvet Underground so we wanted to move away from ’60s punk into that direction. I asked Greg Kasch from the Suicidal Flowers and we found Michael Royce through mutual friends. The first time I met Michael I played him a few original songs and he pulled out Big Star’s ‘3rd’ album and said ‘you need to listen to this’! Thank you Michael!
++ Were there any lineup changes?
Yes – unfortunately – as they always suck energy out of a band. Michael Royce made a decision that he didn’t want to live in Sydney anymore and during the recording of our Citadel/Green Fez mini album he moved away. So we did three songs with Michael before he left and then I recruited my brother, Brad Fitzpatrick, to play with us to record another two songs and to do some live shows. But Brad was already in other bands (Bam Balams, Gigantic etc) and so he was really only doing us a favour until we could recruit another guitarist. We then got Dario Bicego to join and Dario was another songwriter and we encouraged that because we always liked bands with more than one songwriter. Later we had another change with Jim Merewhether replacing Greg Kasch on bass.
++ How was the creative process for you?
For the majority of songs Joe and I collaborated. I would write music and have an idea for a melody line. Joe would often then take that, write lyrics and improve on it. We would then go back and forth between each other refining the idea and then take it to the full band to see how it sounded in a band context. Sometimes I wrote alone and later in the band Dario started submitting songs and co-writing with Joe and I as well.
++ What’s the story behind the band’s name?
Like many other bands we just played around with names. We started off as the ‘Cheshire Cats’ and played a couple of gigs under that name. I’ve got a bill poster for our second gig when we went under that name playing support to Died Pretty and the Moffs at the biggest ‘alternate’ venue in Sydney – no pressure then! We were ‘King of Mirrors’ for one gig which was a name we took from a Go-Betweens B-side. But we landed on Love Minus Zero because I adored Dylan.
++ And who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?
The big two initially would have been the Byrds and the Velvets. But everyone in the band brought their own influences and we were always huge music fans who constantly listened to music both young and old.
++ I feel that during the late 80s there were many great Australian bands, I know quite a few, but was wondering which were your favourites and also if there are any obscure ones that you’d recommend me!
Well my all time favourite contemporary band would have been the Triffids. David McComb was such an extraordinary songwriter and the band were very powerful live. I loved Died Pretty on record but they were hit and miss band live. If you got them on a good night it was extraordinary. The Church were like that as well until at least the release of ‘Heyday’ when they suddenly turned into this amazingly powerful live band. The Moffs in their first version of the band were a revelation – I imagine it was like early Pink Floyd with Syd must have sounded. In terms of more obscure bands I really liked a band from Newcastle in Australia called the ‘Hip Slingers’ who released a number of singles and an album – if you can track them down its well worth it.
++ You released one 12″ back in 1988 with five tracks. It came out on the label Green Fez. To be honest I know very little about them, so was curious if you could tell me a bit how you ended up working with them, what sort of deal did you have, and how was working with them?
Green Fez was an offshoot of the Citadel label. I think it was an outlet for John Needham as the owner of the label to release records which he liked but which didn’t necessarily fit the ‘Citadel’ sound. John was a pleasure to work with and he still is. We had previously been on the Waterfront label and they had a reputation at the time for ‘jangle’ bands which we fitted into. For example, Ups and Downs, the Lighthouse Keeper, John Kennedy all had singles on the label. But time and tastes change and they became the home of much harder bands such as Mass Appeal and the Hard Ons. But we really appreciated the support of Waterfront and Citadel – at the time these were the hippest labels in Sydney and we cant thank them enough for taking a chance on us. And that now applies to Fabian Byrne at Method Records! who has a long history of supporting Australian music.
++ On this record you worked with many guest musicians, like Damon Giles from The Moffs. How did you recruit them and what did they bring to the table. Was Brad Fitzpatrick, who is credited for guest guitar, your brother perhaps?
Well Damon was a good friend of ours and we all hung out at each other’s houses and went to gigs together. Before joining the Moffs Damon was a member of the Suicidal Flowers. In the early 80s Greg, Alan, Ashley, Damon and Nick Potts (also of the Moffs) all shared a house together. So Damon was really happy to help out and record with us. And Brad is indeed my brother and a great guitarist!
++ The record was produced by the band and Tom Colley. How was that experience? Where were the songs recorded? What anecdotes do you remember from the recording session?
We worked with Tom on the two songs we released on the Waterfront label so when it came to do the mini album it seemed natural to continue with Tom. We recorded at a Paradise Studios which was a great studio. This was all before digital recording so the studio had a huge live room. But because we were poor we had to record during the midnight shift – starting at midnight and going to 6am – because that’s when the rates were cheaper. I think my favourite memory of those sessions was getting to turn a Marshall amp up to 11 and play all the feedback on ‘I Am Your Friend’!
++ Aside from the record you appeared on two compilations, “On the Waterfront” and “On the Waterfront Volume 3” released by Waterfront Records. You had the songs “Fade Away” and “Wondering Why”.. How did you end up in these compilations? And how important was Waterfront for the Sydney scene?
Phantom records were the first store/label with great bands – they had the Sunnyboys and the Hummingbirds and so many others. Citadel never had a store but they were an amazing label with so many great bands. Waterfront were great – I loved going there as they knew me and what I liked and so they were always discussing new music and recommending albums that I needed to listen to. So it seemed natural to give them our demo tape to see if they wanted to release something. And they just jumped at the chance – indeed initially they wanted to release our demo tape itself! But I said ‘no’ and we recorded ‘Fade Away’ and ‘Into the Night’ for a compilation which featured four bands. What was lovely about that was that the other three bands were our friends and we played with them regularly so it seemed like a great choice. The version of ‘Wondering Why’ the label issued on Volume 3 came from our initial demo tape – the professionally recorded version is on our Green Fez/Citadel Mini Album.
++ So Method Records is now releasing a retrospective compilation by the band, a compilation called “No Limits”. It includes all the recordings by the band. 15 tracks. Are there any remaining unreleased songs, or this is all?
Its great to be on Method Records. Its run by Fabian Byrne who, with Di Levi, are the creative team behind ‘Fast Cars’, a band Division 4 played with a lot during the early 1980s and who have now reformed and are releasing great records. Check them out! I played Fabian ‘Mary Says’ and he asked if there were any more songs. I sent them through to him and he said he loved it and wanted to put out and album. In terms of any unreleased songs – I didn’t include on the compilation demo versions of songs that were subsequently professionally recorded. But Jim Merewhether, our last bass player, has recently told me he has found a tape which he thinks has some additional original songs. I haven’t heard it yet so I don’t know! Certainly we had a lot more original songs which didn’t get recorded.
++ Method Records is also releasing a 7″ vinyl record with two tracks, “Mary Says” and “Don’t Bring Me Down”. Only 100 copies will be pressed! Who picked which songs for the 7″? Perhaps this single was planned like this back in the day?
Yes – Method Records are releasing a 7″ single as well so get in quick if you want to get a copy as once those 100 copies are sold there will be no re-press. We recorded three songs at Trafalgar Studios – made infamous as the studio where Radio Birdman recorded their first album. We would have picked two of the three to release on a Green Fez/Citadel single but we broke up! So Fabian picked the two songs and this is now the ‘unreleased single’ finally getting an official release!
++ Something that caught my attention was that both records have a guitar on the cover. Are these your guitars?
The artwork for the CD and single were both done by Ashley King – he is a wonderful photographer and he did such a brilliant job. Go on-line to check out his work. Both guitars just ‘glow’ with sensual colour. The guitar on the CD front and back cover is my 1966 12 string Rickenbacker. The guitar on the single is Dario’s 1967 12 string Maton Sapphire. Both are beautiful guitars which feature on the recordings.
++ And now with these new releases, are there any plans for a reunion?
We just played our first live gig in 30 years!!!! for our record release night. And I managed to get all the previous full time band members of Love Minus Zero to play. And we had so much fun and played really well so it was a delight to do it. We were also joined on the night by Stuart Little on keyboards – Stuart had previously played in my brother’s band Gigantic. We bump into each other seeing gigs and so when I recently saw him I asked him if he wanted to play with us – and I’m so pleased he said ‘yes’ as he fitted in really well.
++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “Mary Says”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?
A friend of mine recently described this song as the Byrds arm-wrestling the Velvets on Penny Lane – and I think that’s pretty accurate! Its a jangle pop song about bi-polar disorder. I did indeed go out with a Mary but I hasten to say she didn’t have bi-polar!
++ If you were to choose your favorite Love Minus Zero song, which one would that be and why?
Can i choose a few? From the Waterfront releases my favourite is ‘Fade Away’ – its a good pop song which doesn’t spill over into that typical power pop sound. From the Green Fez/Citadel mini album my favourite is ‘I Am Your Friend’ – Michael plays so beautifully on it. From the Trafalgar studio sessions my favourite is ‘Mary Says’ – because it was audacious of us to use a Piccolo trumpet! And from our demos my favourite is ‘Porcelain’ because its a three way co-write between Dario, Joe and I. I really wished we professionally recorded that song at the same time as ‘Mary Says’ and released it as our chamber pop single.
++ What about gigs? Did you play many?
Yes we played quite a few. Not as many as Division 4 because by this stage the live scene in Sydney was starting to wind down a bit. I remember playing a great gig with Died Pretty and the New Christs where we tried a feedback drenched version of ‘Sunday Morning’ by the Velvets – with all the members of the New Christs and Died Pretty coming to the front of the stage and nodding in appreciation! When we first started out we were an underground ‘next big thing’ – with REM and Ups and Downs jangle bands were popular. But by the time of our mini album tastes had moved on so we were certainly only doing music because we really believed in the songs and the artistic creation.
++ When and why did Love Minus Zero stop making music? Were you involved in any other bands afterwards?
We broke up in 1989 not long after we had recorded the final three songs at Trafalgar Studios. I can’t recall any big dispute but I think we were all just getting tired and whilst we loved the new songs we were writing we could see our audience getting smaller and smaller. Perhaps we had a bad gig and decided ‘enough is enough’ – but i really can’t recall. Certainly there is no bad blood between any of the members as demonstrated by everyone playing at our album launch.
After Love Minus Zero I didn’t play in other permanent bands but I have continued to write music. Division 4 got back together for some gigs with the Mod favourites the Chords and we wrote some great new songs for those gigs. Perhaps they will be recorded one day! Dario and Joe wrote some further songs and played a few gigs as ‘Love Bomb’. Jim still plays with bands! Greg released an album as the ‘Obvious ?’ with the ex-members of the Suicidal Flowers which is great!
++ Did you get much attention from the radio? TV? press? fanzines?
No attention from TV but the usual radio, press, fanzine interest.
++ Looking back in retrospective, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?
Without a doubt it was the opportunity to write and record your own original songs.
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