The Go Set are a familiar set of faces in regional Victoria, as is their unique brand of music inspired by the likes of Clash, the Pogues, Billy Bragg, and Radio Birdman. We had a chat with the band in the lead up to their show in Geelong.
Thanks for taking the time to chat with Forte Magazine, how are you and what are you up to at the moment?
Recovering! We just kicked off the tour in Queensland on the weekend and the shows were huge, so we didn’t get much sleep.
Given you’re no newby to touring, how do you think your live show has changed from that first show to where you’re at now?
It’s definitely tighter musically, and we are more professional in the way we prepare and perform. It’s not to say we don’t still enjoy a drink, but we are certainly more focused on delivering a quality show than in the early days. I think that’s just something that comes with experience.
We read that you have stopped calling your music “Celtic punk”, why is that?
Not necessarily, but I’m not one for labelling really. It seems to be a way that people can categorise, but I think that it’s pretty restrictive. In fact, the more distinct the association with a label or genre is, the more it becomes about the aesthetics and less about the music I reckon. In saying that, I do believe that we are very much a punk band though – as much in our attitude as our style.
We couldn’t agree more on labelling bands, however if you were to hear your band described as anything, what would you like it to be?
Well, our influences are the Clash, the Pogues, Billy Bragg, and Radio Birdman. So, however you’d describe those bands I guess. Punk, rock n roll, folk music, and protest music are all terms that come to mind.
With the newest release out that also comes with a documentary that was filmed for a decade with you guys, how did you find that process?
Making a documentary independently is an all-consuming process. It took us a decade to get all of the footage, and then from about 200 hours we edited down to an hour and a half. Then we created a basic story board and added interview footage to compliment the story line. I couldn’t tell you how many hours it took, but it was several months at least once we had the raw footage.
Were there any moments where you wish the camera wasn’t around?
Yeah, lots! There’s lots of times on tour when you aren’t exactly at your best; tired, drunk, homesick. In saying that though, I feel like that’s also what makes an honest documentary too – showing all the frustration and the hardship as well as the highlights. In a film like this, there is a big discrepancy between the highs and the lows. I think we captured a fairly accurate picture of both sides. There’s some great festival footage from Europe in there too, which will be a lifelong memory.
Did you always have in mind that you wanted to release a documentary?
Not really, we just thought it would be a good idea to take a camera on the road and make some short blogs. When we looked through everything, we found that we had some really great stuff, and we thought that we could accurately represent the story of an independent band, and life on the road.
Over your career you’ve done more than 1200 shows in 22 places, has there been a particular one has stood out the most and why?
Probably Germany. For some reason, we seem to have been received there really well. We continued to go back there year after year, and every year it grew. We’ve played a lot of big outdoor festivals, and had some unique experiences that we haven’t really had anywhere else. It’s probably fair to say that of Europe in general for this band – particularly when compared to Australia. But Germany is our favourite country.
Thanks again for chatting with us, are there any last words of wisdom you’d like to leave with our readers?
Yeah, go and see some live music regularly. Go and see something that’s not on the radio, and not on a big festival line up. These bands need your support, and be prepared to be surprised. There’s some great live bands out there that you haven’t heard of – yet.
When & Where: The Barwon Club, Geelong – April 22 & The Tote, Melbourne – April 24
