Recently Steve took some time out to chat with Evan Kanarakis and share a few thoughts on his musical influences, creative –and notable- collaborations borne out of confined spaces, touring with Bob Evans, and bringing an end to the miseries of televised karaoke.

THE CUD: Tell us about your background, especially in terms of what first led you to music. What were your biggest influences, musically and otherwise?

STEVE PARKIN: I guess I’ve gotta’ say the Beatles and my Dad’s albums, especially Revolver and Rubber Soul. I also remember being into Adam and the Ants when I was about six or seven (they looked like pirates!). Later on, when I started playing guitar it was garage rock- Nirvana, The Meteors, Stooges, crazy shit. As I got older, I got more pop.

THE CUD: Particularly over the past ten years, the Perth/Fremantle scene seems to have produced an incredible number of musicians -yourself included- who have not only garnered respect -bands like Eskimo Joe, Gyroscope, Jebediah, The Sleepy Jackson, Little Birdy, End of Fashion- but, for want of a better word, have also been somewhat incestuous in terms of friendships and collaboration. Is it merely a product of a confined, concentrated music scene in W.A where you simply couldn't escape each other or are we witnessing something special that we'll be looking back on in a few years and defining as a clear 'movement' in Aussie music?

SP: I think it’s definitely the case that, being a small town, we bump into each other a lot. I was playing gigs with Jebediah back in ’95. The Eskimo Joe boys told me that Autopilot’s Pure Gold Baby EP was an influence on them in ’98. In the last three years, there’s been a studio called Debaser (Joel Quartermain of Eskimo Joe, Rodney Aravena of End of Fashion and Andy Lawson from The Avenues) where Little Birdy, the Sleepy Jackson, Gyroscope, myself, etc… have recorded, and so we’d bump into each other and end up on each other’s records. If there’s a movement, it’s more one of wanting to perfect an international-level quality in recording, unwilling to settle for ‘garage’ sounds.

THE CUD: Tell us a little about Autopilot and Vinyl. What ultimately affected the life span of those bands? Is momentum probably one of the biggest factors in calling about the demise of a band working the pub scene in Australia and trying to make it at the next level?

SP: Both bands kind of imploded. Generally, if a band makes it big in Western Australia, unless they sign to a major and get touring support, they get over-exposed in a small town playing the same pubs week in-week out.

THE CUD: How did your 2005 solo release Sandytown come about? It was recorded at Debaser Studios, right?

SP: Yep. I bumped into Joel from Eskimo Joe back in 2003. He told me about this magical garden shed called Debaser. I went in to do an EP. Ended up coming out in 2004 with an album! We indulged all our Bowie fantasies and had a great time.

THE CUD: What has probably changed the most in your musical direction since when you first started? Do you make it a policy, as some musicians do, to avoid listening to their older material or are you fairly 'regret free'?

SP: I’m fairly regret-free. Vinyl makes me chuckle a bit. I think I smoked too much pot when I was 22. I guess I’m trying to be more about substance than style now. I need music to have soul rather than just sound.

THE CUD: Most recently you've been playing and touring with Bob Evans (aka Kevin Mitchell of Jebediah fame) on the Big Day Out tour…

SP: I bumped into Kev in a little bar in Perth early last year. We were both a bit boozed. I’d just heard the demos for his new album as ‘Bob Evans’. I told him I liked the Beatles/Josh Rouse/Country pop sound. After a few more drinks, I was drafted in to play keys/guitar in his touring band. It’s been great fun. Playing session has forced me to take a break from thinking about my own stuff, and I feel much more excited about recording now than I did before Bob!

THE CUD: Feel free to rant away- what really irks you about the music industry today and, in particular, what is being promoted in the mainstream?

SP: As Bob Dylan said recently, and I paraphrase this –why not give music away on the net?- CD’s have no stature anyway… I like that quote, and I agree. The much-hyped top-forty karaoke rubbish will fade and die. Apples In Stereo, however, I will track down to the ends of the earth and order in the limited edition gatefold no matter how much it costs me from Japan!!

THE CUD: Last of all, our magazine is called 'The Cud' - what issue has you charged up and talking most about today?

SP: The impending death of moronic, cheap to make, reality TV karaoke competitions. Give some writers a job- leave the uni tavern barman making cocktails. He doesn’t belong on TV, no matter how much he thinks he does!

You can visit Steve Parkin on the web at www.myspace.com/steveparkinmusic