{"id":38106,"date":"2019-07-28T15:40:07","date_gmt":"2019-07-28T05:40:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/?p=38106"},"modified":"2019-07-28T15:40:19","modified_gmt":"2019-07-28T05:40:19","slug":"ross-wilson-of-mondo-rock-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/2019\/07\/ross-wilson-of-mondo-rock-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Ross Wilson of Mondo Rock"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\u201c\u2026it\u2019s going to be 100% Mondo Rock it\u2019s not going to be any other stuff that I\u2019ve done before\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

From Release: In a career spanning five decades, few come close to delivering the catalogue of Australian classics that Mondo Rock boast. From \u2018Come Said The Boy\u2019, \u2018Cool World\u2019, \u2018State Of The Heart\u2019, to \u2018Chemistry\u2019, \u2018No Time\u2019, \u2018The Queen & Me\u2019, \u2018Summer For 81\u2019 and more, Mondo Rock have delivered some of the most recognisable Australian Classic Hits of all time. It\u2019s an incredible story: Four Top 10 albums. Nine Top 40 singles, including three Top 10 hits. More than 30 members. Six studio albums.<\/p>\n

While he was in Melbourne we gave Ross Wilson a call to talk about the Mondo Rock Hits! Baby! Hits! Tour, set lists, memories, new music, defining moments, and more\u2026<\/p>\n

What was the idea behind getting back together and doing these shows?<\/strong>
\nWell the demand is out there you know, we\u2019ve done it before but we did one about two years ago and just did four show in three cities and it went really, really well so we decided to, well the guys looking after us said we ought to do more of these. So we\u2019re doing eight shows all through the month of August and hitting more cities than we did before.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s called Hits! Baby! Hits! but with so many how do you go about putting the set list together?<\/strong>
\n*laughs* It\u2019s not that hard when you look at all the ones that hit the charts and you do then and there are also some album tracks that are well known so we throw them in as well and to keep it fresh we maybe play songs that we haven\u2019t played for years and years and years that we like, taken from Mondo Rock albums, it\u2019s going to be 100% Mondo Rock it\u2019s not going to be any other stuff that I\u2019ve done before like we\u2019re not going to throw in \u2018Eagle Rock\u2019 or anything like that, it\u2019s purely Mondo Rock and if you want to hear all that stuff you\u2019ve gotta come to the \u2018Hits! Baby! Hits!\u2019 show.<\/p>\n

Mondo Rock stood out in a way when I was growing up as it felt more mature if you like compared to some of the other bands on the scene, how did you see the scene back then and knowing you had to stand out become what you were? <\/strong>
\nWell yeah the music that we made reflected who we were at the time and as you said we were a little bit older than, well I was, within the Countdown era I\u2019d already had a career with Daddy Cool before so I was in my thirties and in Countdown era that was like you\u2019re an old guy *laughs* and thankfully I was genetically blessed thanks to my parents and I didn\u2019t look that old *laughs*.<\/p>\n

Is there one song from the catalogue that you feel defines the band?<\/strong>
\nWell there\u2019s a couple that have really stood the test of time and gone on to have sort of a life of their own independent of if we go on the road or if I even do them in my own sets, and that\u2019s \u2018Cool World\u2019 and \u2018Come Said The Boy\u2019, they still get flogged on the radio and to a certain extent \u2018State of The Heart\u2019 but those two in particular and now you\u2019ve got Spotify and Apple Music and the streaming era come in they\u2019re like clocking up millions of streams, so we\u2019re definitely finding a new audience because of that.<\/p>\n

From this do you think maybe we might see some new music from Mondo Rock coming?<\/strong>
\nWe\u2019ve discussed that and we are a little bit interested in doing that and I think that will probably come around as a maybe bonus track the next time we put out a best of collection like a bonus record. It\u2019s a funny thing, and I\u2019ve seen it happen with other people they put out a new thing and people aren\u2019t really interested because it\u2019s very difficult to get airplay for older acts, there\u2019s very few people that have pulled that off, I remember everything Skyhooks was kind of washed up and then they put out \u2018Jukebox in Siberia\u2019 and that was like a number one hit ten years after their last one. So it does happen but it\u2019s a little bit discouraging like I\u2019ll record something new and people might be interested but it\u2019s a hard climb that one.<\/p>\n

Skyhooks were lucky as it was 1990 and it\u2019s a very different time now\u2026<\/strong>
\nYeah different time, music has changed a lot, what they\u2019re playing on pop radio is not the kind of stuff that I\u2019m interested in *laughs* you know what I\u2019m talking about? Modern pop music just doesn\u2019t do it for me.<\/p>\n

Now you\u2019ve been in the business for a while, and it\u2019s easy to say what\u2019s changed in that time but what for you is the one thing that\u2019s stayed the same in your time making music?<\/strong>
\nWell I mean I\u2019m kind of the same but I\u2019ve evolved and you do start to get hindsight and think well what are my strengths and what are my weaknesses, so I try to work on things that I\u2019m maybe not as good at and I think I\u2019ve improved over the years, I think I\u2019m a pretty good singer and still learning things and as far as other things that have stayed the same, music is very subjective, things that I like other people mightn\u2019t like but I think I\u2019ve got a pretty good ear for what\u2019s good and what\u2019s not so that\u2019s helped me get through things.<\/p>\n

Over the five decades you\u2019ve been making music, what for you has been the most defining moment you\u2019ve witnessed in music over that time?<\/strong>
\nI mean the rise of the internet has affected everyone on all levels including music, Look when Mondo Rock was making albums there were certain Australian bands that did make the jump to overseas, there was INXS and Midnight Oil, and Crowded House, but overall it was a very hard thing to do, you had to get all your ducks lined up and you had to get a lot of push behind you and a lot of luck involved and Mondo Rock had a few stabs going to America. We had \u2018Primitive Love Rights\u2019 got on the top 100 over there and something happened and we couldn\u2019t go over, but now I know young musicians and they\u2019ve like formed bands and they play around the country and someone notices them on the internet and they get signed nationally and they\u2019re off touring The UK and The US and selling out rooms and moving on to festivals. I mean Tame Impala who are sort of kind of big here but came out of Western Australia, they are topping the biggest festivals around the world, Coachella, Desert Days, you name it. Tame Impala they\u2019re like on the top line, everyone here goes \u201cyeah yeah they\u2019re kind of good\u201d and they\u2019ve got fans but around the world they\u2019re humongous. So the internet is the thing that\u2019s really changed everything because you\u2019ve heard about YouTube stars I mean that\u2019s how Justin Bieber started on YouTube, Amy Shark I think did that too, that is the big difference, you can go international without to struggle like we did to try to get off the continental shelf *laughs*.<\/p>\n

Outside of Mondo Rock what have you got going on musically?<\/strong>
\nWell I play all the time, all the guys play all the time and it\u2019s quite hard to get it together that\u2019s why we plan a long way ahead, and this tour has been on the cards from well over a year ago, but the rest of the time I\u2019m out and with my touring band the Peacenicks and we play a bit of Daddy Cool, Mondo Rock, solo stuff, new songs, whatever you know. I did the APIA tour I was part of that one this year, seventh year and they\u2019ve got seven acts, was really big show and then after a holiday I\u2019m back for Mondo Rock, so I\u2019m pretty busy *laughs*.<\/p>\n

I wanted to ask about your involvement with Yellowcake and our old mate Whitfield Crane, how did it come about you being a part of one of their tracks?<\/strong>
\nTurns out we have mutual friends and they turned up at a party I was at while he was in town and after Ugly Kid Joe had played and he came to this party and he was friends with Dallas Frasca and their guitarist Jeff who is in Yellowcake and they said we\u2019ve got this little project and we\u2019re writing songs in the studio and Jeff said you\u2019ve gotta get this guy you don\u2019t understand how good Ross Wilson is, yeah OK thanks Jeff *laughs* and he goes OK, I said yeah OK I\u2019ll come and blow some hard as I really love playing harmonica. So he rang a few weeks later and said OK come down we\u2019re ready we\u2019ve got a track and I want you to do a duet with me and maybe play some harp. So I get there and we plug in and play some wild electric harp and sang this duet with him on a song and that\u2019s on the EP they\u2019re putting out, then I play harmonica on another tracks as well, so I\u2019m kind of like a featuring, Yellowcake featuring Ross Wilson *laughs* a bit of a guest on it. He\u2019s a really great guy, everywhere he goes he hangs around after and does a project and gets involved with the locals, that\u2019s his thing with the local musos which is quite refreshing. It was really good fun doing it.<\/p>\n

Lastly let\u2019s look ahead to the future, finish this sentence for me, in 2019 Mondo Rock will\u2026<\/strong>
\nPlay the Hits! Baby! Hits! tour, sell out and everyone will think we\u2019re still as incredible as we were in our hey day *laughs*<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hits! Baby! Hits!<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0Tour 2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Visit\u00a0mondorock.com<\/a>\u00a0for all ticketing information.<\/p>\n

August\u00a02019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Friday 2\u00a0– Anita\u2019s Theatre, Thirroul, NSW – with Boom Crash Opera<\/p>\n

Saturday 3\u00a0\u00a0The Enmore Theatre, Sydney, NSW – with Boom Crash Opera<\/p>\n

Friday 9\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Palms,\u00a0Melbourne, Vic<\/p>\n

Saturday 10\u00a0 The Palms, Melbourne, Vic<\/p>\n

Friday 16\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Governor Hindmarsh, Adelaide, SA – with Taxiride<\/p>\n

Saturday 17\u00a0 The Governor Hindmarsh, Adelaide, SA – with Taxiride<\/p>\n

Friday 23\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Tivoli, Brisbane,QLD<\/p>\n

Saturday 24\u00a0 The Star, Gold Coast, QLD \u2013 with Dragon & Taxiride<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Essential Information<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

From:<\/strong> Australia<\/p>\n

Band members: <\/strong>Ross Wilson, Eric McCusker, James Black, Paul Christie, Gil Matthews<\/p>\n

Website: <\/strong>http:\/\/www.mondorock.com<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n