Q&A with Lucas Skinner- King Gizzard & Lizard Wizard,Atolls

I can still remember the very first time I met Lucas.My very first band had just finished our first gig,and Lucas' then band,The Houses were on after us at the Anglesea pub's young band night.The Houses then proceeded to completely blow my crappy AC/DC cover out of the water.
5 years on,and Lucas is a long way from a boring pub in the middle of no where,as bass player for Melbourne surf/garage group King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard,a band about which I'm sure enough has been said already.With the release of 12 Bar Bruise not too far away,and a new side project, Atolls, in the works,I asked Lucas a few questions via email.

What instrument did you start on,and what do you play now?
I first learnt classical guitar when I was 8, but I didn't really last long. I just learnt for the sake of learning an instrument. It wasn't until I was about 12 that I actually started listening to and getting into good music and wanting to be able to play it. So I started lessons again (not classical) and learnt how to read tabs and started to write my own music.
What instrument did you start on,and what do you play now?

I started learning guitar first, then bought a cheap bass when we kicked out the bass player of my first band and I kinda took over that role. That was a natural progression from guitar and I really dug the bass - which I still do - I guess that's what I play most in bands at the moment. I learnt piano for a couple of years too and I love playing the it in all it's forms - organ/synth.
When was your first gig and how'd it go?
It was at Courthouse Youth Arts Centre in Geelong. It went pretty well, we had a small crowd of close friends and it was a very exciting and new experience.

What drives you to play? What motivates you to go that extra mile to play music?

Playing live is fucking exciting - I know it's a cliché but you just lose yourself in this weird headspace full of adrenaline. Recording is different but just as rewarding - it can be a slow, tiresome process sometimes but persistence pays off. I labour over recording my songs - I love meticulously layering them for hours. I guess that's my artistic process and I find it progressive and rewarding.
Best gig you've played? Worst?

Best - Opening Meredith last year to definitely the biggest crowd I've ever played to. It's the only gig I've ever been ridiculously nervous for - butterflies and everything. It meant a lot to us to play on that stage - we've seen some of my all time favourite musicians and artists on stages so it was an honour and privilege. Just being backstage and in bandcamp was scary/exciting. 

Worst - there's actually fucking tons, I can't nail it down to one. You gotta play a hell of a lot of shit gigs when you're starting out - and you still get em every now and then, and they can be fucking demoralising. But the good ones make it worth it.

Fucking Elephants-Fucking aces

Influences:

What are your top 5 albums?

Neutral Milk Hotel - In an Aeroplane Over The Sea

This album, musically and lyrically is the most expressive thing I've heard. I can't describe it, just listen to it right now. 

Animal Collective - Feels

This album broke a lot of rules for me and opened my eyes to endless experimentation and creativity. The first song I heard was Purple Bottle - It was like nothing I've never heard before. 

Smog - Knock Knock

Amazing Songwriter - ominous, deep voice. Classic album 

Neil Young - Everybody Knows this is Nowhere.

I could literally stem most of my lead guitar style to Down by the River and nothing else. Such an influence album for me.

T-Rex - Electric Warrior.

Amazing album, so definitive of Marc Bolan's sound.

I feel like this could change if you ask me next week - It's too hard to nail a list like this down.
What's the best gig you've ever seen?

Most recently would be Charles Bradley at Plains. I literally had a panic attack halfway through "Lovin' You, Baby".

What have you been listening to lately?
I recently discovered My Bloody Valentine and I fucking love em - been listening to Loveless on repeat. I've also been listening to heaps of Soul - motown/stax and everything good. Also a lot of old school Reggae and Ska - compilations from the Jamaican Label called studio one - they did reggae covers of soul hits and there's some gems in there.

What's a band you dig that no one would expect you would like?
I dig tasteful electro pop and can really appreciate when button pushers do it well - I listen to Toro Y Moi, Baths, James Blake and Ratatat a lot.

King Gizzard:

The bloody Ripper single was a bit of a curveball (edit:In a good way),whilst Elbow fits right alongside the festy garage/surf rock Gizzard are known for.With a new album just around the corner,are there many surprises in store,and what have you done to keep things fresh?

I guess it was a bit different for what we've become known for - I think we just wanted to go with something poppier for a single and people didn't expect it. I still think it's a brutal song, it just has some nice pop sensibilities. I guess it's cool that we've got some kind of reputation/expectation - but at the same time that's kind of annoying too -  regardless we'll always write and record the music we want to. The album is pretty varied, I think I've listened to it too much to judge it critically - but I'm proud of what we've done. I'm looking forward to what people have to say about it.

From what I gather,in the early days of the band,the song writing was as simplistic as possible to cope with a fluctuating line up.Now that a more rigid,committed line up is in place,do you find yourselves still writing for simplicity,or do you really try and use such a large band to it's full potential?

 Yeah early days the structures were so simple - our songs literally had a quiet and a loud part. We still write as a 3 piece and the structures are more varied and interesting. We write all the other parts through overdubs while recording then everyone learns their parts kinda one by one to ready them for the live context. So yeah we definitely try to use all the instruments smarter rather than to be loud - not to say we don't use it for that as well.

Looking beyond the album,is there anything exciting planned?
We're touring in Sep/Oct which is always a bunch of fun. We've already started recording a new album - it'll be very different.

Cover art for King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard's new album, 12 Bar Bruise,out on Sept.7th,with a big arse tour to go with it.Artwork by Jason Galea

Atolls:

I know pretty much nothing about this band.Fill us in?
We've recorded a single and a b-side which we're gonna release in mid Sep and Launch in Oct. I guess Atolls is my creative pursuit - I've never been the principal songwriter/frontman in a band and that's what this is - I've been slowly writing new songs and we're in the process of getting a set together to start gigging which will be fun. As for genre, my brother described it very aptly:
Atolls’ sound is built on shifting layers of loops and fuzz, with lead breaks purling out of hissing feedback, like Dinosaur Jr. played through a torn speaker cone. Weird ambient undercurrents swirl under hazy guitar squall. But pop melodies beat down this wall of noise – they’re oddly familiar but kind of cracked and offbeat like Woods or Ty Segal. Atolls’ debut single – Mumble – drops on 17th September and some pretty wild and compelling live shows will follow its release.
The Musical thing:
For this I asked Lucas to send me a photo of  something cool and music related

I recently got this Santo & Johnny record - I've been looking for it for ages. It's a 1958 original. Everywhere I've seen it online it's usually around $100 but I found it cheap. Definitely one of my favourite surf guitar records - my guitar teacher was a surf nut which rubbed off on me a lot. This record has the original version of "Sleepwalk" which is just a the dreamiest fucking thing I've ever heard. I want a lap steel but I reckon they'd be hard to play.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Links:
They have shirts and albums and shit for sale-get around it.I bought their last album and it came with a photo of Lucas tucked into the sleeve,signed on the back with 'Lets kiss,xox,Lucas'
http://kinggizzardandthelizardwizard.com/
http://www.facebook.com/kinggizzardandthelizardwizard
Atolls:
http://www.facebook.com/atollsband

Many thanks to Lucas for taking the time to have a chat.
If you don't go along to a Gizzard show in their up-coming tour,there's something wrong with you
September 8th @ The Nash
October 6 & 7th @ The Tote