Josh Shipton

Story

okay...been performing in Australia for 25 years...am an advocate for the proliferation of original music and community within and across the local music scenes in Sydney...I compose, sing and play guitar and sometimes bass for Josh Shipton and the Blue Eyed Ravens, I sing and play guitar for Panic Syndrome, I sing and play bass for TRIANGLE, I do vocals for experimental duos: Towel, Bi-Guignol, The Hollow Ship and Valravn and I curate a monthly show called JoSh's Travelling Sideshow Of Soloists that is solo, original performances at a different venue every month. So yeah...i'm super busy and poor

Profile

• Musician
• Guitarist
• Band Manager
• Bass Guitarist
• Curator
• Songwriter
• Singer
• Vocalist

Instruments

• Theremin
• Vocals
• Vocals
• Guitar
• Guitar
• Keyboards
• Bass
• Bass
• Piano
• Calimba
• Theremin
• Theremin
• Cigar Box Guitar
• Keyboards
• Keyboards
• Piano
• Piano
• Calimba
• Calimba
• Cigar Box Guitar
• Cigar Box Guitar

Genres

• Post-punk
• Avantgarde
• Rock
• Experimental
• Goth
• Improvisation

Influences

• Neil Finn
• The Cure
• Nick Cave
• Pink Floyd
• Cream
• Leonard Cohen
• Hoodoo Gurus
• Primus

Equipment

• Fender Jaguar
• Squier Vi
• Miruzzi Custom 6
• Rickenbacker 4001
• Maton
• Labsystem 400b
• Fender Hot Rod Deluxe
• Fender Jaguar Special

Languages

• English

What is music to you? What does it give you?

a direct and intimate connection to someone else's consciousness...and free drinks...lots of free drinks...but mostly, the well thought out bit

What is your music dream?

to never stop learning...to create a community in Sydney that is free from scenes and exclusivity...and to kiss Fiona Apple...and to have my face punched by Fiona Apple...and Fiona...and Apple...if she knock out a tooth i'll wear it around my neck as a necklace...and to have the apple renamed to the Fiona Apple...and Fiona Apple

If you could change the world - what would you start with?

everything starts with a stupid idea...the trick is to make a stupid idea come true...or a really, really good joke

Which is the most memorable song from your childhood?

Jim Croce - Time In A Bottle

Who are your favorite musical artists or bands?

They Might Be Giants, Neil Finn (Crowded House/Split Enz), Robert Smith (The Cure), Nick Cave, PRIMUS, Merzbow, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, T.I.S.M., Nine Inch Nails, my bands...i really like my bands...they sound awesome and i'm sad i can never go out to see them

What inspires you to make music?

love, hate, death, sadness, depression (look, mental health in general), beauty...how fucking beautiful everything is...even the worst things

What is the message you want to send with your music?

that's your job...once the music leaves the speaker it no longer belongs to me...i want you to find your own meaning in my words and sounds...

How do you feel when you perform in front of an audience?

alive...like i could never be sick...like i could live forever if i could just stay up on stage...though...forever would be significantly shorter after the first two days living only on the rider

How do you see the musicians’ reality nowadays? What could be improved?

most musicians are poor...that is definitely the case for original musicians...you improve this by getting out of your houses and discovering things that are in front of you instead of on a screen...and we're also responsible for the job of writing better songs

What do you think of Drooble?

it's a good idea...but i haven't been here long enough for the jury to get back to me

What frustrates you most as a musician?

exclusivity and overcompetitiveness from other musicians...cliques and scenes...

Do you support your local scene as a fan? How?

yep...i go to as many shows as i can and try to always watch the supports acts at my shows

What qualities should a musician nowadays have in order to get their music heard by a larger audience?

a sense of management and diligence with treating your marketing as a business...after that boring answer...writing good songs and then playing in a way that services the song not the player's own ego...learn how to tell a story...remember that you barely know anything...and eyeliner...lots and lots of eyeliner

Share some awesome artists that we’ve never heard of.

these are all Australian artists: Syntax Error, Anonymii, Beijing Bikini, Burden Man, Burial Grounds, Hiboux (NZ), Howl, JMS Harrison, Fingermae, Laura Attwood and the Tourists, MC Flith Wizard, Merpire, Face Command, Sounds Like Winter, Bunt, Tessa Devine, The Walk On By, White Knuckle Fever, Panic Syndrome, TRIANGLE, Forenzics, Toy Death, Josh Shipton and the Blue Eyed Ravens (of course), Towel, Offensive Behemoth, Operation Ibis, Valravn, Bi-Guignol, Sonya Holowell...that'll get you started

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