Where was your first gig, and how did it go?
My first proper gig was actually in 1987 (I was 16) at Three D Radio (then 3MMM at the beloved old funeral parlour building on Magill Road) when they had their Gong Show! It was my first experimental band called The Nightmare Room. I believe it was for their subscriber-thon and we were competing against different acts (mostly other radio presenters).
Our performance involved me playing an acoustic guitar and singing/warbling – and my bandmate Tony was playing/crashing a metal garbage bin lid. The “song” was really just an improvised racket but heartfelt nevertheless. But we did come second! So perhaps it was the first sign of encouragement to keep going. It was certainly a lifelong love affair with Three D Radio from that point onwards.
What is your artist origin story?
There had always been a sense, even as a child, that I wanted to make music, for better or worse. I’d always hoped – and still do – for the better. I used to just roam around whenever I could get away from people pretending to play pop-star in my own universe. In fact, I think I still am doing that! But as an anxious introvert I’ve always found music making as the best way to escape the noise of humans so my motivation was very high to keep pursuing the art life.
After the tumultuous years of high school hell, I eventually went on to do a theatre degree and from there slowly found my way into composing music and sound designing for theatre, dance and film productions both in Australia and overseas. I’ve miraculously been making a living doing this now for about 25 years which has allowed me a lot of freedom to work on my songwriting and album releases.
What was your impression of the local scene when you first started, and how has that changed?
I started playing a lot in Adelaide in the early 1990s which seemed like a time when you could play three different venues in one night and still get an audience for each one. To me that seems unheard of now. Or perhaps that still happens and I’m simply not aware! But also why would anyone want to play three shows in a night? Perhaps in my 20s I had the energy, now I seem to do one gig, maybe two if I’m lucky every year! And usually in the afternoon.
I feel like there’s still a really great music scene in Adelaide though, and some very supportive venues here. I’m certainly in an older generation now that can only observe it from an ageing distance, but there’s so much amazing music being made in SA, incredible solo artists and bands. It’s always felt like a town that gives musicians the space to emerge.
How has your own project evolved since you first started?
I started writing for this new Sweeney music project, Homophonia, in July this year and the way I usually work is to start recording ideas immediately just to see how the songs might evolve or work alongside each other. However I did begin a lot of these new songs lyrically and began building them that way, mostly as I wanted there to be constant word associations and cycles of thought. I also wanted to challenge myself to begin with words rather than music, which is often how songs begin for me.
The title for the project, Homophonia, plays upon ideas of ‘what does queerness sound like?’ in music and words which set up a musical and lyrical game of Tetris for me, working out if things land sonically. I’m experimenting with interconnected ideas and recording them as I go, seeing what the sounds and textures of this next album might be. I can definitely see an album forming though and am excited to test them out in a live setting first to see how audiences respond.
What is it about your next release/project that you’re most excited/nervous to share with the world?
I’m always a muddled mix of nervous and excited with everything I do. But I also like the idea that somehow releasing new songs into the world – either in recorded form or in live performance – is a kind of unspoken collaboration with the audience, that somehow by putting it out in the world will help me understand if it’s working or not. When an audience is in front of you, or in front of speakers or in headphones, it can be quite confronting and I just have to work through the possibility of failure as an option. Perhaps I should invert that expectation a bit? Ultimately, like many artists, you have to make work that you are happy with first and foremost. Hopefully at this point in my art making life I can listen to my music objectively enough to know that something is working, or at the very least that I’m enjoying it as a listener.
Who are the artists around you that inspire or challenge you?
Well, he’s not exactly around me physically but an artist who is continually inspiring me at the moment is Julio Torres – a writer, comedian and performer from El Salvador based in New York City – who has become a bit of a remote queer idol for me lately and has given me a lot of hope for the future of art. His approach to art, for me, challenges what comedy is, what queerness is and a completely minimalistic approach in the way he presents his work, which I love. He also made his debut feature film with another hero/inspiration of mine, Tilda Swinton, called Problemista. Surreal queerness at its best.
Favourite venue?
It has to be Waterside Workers Hall, the home of Vitalstatistix, led by the incredible Jennifer Greer Holmes, in Port Adelaide. It’s been my art home for over 15 years now and I’ve performed a lot of my music works there. It’s also a place steeped with histories of activism, community gatherings and queer and feminist art.
Dream act to open for?
Well, if he’d have a music act before his show, it would of course have to be as the opener for Julio Torres.
Favourite act to have open for you?
Again, not music, but it would be to screen all of Derek Jarman’s Super 8 films accompanied by Coil soundtracks. If I could get the rights, that might still happen!
Where is your next gig, and how do you hope it will go?
It’s on Sunday November 9 at Grace Emily Hotel, free entry, starting at 4pm sharp and followed by a Q&A with my collaborator Stephen Nicolazzo, Artistic Director of Brink Productions. You can be home by 7:30pm! As it will be a set of mostly new in-progress material never performed live before, I’m truly hoping it goes well and the audience will be kind.
Jason Sweeney performs at the Grace Emily Hotel on Sunday November 9. Listen to more of his work here.