Interview by Jeb Taylor

From left :
Steve Obrien (Drums)
Stew Cunningham (Guitar/Vocals)
Wayne Stokes (Bass)

www.myspace.com/leadfinger

Way back in the very early nineties early nineties as a young kid aged around eleven or twelve I found it hard to believe that there wasn’t music out there other then what was being pushed through commercial airwaves (Triple J hadn’t hit Wollongong at the time). Like a lot of people my search began with checking what was on Rage late at night as the internet was still along way in the future. The Mudhoney track ‘This Gift’ was the sort of music I was looking, when I next had enough money, I trekked into the local record shop to try to find it, of course it wasn’t available in this part of the world but I found out you could get it at a place in Sydney called Waterfront.

I convinced my mum to take me up to Sydney to get hold of the release and while purchasing their classic self titled release, the guy behind the counter (who I later realized was former Waterfront co-owner and now Mojo Records owner Frank) told me to check out a 7” by the band Proton Energy Pills. The experience of walking into that shop and getting those two releases had opened me up to a whole new world.

From the moment I first heard the Proton Energy Pills track ‘Strawberry Patch’ and realized they were from my hometown, I have closely followed the members musical pursuits ever since. With a Proton Energy Pills retrospective around the corner, a Brother Brick double set recently released and a new Leadfinger CD/LP out now on Bang Records, I caught up with Stewart ‘Leadfinger’ Cunningham to talk all things past, present and future.

Tell us a bit about the Proton Energy Pills, where you used to play gigs, who else was in the band, memorable moments, ect.
The Protons was my first band and we had a lot of fun, the band also featured Lenny Curley from the Pink Fits on guitar, Richie from the Creeps on Drums, Lenny’s brothers Jason on Bass and Dave on Vocals. We started in 1986 when we were still at school and I guess we were the first original post punk band from the Gong to release records (on the independent Waterfront label which was home to The Hard Ons, Massappeal and Ratcat among others). We had long hair and we were noisy and fast and we played our own songs unlike most of the other bands in Wollongong at the time. We eventually got lots of gigs in Sydney and toured Brisbane and Melbourne at a time when that just didn’t happen. We also did all-ages shows and we broke a lot of ground for the music scene in Wollongong especially. In the Gong our first gigs were at the Ironworkers Club supporting 60’s garage bands The Stayns and The Unheard. We also played at the Balkan Club, Balgownie Soccer Club Hall, Thirroul Skating Rink and lots of parties. Later on when we had some records out we were getting gigs at the North Gong Pub & The Uni bar as well as heaps of gigs in Sydney. Two of the most memorable Gong gigs we did were at the Master Builders Club as support for Dinosaur Jr and Mudhoney on their first Australian tours. We also supported Mudhoney on the rest of their Australian tour as well as some amazing shows with Dinosaur Jr in Melbourne. I guess getting our first two singles out was a big highlight – especially since they did well on the independent charts - the second single was produced by J. Mascis too. Another highlight for me was something that happened just last year… one of our songs was included on the recent historical compilation album Tales from the Australian Underground, it was really cool for the band to have been included in a collection alongside the likes of Kim Salmon, The Saints, Birdman, The Triffids and Died Pretty.

There is a retrospective release of the band due out soon, what features on that disc and how did it all come about?
The CD is called Rocket To Tarrawanna and is being released by Spanish Record Label called Bang! Records – it should be available by the end of July. I have had an ongoing relationship with the Bang! Label and they have released a lot of stuff for me over the years as well as heaps of other Aussies like the Beasts of Bourbon, The Drones, Kim Salmon, Bored etc – Bang! are big fans of the Protons too and they have been hassling me to do this for years so I finally got around to sending them the music about 18 months ago. It’s something I have always wanted to do because I felt the Protons were an important band in the scheme of things and we inspired a lot young people to play music and form bands but because all of our stuff came out on vinyl (just before the time that CD’s came out) it meant that none of our music was available in the digital age which I thought was a real bummer. So yeah for me personally I really wanted people in the Gong to be able to hear this stuff for historical reasons as well as the fact I think its good stuff. It’s all of our studio recordings (2 x 7” singles and 1 x EP) plus some demos and some live stuff. Some of the live stuff is pretty raw, we used to jump around a lot in the protons and we didn’t care about playing the songs note perfect, we were young, loud and snotty for sure. The artwork is pretty awesome too and was done by Dillon Hicks (who played drums in the Zambian Goat Herders), another band from the Gong who were inspired by the Protons so that’s been really cool to have him involved.

Following your time in the Protons, you formed Brother Brick, tell us a bit about who else was playing in that band and your release output?
I formed Brother Brick in 1992 with the rhythm section from a great Sydney band called The Horny Toads. The Proton Energy Pills did a few gigs with them and so that’s how I knew them. After the Protons split I moved to Sydney and hooked up with them. The Brick was a funny sort of band, very original with tons of potential but we pissed a lot of people off cos we had a real punk rock attitude and we were playing a really Australian style of rock’n’roll at a time when grunge and Nirvana inspired stuff was all the rage. The first line up put out a couple of 7”singles and an EP and then we split, I kept the band going in short bursts with different people over the years, first with Scott Nash from Asteroid B-612 and another drummer by the name of Craig Jackson – we recorded the bulk of the “A Portable Altamont” CD which originally came out on a French record label. Then around 1997 my old mate from the Protons, Jay Curley joined on Bass and with Nick Reith(Celibate Rifles/New Christs) we recorded the See You Tonight 7”. Jay and I kept going for a bit longer with another Drummer (Ash Thomson) before it all bit the dust in early 2000. It was a part time sort of band but we did some good things, shows with Dead Moon & Zeke and we played heaps with the Powdermonkeys, Celibate Rifles and New Christs. Over the years we had releases in France, Spain and the USA on some good labels too. We wrote some killer tunes in that band, some great hi-energy stuff that sounds really powerful and really Australian too, I guess that is the reason that the name still crops up and why people are interested in the band. If anyone wants to find out more about Brother Brick, Australian label Off The Hip has just released a 2 cd set (called “Stranded in the Nineties”) of all of our stuff with lots of extras. Not all of our stuff was even released locally so I’m pretty happy about that plus it’s all been properly mastered and sounds fantastic. We might even do a one off re-union show later in 2007.

During the nineties you also had time in bands such as Asteroid B-612 and Challenger 7, what was that experience like?
During the 90’s I played in a few different bands, it’s probably one reason why the Brick didn’t do more stuff. I enjoy collaborating with people and I guess I got sidetracked a few times. Whilst the original Brother Brick was going, we became great buddies with Asteroid B-612 and played a lot of gigs together. Around 1994 Asteroids asked me help them record a second album when their other guitarist left, it was only supposed to be temporary but they asked me to join cos it worked well, the album we recorded at the famous Birdland Recording Studios in Melbourne was called “Forced into A Corner” – it’s a killer too. The band ended up being signed by Au-Go-Go records after I joined and we did really well for a time….I ended up doing 2 studio albums, an Ep and a bunch of singles with them before it all went sour on a tour to the USA. Whilst that tour didn’t go well, it was a killer line-up and we had heaps of good times together. I still get many people coming up to me at gigs saying what a great band it was, it must have been the loudest band going around at the time but we had a good tone to the guitars and bass so we got away with it. Again it was a high energy rock’n’roll 5 piece band in the great Aussie tradition of bands like AC/DC, Radio Birdman and The Saints – a bit different to what was cool a the time.
Probably the least known band I did in the late 90’s was The Yes-Men, it’s the least known but one of the things I’m most proud of. It was based in Melbourne and came about cos I was spending a lot of time down there. The band featured Sean Greenway (ex God, Freeloaders) and myself on guitars, Tas Blizzard from the Meanies(and later Jay Curley)on Bass and Mark Hurst on drums. We recorded an amazing album called Prosody that was released internationally on a big European label called White Jazz (at the time it was home to The Hellacopters among others). We were all set up to do a European tour with The Hellacopters and things were looking good when Sean Greenway tragically died in early 2001 and that was the end of the band. He was a good friend so it cut pretty deep – I guess that’s partly why I didn’t do any music for a few years afterwards. Prosody was/is a great album and anyone who is into hi-energy rock with great songs (a la Sonic’s Rendezvous Band, Hellacopters, Turbo Negro) will love it. I also collected all of our unreleased songs, demos and covers together and this was released on CD as “The Yes-Men” on an English label (Butchers Hook) and on vinyl as “El Peligro Ha Comenzado” (translates to The Danger Has Begun) on Bang! Records out of Spain – this also turned out to be pretty good but obviously a bit disjointed compared to Prosody. The Yes-Men didn’t play many gigs but we made it to Wollongong a couple of times to play at the North Gong, I remember they were great gigs too.
Finally, Challenger-7 was a power-pop sort of band inspired by the likes of the Posies, Teenage Fanclub and The Replacments. The emphasis was on melody and good songs rather than raw power or high energy like the other bands. The main dude was Ian Underwood who previously came to Sydney from Perth in a band called The Kryptonics. I joined them after I left Asteroids and it only lasted a few years. Challenger-7 were previously a 3 piece that had released a couple of singles but as good a songwriter as he was, Ian wasn’t much chop on the guitar so they asked me to join. We didn’t do many gigs and instead focused on writing and recording a great little album that would eventually be called “Payola”. Not long after Payola came out the band split up, I know the other guys were really disenchanted by the fact that we had made such a great album – it was really well written and recorded but in Sydney it was virtually ignored. Me, well I wasn’t too shocked by that – (I’m used to it unfortunately – Ha!!!) so I sort of tried to talk them out of it but it wasn’t my band so I just accepted it. I would have loved to record another album with that band because we worked really well together in the studio.
Yeah sure some of these bands didn’t last long but I like to think we made our mark and did our thing, then that was it – time to move on, in the case of The Yes-Men it was cut short prematurely. To be honest I think more bands should split up, it’s boring to see some bands hang around for so long just repeating themselves and taking up space when a new band or some young kids could be getting that ‘oxygen’ or gig that they are using up. I try to do something original and different in each band I play in – for as much as I like to rock out and play gigs it’s really about art and creativity and expression, write some songs and have some fun and after a point it ends, sure it can be disappointing but I feel that creatively that’s a natural part of the process so why fight it…. why hang around for ten years playing the same stuff to the same people and expecting to “hit the big time” or “be found” when there are new adventures and sounds to explore?

You seemed to drop off the music scene radar there for a while after that, was it a case of just needing to get away from it for a while and new priorities in life?
Yes it’s true I disappeared for about 4 years, partly because I had a gutful of playing in bands and felt a bit down in the dumps about it – I was a bit exhausted too I suppose, and broke. A few close musical friends had bad things happen to them and that affected me pretty deeply too. What can I say, if it feels phoney then I don’t do it man, I put a lot into the playing & writing of my songs – I really mean it when I get up there and I don’t just write the usual garbage lyrics about girls, cars and luv so if that feeling isn’t there I can’t get on a stage. I also wanted to do some normal things like some traveling and have a bit of freedom, you know just boring things…like being able to buy a new pair of jeans or some new shoes. It was good to have a break from playing and I really felt like I had disappeared - it was very liberating to have no responsibility and to just play my guitar for the pure enjoyment of it, it helped me to survive my own demons and I’m a better person for it.

You came back on to the scene initially playing solo acoustic gigs as Leadfinger, was that a case of getting away from loud rock or just to try out something a bit different?
It was for both of those reasons. I ended up back in the Illawarra in 2005 by accident after living in the Blue Mountains and it was at that time that I really started writing songs again. I started thinking about doing some gigs and one thing led to another. I felt if I got up onstage by myself and put myself in an unfamiliar situation then it would eventually make me a better player and singer, I needed a challenge and I thought it would help me to develop something different to the other bands I’ve played in. It would have been too easy and predictable to put another rock band together and just blast away – very boring for me too. In hindsight I believe that getting up there by myself was the best thing I could have done, it was humiliating at times but it has set me on a new course towards something more original than anything I have done before. Of course there were some great people in the Gong who helped me out too, they were really supportive of me and it made a huge difference, they know who they are and they have my total respect and admiration.

You recorded a solo album which has been recently released on both CD and vinyl. Tell us a bit about the album and the importance to you of having a release available on vinyl?
I started writing the songs that would become ‘the floating life’ album in late 2005 and at the same time I was building a small home studio and mucking around with recording techniques and gear, after a lot of work, trial and error I eventually had about 20 songs completed. There was a point early on where Wayne Stokes (the current bass player in my band) and I were jamming with a view to putting a band together but his work commitments meant he had to leave the gong so then I just kept writing and recording by myself. I liked the idea of doing stuff with some sort of DIY ethos but I didn’t set out to write an album or anything like that, as for it being a ‘solo album’ – well I’m not real comfortable with that term but I guess it is just that. It all developed naturally and somewhat by accident although in hindsight there was definitely a subconscious idea at work in the songwriting as the album flows really well and has many connected and recurring themes. I had kept in touch with the guys from Bang! and while they were hassling me about doing the Protons thing they were also asking about what I was doing now so I sent them the recordings. The first disc I sent them was rough and purely just for their interest but then the mixes and songs started to develop more so about 6 months later I sent them a new version of what would become the album, the mixes were more focused and some of the poorer songs had been replaced by stronger material. Then out of the blue, just when I had forgotten I had even sent Bang! the latest mixes they contacted me and said they were going to release it on vinyl and CD, I was pretty blown away. Don’t get me wrong ‘the floating life’ is not the “White Album” or anything, it’s a lo-fi sort of intimate album of good songs, it is meant to be something different for me and for the listener. As much as I’m proud of the fact I wrote, played, recorded and mixed it all by myself, I’m nervous about how it will be received as it is fairly personal stuff, oh well it’s out there now! As for the fact it’s coming out on vinyl, well I’m into vinyl and I can’t wait to see the artwork and hear it on record – it was actually mastered specifically for vinyl so it should sound really cool – especially cos Bang! do the really thick heavy type of vinyl pressings. I didn’t really expect other people to be as excited about it being on vinyl so I’ve been very surprised about the reaction. Gorka from Bang! records told me the other day that he has pre-orders for 200 copies of the vinyl already and lots of people locally have said to me they will buy a vinyl copy so there you go. Maybe vinyl will save the music industry, cos mp3’s certainly won’t. It’s ironic that ten years ago I was ruing the fact the Protons never got released on CD and now today I’m so thankful that my record is going to be released on vinyl!!

It, like a lot of your stuff has been released on Spanish label Bang Records, what do you think of the fact your music is a lot more well known throughout Europe than it is here in your home country?
Yes it seems to be true. I have had many releases overseas and lots more notice, even Challenger-7 was released in Japan before Australia!! There was a time when I thought I had made a mistake by not trying to pursue more local releases but now I think I have made the right decision and I am totally comfortable with it. Bang! Records is the right house to be in now, they have a good reputation and distribution all over the world including Australia, they do vinyl (which no Australian label does) and they have a very impressive roster of bands – sure there are some minor negatives involving communication and timing but they are 100% behind me and are very honest and trustworthy people who are absolutely passionate about the music. They released ‘the floating life’ not to make money but because they believe in me and wanted to release the next 3 records I make. I think the best thing is to go with people who are into what you do whether it be in Australia or Spain or North Korea…well maybe not there! Don’t get me wrong I still want a local release but if I put out some good records overseas then eventually there is a good chance it will be released here as has happened with Off The Hip and the Brother Brick retrospective – sure it might take a bit longer (too long in fact which was partly my fault) but I’m just happy to get my stuff out there. As for my music being more well known throughout Europe than here, well ten years ago I would of blamed the Australian music business and it’s obsession with trends and things that sound American or British and whilst that’s still true, I’ll take my share of the blame as I could have done more to promote my bands and records so that’s cool. I’m happy to be in the underground anyway – I don’t want to be on a major label or make heaps of dough, everyone I know who has been in the mainstream has been screwed up by the experience so there you go, life (and music) is more interesting on the edges.

Leadfinger has recently developed into a three piece rock band with an impressive rhythm section. Can you tell us a bit about the band and your plans for it (releases, shows)?
Well I’ve been fortunate to be joined by Wayne Stokes on Bass and Steve O’Brien on Drums. Both these guys are great players who should be well known to everyone down the Gong. Wayne was in Thumlock and until recently, The Wardens whilst Steve has done everything from the Unheard to Tumbleweed to Monstrous Blues and beyond. I’ve played with some great rhythm sections over the years and these guys are definitely up there. It’s still a work in progress as we’ve only been together since the start of the year, we’ve done about 8 gigs but I’m hoping we can get something good going – we just need to do some more gigs. We are about half way through recording an album, it’s going well and I am pretty confident that it is going to be a fairly hi-energy affair with a strong emphasis on melody and original sounding songs. It’s pretty rockin so far. As for plans, well on the back of the Bang! Records release I’ve received an offer to go to Europe in June 2008 and I’ve been contacted by people in Brisbane and Adelaide too but I guess my main goal is to get this second album finished and play a few good gigs before the end of this year, no big deal.