Bitter Shoosh is made up of Wagga musicians Scott Cochrane on guitar and vocals, Troy O’brien on drums, percussion and vocals and Jason Ip on bass and vocals.
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This weekend they are launching their first studio album at The Home Tavern so they sat down with The Daily Advertiser to talk about how the band got started, recording together and their new album.
For more information about the band click here.
1. How did Bitter Shoosh get started?
Scott: Troy and I started playing together in high school in the 80s, not mentioning any ages, and then we went our own way and lost connection for a while. In 2013, we ran into each by chance and asked him if he was doing anything musically.
Troy: I hadn’t been for a while.
Scott: I had been playing with a few bands over the years and I said we should get together and have a jam, but he didn’t have a drum kit. I had one though so we finally got together and had a jam. Then we got a bass player, who wasn’t Jason, and then we had another bass player and then Jason came along.
Jason: They can’t keep bass players you see.
Scott: He was looking for something different and I showed him some of what we played and then we did a Relay for Life in 2014 and we started playing here at The Home which has been fantastic. When this closes we lose this. Jumping forward that’s why we want to get involved on the weekend to say thank you to Trevor for his passion.
Jason: There is another element too, playing original music in Wagga. It is such a conservative place to begin with and then to play originals. It has been invaluable to us.
2. What made you decide to bring in other musicans and vocalists for Tullamore?
Scott: To give the song it’s full credit. That’s what we have been really interested in, taking the song and making it the best it can be. These guys will tell you, when we’re rehearsing before going into the studio I can be very painful because we have a song and we deconstruct them.
Troy: We explore all the different avenues a song could possibly go and often we’ll come back to the original arrangement but we’re satisfied we looked at all the options.
Jason: We’re a three-piece band too, so there’s only so much that we can do and a recording studio does open the scope, but we do it for a reason to add value.
3. How is it working together for hours on one track?
Scott: I am sure these guys can tell you it can get quite frustrating, but we have produced an album now. I think I can speak for all of us and say we are really proud of it. I still get chills listening to it.
Jason: Scott is the artistic personality and we have been trying to get him into focus rather than playing the same song differently each time. Now we have locked ourselves down and our sound as a band.
Scott: We are playing for each other now rather than just for ourselves. We are halfway through a second album and these two are writing songs.
4. How do you feel about the launch?
Troy: Excited and proud.
Jason: Very proud.
Scott: Just anxious to get it out there and get people listening to it and enjoying it. I would love for people to hear it and give feedback as well.
Jason: We should point out that those who contributed to it, most of them will be playing at the launch as well.
Scott: It will be as close to the studio sound as we can get.
Jason: The capstone for me was meeting the family behind Captain & 366. We are donating the proceeds to the Downside Hall and for the memorial there.
Scott: We were invited to perform this weekend to say farewell to 143 years of The Home as an establishment in town and we thought it would be great to send Trevor off with this launch. He has supported us so much and always been passionate about our music.
5. Do you think people will be surprised that this was for the most part produced in Wagga?
Jason: Not so much the musicians, but I think the general public will be because they don’t realise the resources, the facilities and the skills we have here to do this. The guy in Melbourne who did the mastering seemed quite surprised by the level of sophistication coming from a country town.
Troy: That type of feedback for us to get is great and it helps to inspire it.
Scott: I think anyone listening would be surprised by how professional it sounds. We’re not in it to make money. We have families and Wagga is our home. We do it for the love of music.
6. Why choose the song title Tullamore as the name of the album?
Scott: It’s got a real story to it and a real guts to it and it has really resonated with people who heard it in the early days. That song tells the story of how far we have come. It was good when we started and it’s even better as the studio version. That song transcends where we are from and where we started.
Jason: It’s on the jukebox at the Tullamore Hotel and they are oven the moon about it.
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