Nathan Harvey

In the latest, rollicking episode of "Welcome to Studio 2," I team up with my faithful sidekick Owen Butterworth to welcome the incomparable Nathan “Harp Throb” Harvey, a man whose life could easily fill a tell-all memoir or a raucous rock opera. From his glory days as Australia’s most-photographed model to hosting the much-loved Channel V, Nathan's journey is a whirlwind of laughter, stardom, and the occasional cheeky encounter with rock legends. With stories that include taking Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora surfing after an epic night of partying—only to have his memory erased by a blackout—Nathan proves that sometimes rock ‘n’ roll doesn’t just wind up on the stage but also in the back of a cab with an empty bottle of rum and a questionable sense of direction!

The fun doesn’t stop there; Nathan regales us with tales from his time at SeaWorld, where he once hosted the dolphin show—while tripping on acid, no less! Somehow, he managed to charm the audience and perform like a pro, only to later be informed that it was his most entertaining show ever, leaving him both amazed and puzzled. As we dive deeper into Nathan's adventures, listeners will find themselves laughing at his epic mishaps, from outrageous encounters to his self-deprecating reflections on the wild world of music. Amidst his infectious humor and engaging storytelling, Nathan reminds us that life is just one big jam session waiting to happen, and sometimes the most unforgettable moments come from those unexpected, hilarious detours!

Song Credits

440

Preformed by: The Hanging Tree

Written by: The Hanging Tree

Engineered by: Lucius Borich

Source: The A&R Department 

welcome to Studio 2
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Transcript

Jimmy 0:00

All right. Hello and welcome to Studio 2. Um today, as always, I'm Jimmy. We have the amazing Owen Butterworth at the controls. And sitting across from us is a guy who who had a little feature a few episodes ago, but we decided he needed his own. So with us today we have Nathan Harvey. Nathan, the heart heartthrob Harvey. Formerly heartthrob, now harpthrob. It's too many, too many throbs, Nathan.

Nathan 0:36

There's not too much around me, I hope. Yeah, but um, yeah, we're at the Lincoln Pin and I was playing harp. Troy, Troy goes, come up and play harp, and now I'm called the harp throb.

Jimmy 0:49

The harp throb. Yeah, yeah. So um I know there's a couple of people who'll listen to this episode who had a poster review on the wall. They've personally told me. Um, when I told them that I had you coming on, they're like, Nathan Harvey, I had a poster of him on my wall. And it wasn't me, sorry mate. But um, yeah, no. So I'm sure they'll be glad to listen to this episode. So let's get there then. Oh, hello, we got Chloe. Hello, Chloe. It's been a while. It's my groupie. Chloe looks like she's had a big weekend.

Nathan 1:17

That's that's my that's like one of my groupies old now, and you you instead of getting G-bangers throwing out you get you get bloomers.

Jimmy 1:25

So um I mean, a lot of people would know you from or if they didn't know you might be from back in the day, uh, Channel V, was it? Where you kind of got your your start in the music industry?

Nathan 1:38

Yeah, we in the music industry, yeah. Um it was definitely channel V, but before that uh was modelling, and I I call myself a dumb X-Male model because I am, and um and so uh but but channel V eventuated from uh when I was modelling, I was really quite successful of that. I went overseas to the UK for a while, and uh I was listening to you know hunters and collectors standard Aussie stuff when I came back listening to Metallica and uh all that kind of stuff and um smoking weed and doing all the unhealthy stuff and and and that got me into the um into the music industry and from there I um is that a prerequisite, is it? Not really, in the 90s it wasn't it kind of yeah it really is, isn't it? And um and yeah, and I I I picked up some drums uh or so drumsticks when I was a teenager and and uh but to to to cross over, me and three mates did a a pilot episode, it was called Happening Places, and we we did our own film of it. And uh Kirk, my mate, was studying editing at the time, and another mate was a cameraman, and another mate was a shit kicker, and I was the and because I'd been a model beforehand when I was I started when I was 16, and you know, I used to play footy at the same time. People used to stomp on my head and call me a fag and all that kind of stuff because um I was model, you know, and um and that interfered with with work because back in the day they didn't have Photoshop, and so I'd rock up to a really important shoot and I'd have stud marks all over my face, so I had to pick one.

Owen 3:04

Broken nose and cauliflower ear don't really work well in the modeling. That's right, yeah.

Nathan 3:09

Yeah, yeah. And so, but it was funny, we it was just a bit of a fate thing, and so we made this show and we had it, we made our own theme song. It was like a rap song, and we we hand drew a map of the northern beaches. We had a car and we towed it with a piece of string around a map and and had this little theme song. And um, I sent it to a producer that I'd met and he really loved it. And he goes, You're a natural host. And um, from that I got a show on channel 10, um, which was Beyond Productions. I don't know, you remember Beyond 2000? Yeah, yeah. Same company Beyond 2000, and um they took a huge punt, and it was like a youth affairs show punted straight against the news in prime time, and so suddenly I was like boom, like thrust into the spotlight big time, and um it lasted 13 weeks. And at the time I was I was gonna get a massive sponsorship from Pepsi, and uh I had to turn it down because for my career, the show was sponsored by Coke, and it was 13 weeks and it bombed out, unfortunately, or it didn't bomb out, the show was good, but channel 10 got itchy feet and thought, oh, we don't know whether this is gonna work. And um, I lost a hundred thousand dollar Pepsi endorsement sponsorship because of it. Trying to do something for my own career. But the funny thing is that um Kirk, the editor, he is now David Finch's lead editor, he's won three Oscars now. Oh wow, and uh Dave the cameraman is a um uh IMAX cinematographer, and uh the guy who's a shit kick of fugs is a grip, uh a film grip. So they've all gone well, and I'm just a bum. Living your best life though, yeah, yeah, yeah. So that's that's and and from there, um I got I got pretty much headhunted by Foxtel and I started hosting um a show on Foxtel, uh, and then and then from there they said you'd be great for channel V. Yeah, and so that's how all my music industry stuff started. And um, as I said, I played drums as well, and um I played in a a bit of a pistake band called um The Velvet Underpants, which was a guy called Ken Stewart from Mr. Blonde at the time. Yeah, yeah, cool. And so that that's how it all started. So were they all velvet underground ripoffs or absolutely not, yeah, all original songs, and um we actually had a big white uh a big uh bit of velvet over to kick drum, and so when you went like that it actually pulsated that was fun, yeah.

Jimmy 5:35

Cool. So I mean we probably jumped ahead uh a little bit there, but I just wanted to kind of you know get the elephant out of the room. But um yeah, so essentially you said you had a little map of the northern beaches, so I'm gonna assume you grew up on the northern beaches.

Nathan 5:47

Yeah, yeah, I was um born in Manley and uh lived around Manley for only two or three years, and then we moved further down the coast towards um, or up the coast, should I say, uh, towards Monavale. I went to Pillwater High School, um, not Pierwater House. Pierwater House is considered the snobula. And um yeah, and so I spent most of my youth um down that way, and then uh as soon as I left school, I went straight over to the UK and uh and did my modelling over there and did that for a while. So yeah, it was awesome.

Jimmy 6:18

Cool. I I did a little sit in the UK as well. It was a fun time, early 20s.

Nathan 6:23

Yeah, it does your head in at times though. It's just too drizzly and wet and cold and damp and you can't get the bloody mould off everything.

Jimmy 6:31

And yeah, I was so high I don't remember it, but um just the good times.

Nathan 6:37

Yeah, I I well that was that was the funny thing because I was so involved in playing rugby. Um I was like rugby, rugby, rugby, and um because I I played pretty high-level rugby and we toured New Zealand and played the major provincial sides over there, and um so I didn't touch cigarettes or weed or anything until I went to Europe and going to Europe, everyone was smoking. Um, everyone was smoking weed. I lived in Barcelona for three months, and you know, by the time I came home, yeah, muso or music industry, should I say, and that that was what sold me, yeah. So yeah.

Jimmy 7:15

So um growing up in northern beaches as a as a family, where you said you picked up the drumsticks at some point, were was your family a musical family?

Nathan 7:26

Uh my dad, my dad used to sing um at church. He used to be uh like sing at church, and um and but he was from the mean streets of uh Liverpool in the UK and uh they came over, they were the 10-pom uh pounds. Yeah, 10 pound poms, and um and so they came over they came over in 67, I think it was, and um and so they were always into music, and so my musical taste was definitely from my old man, and um inheriting his vinyl collection could pay off my mortgage, but um I'm never gonna sell it, you know, because I've got first press first release Beatles albums from Liverpool, you know, so it's just pretty rad. You know, it was their very first album. I've got first press, first release. And um yeah, and I've got Sgt. Pepper's first press, first release, and all that kind of stuff. So that's pretty cool to have that in your collection. And um yeah, it's it's uh because I've been moving around so much, it's at my friend Kat's um, you know, the keyboard player, Kat, my friend. So she's down in Bundina, so it's safe down there because it'll probably get trashed um with all the moving around that I've been doing. And um, yeah, but uh yeah, but from that, it's it's it's really had a lot to do with my my musical taste, and um and that's why, you know, with with my own music that I'm doing and also with the guzzlers, I'm I always want to experiment because you know you listen to bands like the old school bands like Moody Blues and ELO and um and Pink Floyd. I mean Pink Floyd is my favourite band in the world. Um you know, it's it's always made me really, really want to to experiment and say, but there was a huge gap. I mean after after I left Channel V, I I I literally didn't really have anything to do with music until 10 years ago when I picked up a guitar, and and so in that time I've I've done a bazillion things in between, yeah, which was hosting shows at SeaWorld, pushing back planes at Sydney Airport and all sorts of things. So yeah, so but even at SeaWorld, um I was there for almost 10 years, and so I was running the desks there as well. So I was running the live shows, and um, yeah, there's a really funny story about that. I'll tell you about it later if you want.

Jimmy 9:29

Tell us right now.

Nathan 9:30

Fuck that's what we're you for, mate. All right, well, um, okay, well, it was my mate's birthday party at the Gold Coast, and um yeah, and basically it was three in the morning, and and I was supposed to go to work the next day and decided to drop a micro dot of acid. And I was waving at buses at seven in the morning, we went, Oh, I don't think I'll be going to work. And um, and my boss is really understanding, they were really, really pretty cool guys, and and I said, mate, look, and we always had we always had backup sites, so there's always people who could back up. And I said, mate, I've had a bender, it's my mate's birthday, I was honest, and he goes, he goes, Oh mate, I see, oh mate, I uh uh but he didn't obviously know that I'd had a trip. And so he thought I was just hung over and I said, mate, I'm in no condition to work. And he goes, Oh mate, can you please just come and run the desk? Can you please just come and run the desk? You don't need to do a show, it's all good, right? And so the average day at SeaWorld, you'd start by doing a dolphin show, then you'd do the seal show, and then you do the water ski show and repeat. And and so it's six shows a day. And so we got through five shows, and I was I was fine, even on acid, I was fine mixing the shows because it was really simple. Like a couple of mics, turn it up, turn it down, play the soundtrack, easy as, right? And um, there was a big emergency at the seal at the seal show, and they got held up for ages, and they said, Oh, you've got to host the dolphin show. And I'm like, Oh fuck. Could you talk to the dolphins at that point? I don't know what the fuck I was talking to. Anyway, um, dude, I I to be honest with you, I can't really remember the show, but I can remember the ending because at the very end, the head um dolphin trainer, her name was Carly. She she goes like this to me, goes, No, it didn't come here and I oh here we go. And she goes, Whatever you did for that show, that's the best show you've ever done. Make sure you do that again. I'm like, no, you don't want that, we'd not want that because the thing about it, right, is the dolphin show is all the flowery one where you're going, oh, look at the dolphins and all this kind of stuff. And I've struggled with that shit. I was like, you know, the the the water ski show, let's go, it's the water ski show and all that kind of stuff. And so I was hosting that for seven years, or actually not seven years, um, about five years, but um and and and the the steel show was a total comedy, and so I was really comfortable with that, but I was struggling big time with the dolphin show. But then the next day I go to the dolphin show, hung over as fuck, it was terrible. Yeah, because he said that show I did was amazing, yeah. And and but I got sort of bored of that and I befriended the water skier um captain and uh ended up becoming a pro-water skier there and ended up playing the lead part of the water skier at Seawell.

Jimmy 12:19

What the fuck?

Nathan 12:20

I learned how to ski from never water skiing in my life to doing 110 foot jumps off a ramp and uh and backward barefooting.

Jimmy 12:27

No way, yeah. That's amazing. Yeah, yeah. What was so I mean, what was that process like? Crazy. Um did do you do you learn in a foam pit or you just going straight?

Nathan 12:40

You just go straight out there and and well there's there's boats going, there's boats going around the lake, yeah, all day with skis practicing, and there's some guys that are really good and they're going, oh, I don't feel like practicing, and I'll go, I'll go. And I literally had to do one act for about a year and a half, which was I played big fat Pete. He was the I was the big um developer, I was called Pete Millions, and I had this big uh pink Moo Moo one, and I was in a big fat suit. I was like, we're gonna kick everyone out of this this place and we're gonna build a big thing, and and they dragged me over the ramp and I at about 80 kilometres an hour, um, and I do this flip in the air, and and both my skis come out and everyone laughs, and and I perfected that to the point where I was doing bailouts bigger than some of the biggest best skiers in the thing, and they said, Right, I you're ready to do all the other acts in the show as well. And then I started doing slalom skiing, and and you know how they do the pyramid? I was in the pyramid and they have all that in the end, and and um where you jump off the tower and barefoot around the lake and get up and go woo-hoo, like that. So I was doing all that, and um and then I broke my neck water uh not not at SeaWorld. Um the show unfortunately got canned. Um, but a Canadian friend of mine invited me to Canada, and I broke my neck water skiing in um in Canada, and uh that's how I ended up picking up a guitar, and I never would have picked up a guitar otherwise because I probably would still be a water ski bum now uh if I didn't, but um and so I came back to Sydney and I ended up living with a guy who went to the conservatorium and um I had an old guitar that I bought off one of the old water skis, and we just started jamming together, and that's how I picked up my guitar for the first time, and that was in in uh 2015. Yep, yeah, and you haven't put it down since. Haven't put it down since, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I've written 60, 70 original songs now. Yeah, um, uh, I'm definitely not a good guitarist, but I I think I'm a pretty good songwriter. Um, you've heard a few of them. I've heard a few of your songs. On my money. The cookie monster, gay nuts. You don't know what coming for you. The gay nutty coming for you. Haven't seen this since 1942.

Owen 14:53

We've been recording for 15 minutes, and it's been the most insane 15 minutes of anything I've ever recorded. Oh, there's more.

Jimmy 15:00

There's more, yeah, there's way more. So much more. Um so much more. Actually, he's he's got a really good story about getting out of hospital with a broken neck in Canada too. Oh, yeah. You don't have to tell that.

Nathan 15:14

Yeah, I know I can tell that. This is pretty funny. Um well my old man, my old man had to come over, and and the thing is when I broke my neck, it was really gnarly because um I thought I'd just pull like like pulled or strained some muscles, right? And and they got me in the boat, and I just said, Oh, I feel a little bit giddy, and and I I actually pulled hauled myself up into the boat. And I said, I feel a little bit giddy, I don't think I can do any more of the show. And this was the first show of the season, and I sailed over on a yacht, believe it or not, from bloody um Fort Lauderdale to Bermuda, and then flew from Bermuda to Canada. Um, because my mate That's the long way around. Well, my mate was sailing around the world, so when SeaWorld finished, he goes, Do you want to crew on a boat? And I said, Fuck yeah. And um, we I got all the way to Bermuda and um and uh because I done a lot of sailing when I was younger too, and um we got all the way to Bermuda and he goes, Do you want to keep on going to Ibeza? And I'm like, Oh fuck. And um I had to go to Canada, and so I spent two or three weeks scrubbing the ramps in Canada, and um, and then I and then I broke my neck. Um first show of the season, so I was spewing because I was actually gonna be a water ski instructor at a six-star Marriott resort, um, which was uh in a place called Muskoka, and Goldiehorn has a cottage there, so to speak. It's that kind of place.

Jimmy 16:36

It's like Aspen but for the lake, aspen but for the lake, yeah.

Nathan 16:38

Yeah, sweet. And in Canada, it's a warm lake, which is very rare, and it's because it's shallow, and so when the sun comes, it actually warms the lake because a lot of the lakes around there, like Lake Michigan and all those types of lakes, uh are super super deep, and so they stay. And they stay cold all year round. So that one just north of Toronto is is you know the millionaires' playground because everyone wants that warm water in summer, and it's a rare thing in Canada. Yeah, and um and so anyway, I'm digressing. Uh so after I broke my neck, um it was full on I got onto the boat and I had a bilateral dislocation in my C4 and C5, which was like you get like that, and then up, and and it was so serious that they um took me, they took me to the first hospital and they went, Whoa, this is too serious for us. And took me to the second one, and I I lay in sort of my own shit basically for 30 hours because they couldn't even move me to the change. And um but they operated and I've got a titanium plate and four screws in my neck holding my neck together. Yeah, and um, and in a way, it was lucky that it was serious enough to do that because if it wasn't I would have probably been six to three to six months in a um a halo stuck in Canada. Yeah, and so my old man flew over and um he was he couldn't believe it. He goes, Holy shit, how is this place? Uh like I my my my mate, um his dad was uh vice president of the Bank of Montreal, so he had this cottage ourselves on the on the lake. And here I get up with looking like Robocop into a brand new Mastercraft ski boat across the lake, having a coffee, and my dad didn't want to go home. Yeah, he's going, this is fucking great, this is a great holiday. And I said, Dad, I I kind of want to go home now. I've got a broken neck, but um just be and I couldn't be I had to wait like at least a week before they let me fly. And um, I've been chatting up this chick, and she was like nowhere to lie, she was 11 out of 10.

Jimmy 18:37

And she's a picture.

Nathan 18:39

She was she was too far.

Jimmy 18:46

It's good, dear.

Nathan 18:47

Yeah, and so and so I snuck out, right? I snuck out and and and and and I went over to her house and and and if it was gonna happen, it was gonna happen then, right? And sure enough it happened. And I was lying on my back the whole time, and she's going, Are you alright? And I'm going, I'm absolutely fine. She's been doing all the work, I was just there going, you and um, and I get back home, and dad goes, Where the fuck have you been? And I told him, and he went, All right, yeah, so um, yeah, so but Benny Benny told me it was going to be loose when I got John here. Oh, loose address. And um, and so I came back with my tail between my legs, and as I said, um, and that was the precursor before I started working for Virgin, and I just started in the pic through throwing bags and um progressed quite quickly up to dispatching the aircraft. And and dispatching the aircraft is where you um you're you see guys where they have these little things they they clamp onto the the bottom of the aircraft, yeah, and they've got rollers and they so I was operating those, the PPUs, and um talked to the captain saying when he could start his engines and disconnecting and doing all that, and so I did that for ten years before um before COVID happened, and then Virgin went bust, didn't they? And so I moved up here. Yeah, cool. What was the biggest aircraft you pushed out? Uh A330. Nice, yeah, yeah. It's the biggest aircraft Virgin had. Yeah, right. Yeah, and I got a great video of it actually. Yeah, it's pretty cool. Awesome. And all the aerosexuals we we we call them um loved it, and they said, Are you allowed to publish? Are you allowed to put that on Facebook? And I said, Yeah, there's no critical information because people can you get aerosexuals that hang there and they've got the scanners, you know, and they're picking up all the aircraft traffic and they're sitting there going, Oh I've never heard the term.

Owen 20:37

Having a wank over all the aircraft all the aircraft chatter. I don't get that excited about it, but I am a mild aerosexual myself. I haven't heard the term before, but yeah. Well, you're a resonates, doesn't it?

Nathan 20:49

Well, you do it over different things, you're an audio fan.

Owen 20:51

I do it over planes as well. Like I fucking love planes. Like I'm the kind of person when I go on a trip, I get to the airport like three hours before and sit there and drink a beer and have my flight radar up and fucking so my favourite place in the world.

Nathan 21:04

It's always a good idea to do that anyway, because I was always running late, right? Especially when I was doing all the modelling and TV stuff. Yeah, I was I was partying so hard, and you know, I'm waking up hung over, running from one place to another, and I was always running late. And uh I've I've always it ever since then I've just said I love being early, and it was just being early today, for example. You drove in, I was sitting there with a beer with a ginger beer, watching the sunset, you know, is you and and you there's just less stress in your life, 100%, you know?

Jimmy 21:35

Yeah, yeah. We've um I've been doing a bit of freeway driving with work, and uh you get the the people that want to do like 140k to work. Yeah, and anyway, I'd I became one of those people myself one day, and it's I I've I'll never do it again for the for the pure reason I jumped in my car and I said I was gonna be ten minutes late to work, and I'm like, oh, if I do 140, I might get there in time. I got there eight minutes late to Work, I saved two minutes doing that shit, and I'm like, so now I call when I see somebody just flying past me, I'm like, get home two minutes early, brother. Like it literally does nothing at all. And I'm a I'm a bit well, you could lose your license. Well, you could. I like to turn up on time or 15 minutes early. That's that's me. It's uh you know, if I say I'm gonna be there at 11, I'll be there at fucking 11, man.

Owen 22:22

Like I saw I I think it was like an I want to say it was like Neil deGrasse Tyson or maybe like Bill Knight, like one of those like classic like you know, science guys that does TV and shit. Yeah, and he was talking about like you know, if you're traveling at you know, let's say 110 kilometers an hour and you take that to 120 or 140, like your time travel like decreases by like 1.4% or something, but your in your risk of death increases by like 300%. Like it's something fucking ridiculous. Like, yeah, it was insane. Yeah, yeah.

Nathan 22:55

And not only that, you you save a hell of a lot of fuel because anything over 100 Ks an hour, you you you're wasting fuel, you know, because um it's it's basic and I'm one of those people that drives you know just just over a hundred on the freeway, and I I slowly overtake trucks, you know, and and then just pull in. And do you know what? It's a much nicer drive, you're not constantly checking your your mirrors all the time. And I did I did that in um 2019. I sort of had took the year off. Virgin said when they were struggling, right? They they they said um we'll give you a year off and you still have your job when you come come back, which was a lie because it went busting. But that that was a huge thing for me because um, you know, it taught me, and I wrote a song about it, it's called um uh flying high yet going slow, you know, and and and that's what it is, you know. You you go slow and you you start turning left off the freeway and take the take the scenic road. And maybe I'm getting old or something, but you know, everyone's point A to point B, but you you learn so much shit by doing that, you know. And you you it's like wake up and smell the roses, so to sp so to speak, you know. And you just and you're just cruising, you know, you're just playing your tunes on your stereo. You you don't have to worry about overtaking, everyone's worrying about overtaking you, going, you can't do it. But I don't care. Oh sorry, excuse the French.

Jimmy 24:17

Oh no, yeah. There's been a few of them, yeah. Yeah, so you started telling me a story that just popped into my head ages ago, but I don't actually think you ever finished the story, or maybe we went on a tangent and ended up in a different story realm somewhere. It depends which one. No, you were telling me that um you spent a bit of time up in the Northern Territory, did you not? Uh no, at a cattle station. At a cattle station? Yeah, yeah.

Nathan 24:44

Yeah. Yeah, um that was that that was uh a place called Je Voice. It was 24,000 hectares, and it's uh three hours inland from um from Townsville, and it's right near the Three Rivers Hotel, which Slim Dusty wrote his song about. Yeah, yeah. And so we went to the Three Rivers Hotel, which is unreal, you know, and about as uh out back Queensland as you can get. And um I did a gig out there and I got paid uh I could pick the best A Cubra hat Acubra hat from the stand. I still got that Acubra hat. It's a wicked hat, eh? Yeah, it's one of those really wide brim ones that you just can't get anymore, you know. And so um, and that was unreal. And and so I I during that time I I drove around just doing gigs, and I'd stop at pubs and I'd say, you know, can I have a meal and and and and I'll play play a gig for you. So that was that was a real learning experience for me because I was god awful then. I'd only been playing for about four years. And so they give you a bag of chips when you were done with that? Yeah, that's about it. Yeah, yeah. They said yeah, they gave me a bag of chips to go, don't come back. Yeah, but for me, um for me that was um oh yeah, I'm good. Yeah, for me, um that was that was it was funny because I'd had a little bit of a pro profile from V and stuff like that, and I've got lots of industry connections and stuff, but I I didn't want to I wanted to keep that separate from doing my music because you know I wanted to do the yards, you know, and I've done I've done the yards now, and that's way more gratifying than trying to say, Oh, I was such and such, and you know, here's my first single, like like like Kylie Minogue or something, you know.

Jimmy 26:23

Like, hey, let's not go back there. I've got I had to send an apology email to Danny Minogue after the Troy episode. Did you really?

Nathan 26:32

No, but when you hear it, I might well my gay friend Michael Lil Bash is really jealous because I've got a photo with Kylie Minogue, and she's giving me the greasy eyeball, and I'm going, eh. Greasy eyeball. I can't wait to use that. And he's massively jealous, and I whip him for it all the time.

Jimmy 26:52

Oh and guess what I got to use today. Come on. So you were talking about your partner when she sings, and then she says, If I if I could sing, I'd be too powerful. Yeah, I got to use it today. Oh, nice. In a different context, but it was great. I was just like, mate, imagine if I did that, I'd be way too powerful. And everyone just looked at me and went, what the fuck?

Owen 27:13

She she had another good one in the same vein recently. Uh, Australian Idol has just wrapped up, and a guy that I work with was in like the top three. Kalani. Kalani, yeah. I like Kalani. Yeah, so we were we were watching it when it was getting down to the pointy end, and uh there was some performance in like the top four, top six-ish kind of realm that Lex it wasn't up to standard for her. So she uh and it was a song that she knew really well. I can't remember what it was, but anyway, she's in the bathroom singing along while she's you know in the shower getting herself ready for the day, and then she comes out and she goes, Tell me I'm good enough to be in the top four. I am good enough to be in the top four. That was better, that was better, wasn't it? It's just like yeah, man, it was awesome.

Nathan 27:51

You would have beaten him on the night, okay? That's that's great for Kalani. I mean, he's such a nice kid, you know. I shouldn't say kid. Why do I say kid? Such a nice guy, and um, and and that's that's uh that's um you know that crew that's coming through, like Cassidy and and Lockheed and all those guys. Um they're such a cool, exciting crew of musicians developing here on the Central Coast, you know. The young fellas like Shackton Turtle Custard, yeah. Next level, yeah, yeah, and so and they're and they're pretty studio savvy as well, aren't they?

Owen 28:25

You know, I know the Shacton Turtle Custard guys, some of them like Jay Kinwood studied here and so did Max Raz and stuff, yeah.

Nathan 28:31

Yeah, well I I I listened to um Binot, do you know their album? Um and look it's it's it's not bad, but uh but I I I can see where that they're gonna go really, really well with it. I mean, production-wise, uh but I mean what can I say? I'm I'm I'm only just dabbling in that kind of stuff, you know. I I've just got myself a carbon, um Proteus Carbon. I love that thing, hey. Yeah, there's a good thing that's really really good. And um, and so and and Benny gave me a couple of mics for my birthday, so I've got a fairly decent um little selection of mics now. I've got a U87 and um yeah, or U87 clone, should I say still awesome? Yeah, well I went and bought a a hundred a hundred dollar case for it in Camden. Yeah, and I said, what the fuck, Benny? It was a hundred it was a hundred bucks, but then he he he modified it for me. And holy shit, it's amazing. Yeah, so so um and uh a couple of um with the beta 57 I'm really loving. Oh yeah, classic. Yeah, yeah. What what about what about what's your favourite mic do you think?

Owen 29:31

Uh probably the one that I'm holding. Uh it's uh Sennheiser 441. Oh yeah. I bought it late last year um from a studio, the Sony Studios were closing down in Sydney. Yeah, right. I got it from there. Uh I got it for a good price, and I've been using it on everything. I obviously use it for the podcast, I use it for vocals, sounds awesome on acoustic guitar. I it like it comes with me everywhere I go now. Really when I've got a session. Yeah, I really like it. It's um it's super versatile, and yeah, it's like it looks cool as well, which I think is a fun thing as well, because you know, artists aren't afraid to like hold it and have it in videos and stuff. Like sometimes like the mic Jimmy's talking into, some artists think that that thing looks fucking ugly, which is fair enough. It's an SM7 and it's like big and kind of bulky. Yeah, yeah. Um, but yeah, no, I love I love this mic, I think it's great. Yeah, yeah. Otherwise, if I had you know an unlimited budget, like you know, a Neumann U47 is yeah, yeah. Those things are beautiful as well.

Nathan 30:24

But uh or Benny's CME.

Owen 30:27

Yeah, that thing's nuts. I send you a photo of that, that's pretty cool.

Nathan 30:30

I've never seen a mic that you gotta carry around and it's got its own valve box. Yes, yes.

Jimmy 30:35

Holy shit. Not only that, it's got the handcuffs that go through big time. Yeah, that's beautiful.

Nathan 30:41

Yeah, yeah. We can see why Hitler um, you know, changed the world. He had about four of them on his you see Hitler in his old speeches, right? Is that why they changed the world because of the microphone? I think it had something, I think it had something to do with the the sounds must must have uh you know subdued them or something or put them in a trance of some sort because of that mic microphone.

Jimmy 31:02

It wasn't the microphone, yeah. It may have been it could have been, you never know, bro. Well, let's try it. Let's we're gonna fuse that up. We'll play game six of them, we'll see what happens then.

Nathan 31:19

Yeah, but um, I know all things seriously though, um it's it's it's been a I I'm by no means like I know this is all about studio stuff, and I'm I'm only just exploring that, you know. Um and I I'm I'm for a while there I was struggling, struggling, struggling, and I've finally got my head around editing and stuff, and I'm doing elastic audio in Pro Tools, which is uh unreal. It's been a revelation for me, and and um and to have a teacher like Benny is amazing, you know. And um it's funny, you do elastic audio, it goes, oh now you've got to learn elastique, and I'm going, come on, elastic. Now there's elastique, it's like target and target or something.

Owen 31:58

Elastic audio, Jimmy, and for anyone else listening that like what the fuck is elastic audio? It is uh the algorithm within Pro Tools that allows you to like stretch and time align audio. Um, I particularly like it for bass guitar because it'll look at like the transient of the when the notes hit and then kind of stretch the note out if it needs to be longer or shorter. Uh it's good for I like it for like percussion loops and stuff as well. Um yeah, it allows you to like stretch out the audio while maintaining the correct pitch as well. So it doesn't like warp the pitch or anything if you do it properly.

Nathan 32:30

Yeah, yeah. Amazing programming. And the funny thing is Can't you use that to fix all my timing issues? No, no, well you can say you can say yes, but but the funny thing is once you once you get into and you don't it's funny as an artist, you you don't understand you don't understand how much of a pain in the ass editing is until you start editing in a way, and and the closer the artist gets to being on the mark, it makes the whole process so much easier. And so, you know, and you only start understanding that when I had to edit my own shit. And go, oh, you know, and um, and so that's been super important for me, and and and now I'm getting into the into um you know game staging and eqing and and that's that's next another level, you know, which is really and it's basic, basic stuff, and and um it's funny, like um Benny, Benny was I I keep going back to Benny because um you know how people they get a home studio studio and they build out a couple of tracks and they say I'm a producer now and and um not even close, you know. I'm a sound guy, not even close to being an engineer, even you know. Yeah, um but one thing I can proudly say is I'm a songwriter, and so that's that's where my strengths lay, really. I think is is my songwriting and um yeah.

Jimmy 33:51

So how are you going on your track? Have you finished editing it yet?

Nathan 33:54

Or night train? Yeah, uh, I finished editing it, yeah. Um in the process of game staging it, but then I got food poisoning, it knocked me over. Um, and I've I I had done what I thought was a good EQ and then I realised it was a crap EQ, and so I've taken them all off and starting again from scratch. Um because I've only got Pro Tools Studio, and so I've only I'm I'm only using the EQ37 band. Oh nice. Um, which is a nice EQ, but um I I I I I'm still getting my head around that with the um high end filter, high high pass filter, and low pass and rolling off the frequencies and things like that. So um that's that's a bit of a mind mind puzzle. But um particularly when I was trying to roll off a piano frequency and realized it just crossed the whole spectrum. Yes, so what do you do then, Owen? Uh well when you've got something that's just like all over the shop. Yeah, or if it's a piano, for example, um you do you just I guess you've got to do what sounds good in the mix, right?

Owen 34:54

Yeah, I th something like piano, obviously, because it like yeah, it takes up like the whole frequency spectrum. You've kind of got to put it in its place, if you know what I mean. Like you've got to figure out what is the job of the piano. Like, is it doing like trilly little high bits? If that's the case, then you don't need any of those fucking low frequencies, or if it's the inverse thing, if it's playing like low root notes, then you don't need any of those high frequencies. Right. Um, because by the time that you hear it in the mix, there should be other things that are doing the role to take up the frequency spectrum. AQing for me is all about like putting instruments into their place within in between 20 hertz and 20 kilohertz, that's where everyone should go and everyone should belong, and then um yeah, that's kind of how I see it, it's kind of like sorting all the instruments into their little frequency box.

Jimmy 35:41

So, as somebody who has no idea what you guys are talking about right now, when you say putting instruments in their place, do certain instruments have certain places within certain spectrums of that? Like you're talking about kilohertz to twenty kills.

Owen 35:53

So, yeah, so the human ear hears, you know, it's fucking uh audio engineering theory time with Owen. Um so the human ear hears between 20 hertz and 20 kilohertz, things that you would hear in that that are low sounding, so things like kick drums, bass guitars, the rumble of an aeroplane on the tarmac, that you go call back to being a what do you call them before? An an aerophile? Yeah, aerosol. You're gonna remember that one, yeah. Those kind of things live in the low end of the frequency spectrum. So let's say between 20 and 200 hertz, they're like bass frequencies. Then you've got things in the mid-range like the human voice, guitars, snare drums, uh, synths, pianos, those things exist in the mid-range, and the human ear is more adept to picking those things up because through evolution we're communicating with each other, so we want to hear things. Correct. Yeah, we it's called the Fletcher-Munson curve, it's the way your hears. Um, and then there's things in the high frequencies like the cymbals on a drum kit, uh, twinkly notes on the piano, uh, the sound of wind, things like that uh live in the higher end of the frequency between let's say uh five to twenty kilohertz. Um so and being a sparky, you'd know about phase as well, right? So phase comes into it as well because when you have two instruments that exist within the same realm, let's say a piano and a vocal, right? The things in the mid-range of the piano and the vocal are gonna cancel each other out because they're happening at the same time within the same frequency. So you're gonna get what's called masking. Yeah. Um, so EQing is about kind of finding a way to uh make everything work within the frequency spectrum and help avoid masking. Like if you have a piano and a bass guitar and a kick drum all happening at the same time, all there's gonna be heaps of low-end build-up, right? Because you're gonna have the bass down there, the kick drum happening down there, the low notes of the piano down there. So something's gotta give. The lows of the piano have got to come out, or the kick drum has to become mid-rangy and thumpy so that the bass guitar can sit down there, or the bass guitar has to come up and become mid-rangy and woody, kind of like a you know, Paul McCartney, Tame Impalay kind of bass sound. Okay. Um I need to take a breath. Um, so that's that's that's yeah, in an in a broadish nutshell, that's like yeah, the frequency spectrum.

Nathan 38:12

And then yeah, well the thing that Benny showed me that really hit the light bulb for me because I'm I'm I'm just a hack, right? So I haven't been to audio school. I bet and and I'm in it. But the light bulb thing was with me, was he he just played a single note, which is like a doo like this, and you could see the frequency wave, right? And then he played another one and it just went doo again. You could see the frequency wave, and they were lined up, and then as you move those frequency waves across each other, they completely cancel each other out in silence. When they're out of phase, that's out of phase, yeah.

Jimmy 38:45

So yeah, that's out of phase is lining up.

Owen 38:47

No, out of phase is not lining up, so it's when you have uh two alternating currents that when one is compressing a different time to the others. You no, you want your peaks at the same time because when your peak is completely opposite, you get zero, you get nil.

Nathan 39:05

Yep. Okay, and I I I what do you think in the editing process? Do you like I I've I've been with Elastic Audio, I've been trying to like zoom as far in as I can basically to get those phase alignments pretty much bang on for every edit. Not not on not in a sixteenth kind of thing, but uh at least when it's when it's hitting the actual notes um or chords themselves. Um to save myself having to go back to fix that kind of thing. What do you think of doing that?

Owen 39:34

Uh yeah, I kind of got hit that nitty-gritty recently. I had like a four-on-the-floor kick drum beat that I was recording, and I had then samples that were involved as well, because it's kind of like this pop disco beat thing. And yeah, I definitely got that nitty-gritty, especially with the samples lining them up, making sure the phase is all correct. Um but yeah, when it I kind of just kind of trust my ears a lot of the time in that process as well. Like if it's you know the kick drum in relation to the bass guitar or whatever, or the the kick drum in relation to your overhead mic on a drum kit or something. I just always flip the phase and I'm like, which ones sound better? And it's like, cool, that's the right answer. Because I don't I don't I'm not of the thought that like everything needs to be compressing or everything needs to be refracting first. Um I like that phase what sounds best.

Nathan 40:22

Yeah, well I like that thought with the compression as well because I I was putting uh I was kind of putting compression on everything when I first started EQing, and that's a bad mistake, you know, because I yeah, I want to try and fix it with the EQ before you even need it, right? And yeah, for sure. A better recording is not requiring compression, correct?

Owen 40:38

Yeah, or even requiring EQ, like our Schmidt, who uh passed away a few years ago was a phenomenal recording engineer. Yeah, uh and he was of the opinion that like you don't he never used EQ. Yeah, you don't you don't need it if you've got the right mic in the right spot on the right instrument, then you don't need to eq the signal. Yeah, yeah. Um so yeah, that's even a more purist form of thinking about it as well.

Jimmy 41:00

Yeah, yeah. Well uh does that come from an older thought process where they didn't have the tools that we have now?

Owen 41:06

Um yeah, kind of. I mean, he definitely had EQ at his disposal and the same ones that you know we have on the console in studio and like an SSL or a pull tech EQ, things like that, but it's more just um yeah, it's just it was his style and his his kind of thought process. He recorded the things like Melody Gardot and kind of like beautiful organic arrangements, is kind of what he was best known for. Um so if that's the case, you want to kind of have the least amount of obstacles between the source and the listener. That's kind of like you know, a classic kind of jazz recording philosophy is it should sound like you're standing in the room with the arrangement. Um so if you can do that by avoiding an EQ and just putting a microphone in a better spot in the room, then do that.

Jimmy 41:51

I watched a great video the other day talking about microphones in the right spot, and it was literally just a drum mic in 12 different spots from from here to there and how much it changed, and I was like, holy fuck, how do you pick the one you want? Like there's if there's if like just from doing it from here to there to there, and it's like I was like, and the amount of the amount of difference in sound there was to me was unbelievable. Yeah, like yeah, so as a you know, as a somebody who plays the drums or as somebody who sets them up, obviously do you have a favorite one or is it different every time? Like different every time.

Owen 42:28

It was on a snare, I think they were they were working on, yeah. I think it's different every time because it depends on the drummer, what studio in, what drum kit you're using, what kind of music you're making. So for me, it's become like I have been fortunate that I've been recording music since 2018, I think, kind of in professional studio settings. So and especially a lot here at the Grove in Studio One, so I kind of know in general terms, like if I'm doing a pop thing or I want to go for a bigger room sound and do a bigger rock room sound thing, like you know, I'm familiar with how the Studio One room sounds, so I know like the best spot to put the kit, uh, and then from there it kind of comes down to the drummer and what kit they've got, um, and then we kind of go from there, and then you think about microphones as well, and you think about the preamp that you're gonna use. So you can definitely go down a fucking rabbit hole, but the I mean, with all of that shit, the most important thing is do you have the right person playing the right instrument the right way? It's like those three things should come first, and then just don't fuck it up with the microphones. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nathan 43:35

And that's that's the thing. I mean, like I've recorded a few times now, and I'm finally getting confident enough to really um sort of trust my own ability, but but as you get better and better, you get also more self aware. And you know, if you're not cutting it, you've got to be able to swallow your ego and give it to someone who can, you know. And the thing is, like it what what happened in our last band as as We know um one of the guys wasn't cutting it and we were we were working with um with uh Ryan Green via Source Connect with Benny and um and you know we're paying 80 US an hour and and and we we did eight hours of this stuff and you could have just handed the guitar over to one of the other guys and we would have done it for sure one take. Or if you or if you don't do it, you and and and and one thing that I I I think is really important is you you just you gotta be prepared to swallow your ego, as I said. And one thing I remember when I was a kid, um that they asked Henry Ford, they go, How did you make such a good motor car? And he he he'd look around the room and go, see that guy there, he's the best guy who did the chassis. See that guy over there, he's the guy that that did the brakes, you know. And and if far out, man, if if none no one in your band can do a certain thing that you've got in your head that you want to do, get a session museo in, he he'll charge you like a hundred bucks, which is really fucking cheap, you know, and save you two hundred bucks because you'd be trying to do it for six hours yourself in a studio, yeah, you know?

Owen 45:02

Yeah, 100%.

Nathan 45:04

Yeah, and so so it's it and that's that's what I've done with quite a lot of my songs that I've recorded. Like um the first song I ever recorded was um at Big M studios in Crows Nest, you know.

Owen 45:16

Yeah, that's like the music shop, right?

Nathan 45:17

Yeah, the music shop, yeah, yeah. Because um I became really good friends with As Rothschild from Caligula, and we still are really good friends to this day. And um he recorded every track on my song, and still to this day it's the only song that's been played on the radio. So I've the others were on community, but this one got on triple M, and I was like, Yeah, and it was on Homegrown, and I didn't even know that I was it that that that it was going to get played, and I missed the email and I just finished a shift at Verge and pushing back planes. It was like 11 o'clock at night, and you turn on the car, and it's like, and now we've got this song by Mr. Harvey, and it's like and I went, What oh fuck, fuck, fuck, oh shit, shit, shit, shit. And um that was huge, man. It was I I was pretty stoked, and um, you know, that first song I ever released got one play on Triple M and I got $80 for it. And I go, Oh, this sounds like a pretty good thing, like one play because it it went across the whole radio network, um, austereo network, and I got $80 from APRA for one play, and I thought, right, I hope they can play it again, and they never played it again. And ever since then, I've recorded probably another probably five or six songs, not a single one got on Triple M. And I realised it wasn't quite so easy as I thought it might have been.

Jimmy 46:31

What did Scotty say when I was talking to him? He said, even the best guys, only one in a hundred songs hit, you know what I mean? Like the best songwriters. I'm like, I haven't even written a hundred songs, I'm like gonna fuck them. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Man, there's people I know, like, well, and I I mean, I'm I touched on this with Owen, like, one of the big reasons why I probably didn't pursue a career in the music industry when I was younger is because I had friends that were just such phenomenal musicians that had jobs, and I'm like, how can why this guy's fucking amazing, you know? Yeah, and he can't do it. I'm like, I'll just stick to being a Sparky. But like I think, you know, like if if you're not not that if you're not a good songwriter, you're never gonna be a good songwriter. Like, you know what I mean? Like, I've I've I try my hardest. I can I can put some chords together and make some some noise with the guitar, and then I go to write those lyrics, and even though I'm getting better at the end of the year, you're a good songwriter, I can write visually talking about it.

Nathan 47:30

I'm gonna lay down that Guzzler song tonight.

Jimmy 47:32

Yeah, I mean I think it's just like it's like as long as you know your song isn't like I think I said to you, I've never had I've never had anything that I want to like give to anyone. Do you know what I mean? Like, but I think what I've just what I've realized is I can I can write a song that's that's in it's not gonna be introspective or deep or anything like that, but you know, it is a piece of me, and and it is from the heart essentially, you know. But it all my songs tend to take on some kind of twist where I want to make people laugh as well, but I don't want to be a comedy musician. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. But it's just gotta be a little bit like tongue-in-cheek and don't take it too seriously, and then I feel like I can actually put together and like an entire song that is actually listenable, right? But it's a little bit tongue-in-cheek at the same time.

Nathan 48:22

But that's the Henry Ford thing again, you know? Yeah, that's where the band comes in and helps out, and then and and that's where you know the band helps out and go, Oh, little bridge might be good here, or the the chorus might be change it here, and everything else, and that's that's when it become can become a truly great song.

Jimmy 48:38

Yeah, yeah.

Nathan 48:39

Yeah, and uh anyway, keep going.

Jimmy 48:41

No, no, that was about it. So no, I'm I'm look, I'm I'm really excited about this, you know, little project that we're doing with these guys. I've um you know, bet Benny's a ph phenomenal, you know, from artist to recording engineer, fucking mentor guy. So it's it's really good to be working with him and obviously obviously yourself. And you know, I think with a with a bunch of people with a bunch of ideas, it becomes easier to just maybe put it all together and create a cohesive.

Nathan 49:10

That's right, and he's a he's a he's a great man, and and it uh the story of how we first met was pretty funny because um I played at the pocket bar. Um I was playing a solo gig down at the pocket bar in Terragore and um he was jamming with Haley at the time, um uh one of our another one of our friends, and um he he saw my gig and um and he I didn't really speak to him at all that night, but he he contacted me on Messenger and he goes, mate, I I just wanted to say you played all originals, which was great, and I really liked your first set, and I and um and but your second set sort of just went a little bit south and I just couldn't help but notice that I saw you saw you drinking out of a bottle of kraken, it's like straight kraken throughout the show. And um I just wanted to let you know that um I've had demons before in my past, and if you need to chat about anything or anything like that, um feel free to contact me. And I went, Oh, that's interesting because it was actually an empty bottle of kraken with ribena in it. I was drinking ribena the whole time, and I said, So tell me about what was so shitty my second set. And that's how we met. And yeah, he's been my mentor ever since, mate. And we have a mutual respect for each other because um, you know, he he he respects what I did in the media, you know, and and and and and I respect massively what he's done in the music industry, and we gelled together because of that. So so that that's good. I think we're a really effective team, and he's taught me just about everything I know about music now. And I've come a long, long way, but still I've got so far. Or there's I'll never get back to his level. I don't there's not enough. It's an endless journey, Nathan.

Jimmy 50:56

Music's an endless journey, yeah. It never finishes, it never ends.

Nathan 50:59

Yeah, yeah. Oh, and I'm I'm way at the bottom. But um, as I say, it's it's it's the people we surround ourselves with, and and and then you can you can make what's in your head become a reality.

Jimmy 51:11

It's amazing, isn't it?

Nathan 51:12

Yeah, and that's really good shit.

Jimmy 51:13

Yeah, you know. I um I want to have to tell you Nathan stitched me up one night, so I get a I'm sitting at home and I get a get a message off Nathan. He's like, hey, you've got um you've got a harmonica kit with like all the different keys in there, right? I go, Yeah, yeah. And he goes, What I want to do is I'm thinking for um I'm thinking for night train, I want to like do this like harmonica thing, but like have like maybe the same melody but played in a whole bunch of different keys with the harmonica, and I'm like, I'm like, all right, sweet. No, Rosie goes, can you can you get the Benny's? And I'm like, you know, I can come down to Benny's. So I jump, grab my harmonica's, jump down, jump in the car, drive down the Benny's, and I get there and I sit down and I I go to hand Nathan the harmonica kit and he hands me the microphone. Phenomenal. I'm like, nah, that wasn't part of it. You didn't say that on the phone again while it's fucking happening. So I've got to stand there to a song I've never heard before. And he goes, play. And I'm like, Eric Patrick, Patrick Lord. Awesome. So to his credit, it made it made the cut. Oh bro, I was like, Well, no, that wasn't part of it, but it was fun. I loved it. It was fun.

Nathan 52:26

And do you know what? It sounds really good in the mix, man. It does sound good in the mix. It sounds good in the mix. Um, so yeah, and that's that's been a two-year journey, that song. So um that that's that that and and that's that happened because um, you know, I I helped I helped Ben build that studio and and and as a gift he said I'll do a song for you, and I think he's regretting it now. That's why he taught you how to edit, right? He goes, fuck this, I'm sick of editing, you fucking edit.

Jimmy 52:56

And so but so this is the track. If anybody listened to the Benny Pounder episode, we uh Nathan got a little bit of grief because he apparently there was over 800 800 tracks on the one on the one song.

Nathan 53:07

And I didn't have a chance to respond to that.

Jimmy 53:09

But but apparently uh uh uh something got doubled up, so there was only really 400.

Nathan 53:14

No, you well, as I keep saying, not everyone knows binary, and he wrote this algorithm that he without having to transfer all the logic files or the Pro Tools files over to Logic, which do you know how you have to commit them and do all that? He wrote just the algorithm to skip all that, and so so it skipped all that for him, but then suddenly I get 800 tracks or something. 700 no four no, it was 400 and 457 tracks that I had to go through each individual one. So uh and and there were duplicates that were just completely empty. So I was delete, delete, delete, delete, and I finally narrowed it down to about 130 tracks or something, which is still a hell of a lot of tracks for a song, but um, but there's a lot going on in that song, though. Well, it's a labour of love, and there's a lot going on in that song.

Jimmy 54:02

Is that your opus?

Nathan 54:04

Yeah, yeah. Well, well, this is a funny thing as well, because when I was hosting Channel V, um I was being courted by all the record labels, and I I met a guy called Peter Sintris, who is a uh a high-level studio exec, and um a head of AR for Sony at the time, and Sony were absolutely blitzing it for any rate uh record company in the country at that time. Um and uh I I said to Sony, I said to um Peter, I said, I asked him a question, I said, So what does it take for you to break an artist? And he he just looked at me and he said one song. I said, What do you mean? He goes, One song, that's all. Like people can spend heaps of money spent doing a big album and doing all this kind of stuff, and all day or a lot of people make the mistake of having 10 grand and trying to do five songs. You're better off you getting your very best song, and and before you even go into a studio, you get your very best song and you play it to 50 people from all different walks of life, right? And you ask them what their favourite song is, even if it's a secret ballot and you put it all in, whichever song comes out the favourite, spend your money on that song and make it the very best it can possibly be, which will be a single that would be relatable to the widest demographic possible. So you spend that 10 grand on that one song, and if that song succeeds, suddenly you've got a budget because people want to spend money on you. Do you know what I mean? And that's what he said to me. That was from the head of AR at Sony at the time who were absolutely blitzing things. And and even though I didn't do that with Night Train, I did I I've I've done that with Night Train because it was Benny's favourite song. Yeah, yeah, not because of that. But next song I'm gonna do, that's what I'm gonna do. I'll I'll I'll I'll pick a few short shortlist ones, ones that I like the most and also ones that I think might be the most commercially viable, and do the same and spend as as much time and as much until there's no stone unturned, as far as I'm because I don't give a shit about producing an album every month or a song every month. I don't uh it's not like that for me. I just want to make because it's the if you listen to some of my previous recordings, I'm I'm tearing my hair out listening to it now, you know. I I I because that was when I was inexperienced and I've a lot more musically aware now. And so I I would advise that for even someone just starting out to record is a good idea too, you know, is uh is maybe try try that and and make that song the very best it can be, and then there won't be any regrets.

Jimmy 56:33

Matt Matt Corby does that, doesn't he? He just is does a song and when it's ready you release it, like he doesn't care about albums and shit like that. I'm pretty sure I'd have no idea. I'm sure I heard him say something about that once. Like he had a big you know, he did did the the the big album that he had that kind of you know and then afterwards it was taking ages and there was like one song every fucking 18 months coming out of something, he goes, Yeah, I'll just work on one at a time and just release it when it's ready or something.

Nathan 56:59

Yeah look and for for other people that may not work and they they might have released a lot and and and you know it may be a numbers game, but I don't I don't know, but but I for me for me now I I I don't really care, you know what I mean? I I'm I'm not interested in fame.

Jimmy 57:15

Oh, you're doing it for you, you know.

Nathan 57:16

Yeah, I I I I'm not interested in money. I've I've never been driven by the dollar. Um I've had a level of fame that and fame isn't necessarily what's chopped up to be. Do you know what I mean? I'm I'm I'm happy in my own skin, so why would I want to create something that that it's not up to scratch, you know, as far as I'm concerned. I'd rather make it everything that I want it to be before I decide to um move on to another one.

Jimmy 57:42

Alright, so give us one story from your channel V days. Just like a favourite interview, like just a cracker. I know you've got something up your sleeve.

Nathan 57:54

Alright. The best the best one is uh well this is from before channel V, but this is this is a dead set cracker. Um uh I was I was at my mum and dad's um a while ago and and and mum brought up this story about Richie's Ambora and she goes, What about that time you you you took Richie Zambora surfing? And I went, I went, excuse me? I I didn't even remember. It was a complete blackout, right?

Jimmy 58:26

Is the guitarist for Bon J? Am I got the right guy? Yeah, the lead guitarist for Bonjavie.

Nathan 58:31

Yeah, and and and back in the day when I was modelling, um I was I was girlfriend model of the year three years running, and three years in a row. I'm very fucking proud of that. That's amazing. I've got quite a few roots from it too. It was good. Well, you already assume that, Nathan. No, I'm sorry, I'm being a wanker now. I really am.

Jimmy 58:55

Go, go, go.

Nathan 58:56

Um but not from the girlfriend reads, honestly. Promise you that. But um, yeah, and and it was funny because the girlfriend magazine ran this competition and they said, Who wants to meet Bon Jovi when they're on tour? And so all these girls from different states would um would uh were enter the competition and then they ran another competition. They said, Who would you like to introduce you to Bon Jovi in all these different states? Guess you won.

Jimmy 59:21

Oh, you did, yeah.

Nathan 59:22

Nice, and so before you I knew it, I'm this dumb model, right? Going on tour with Bon Jovi. So I'm staying in the same hotel room, stay same hotel, same floor, and with within a while, I'm I'm I'm I'm like getting to know these guys, right? And I'm going, yo Tico, yo, Richie. Bon didn't want to have anything to do with me. He doesn't really, he's actually quite quiet and reticent. I mean, he it's a bit of a dictatorship, Bon Jovi, but it the other guys were here. He's called Bon Jovi for a week. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's right.

Jimmy 59:58

Bon Jovi and the other guys.

Nathan 1:00:00

Yeah, yeah, the other guys. And um, and but Richie and I in particular got on really, really well. Um and so um, and so by the time the tour was over, um, I think this is a slippery wand wet tour, uh, we got we got back to uh Sydney and we'd obviously had this massive bender, and I rock up at I rock up at 7.30 in the morning um with Richie Zambora to get a surfboard to take him surfing because he wanted to go surfing. And I had absolutely no recollection of it. The only way I remembered was because my mum was a massive Bon Jovi fan, she's in a pink nighty, she goes, Oh my god, it's Richie Zambora! Pew and just ran off into the distance because she was in a fucking pink nighty, right? And and she only she only told me 20 years later. She goes, How about that time you came back with Richie Zambora? And I went, I had no no recollection. No recollection. I have no idea where I took him, I have no idea how the fuck we got to our house, which is a northern picture. I'm sorry he had a driver, I'm sure he would have had a driver being a mega rock star. So he probably said, Let's go surfing and get in our limo, but I can't remember it. Yeah, and and it was a complete blackout. And it was funny because my mate Rodri, who's this cheeky bastard Irish guy, um um Welsh guy, um he he actually decided to test me out on it because I was up at mum and dad's and he he what he popped in to say good day to mum and dad. And he goes, Oh, so Mrs. Harvey, how how's the story about Richard Jambora? And she goes, Oh my god, I was so embarrassed, and I went, You were fucking testing me out, weren't you? So anyone who tests me out, yeah, get fucked. I'm telling the fucking truth.

Jimmy 1:01:42

Oh man, I used to I've got a big family, right? So like my my grandmother was one of like 11 kids, yeah, yeah, and I've got heaps of cousins. I remember at high school, I'd like and I'd hang out with them all the time. Like, I know at Christmas I go on holidays, go up to Southwest Fox camping, and I go, I actually go camping with like my seventh cousins, right? Like it's fucking strange, right? And so I know a lot of people don't have that family connection, but I've always grown up with it. I remember going back to school after a Christmas holiday, I'm like, oh yeah, my cousin did this, oh yeah, my cousin that, and everyone's like, I've got two cousins. How the fuck did all your cousins do? I'm like, I've got like 150, it's different. Like I've got a cousin for everything, man. Like, yeah, yeah. Trust me, I've got a cousin for everything. You know, it's uh it's yeah, it was and you know, like sometimes the people with the most extreme stories, just because you've lived a boring life, it doesn't mean that this shit doesn't happen, you know. Like, that's right. Oh man, like yeah, sometimes I start telling a story, and I as I'm telling, I'm like, this sounds unbelievable. And I'm like, but you gotta wait till happens next. But it did, like, we fucking did those things, yeah. We just lived, we went out and did it, right? Which crazy did what you did, but I still went out and happened.

Nathan 1:02:53

Yeah, but you've done the same. I mean, I know you have. I've I've heard some of your stories. I've heard two.

Jimmy 1:02:58

I say yes to a lot. Like, I'm not a no-man, I'm very much a fuck it, let's do it. You only live once.

Nathan 1:03:03

But that's what that's what life's all about, and and that's the thing, you gotta you've got to take a punt. And if you don't take a punt, and look, I'm I'm mediocre in a lot of things, but but I've tried a lot of things as well. So it makes me a good all-rounder, you know what I mean? And and and that's a shirt. You can go for you can go for excellence and and that's fine, but uh as I say, I'm and I'm gonna harp back to the old Henry Ford thing. If you want a really good lead guitarist, you get a lead guitarist in your band, you know, and you stick to your strengths. And and my and what I've found is and and and I think people like Benny and other people who have seen that in me is I'm I'm good at writing songs and I'm good at arranging songs and things like that. And and so, you know, that's my strength, and then your strength is you're a great guitarist and you're a funny bastard, and you you're you're a good songwriter as well, and you're a good singer. That's that's something you are you're a really good singer, man. You got a really good voice. I don't know about it. Have you have you heard him sing?

Owen 1:03:57

What you go to karaoke song, Jimmy?

Nathan 1:03:59

Yeah. Oh, I've got a couple. He's no, he's got a coup he's got a couple of originals. Has he ever played any of his originals? No, I haven't played any. He's a good singer, man. And he's got a perfect voice for the guzzlers.

Jimmy 1:04:10

So yes, the other night I ended up at the old pub at Wi-Woi after a bit of a session at Lincoln Pin, and I was forced to sing karaoke. Forced, forced. Yeah, so I did obviously flame trees because you've got to. Oh, but but I it wasn't a stationary version of flame trees. I walked through the bar with the fucking microphone, getting everybody to help me. Bit of crowd work, am I ready? One we need the backyard, let's go. Kids are driving.

Nathan 1:04:46

Fuck that though. Here's the baggy cut. Pull it away.

Jimmy 1:04:53

Let's pull it up, let's pull it up. Is that your one? Playing tree. Oh man, and I you know I did. I followed that up with Kitty by presidents of the United States too.

Nathan 1:05:03

But that that you see, and and the thing is, the thing is about the band now, um, is what what I really like is we're not gonna have a lead singer. The band is gonna write all the songs themselves, and we've got three or four really capable singers, and so we're gonna all share the vocal duties. Um and and so we can't hire a Fire lead singer because we won't have one. We won't have one, and and and and not only that, there's gonna be five really good songwriters in the band, but also it's kind of like um not the Arctic Monkeys, um, Arcade Fire. You know Arcane Fire? Yep. Um, where we've got these amazing artists in our collective that we can draw from at any time, right? There's a guy called Adam Kiefel. Uh do you know Adam Keifel? He's an insane ring uh studio session guitarist. So Benny's written a song called I Fucked Your Mum. And he does this, and I I can't I I'll never forget it. He was in the studio and and he goes. Beniger just goes, Oh, can you can you play like a really cheesy 80s guitar solo? And he just goes, and I'm just there going, phenomenal. You're fucking kidding me. And and so we've got all these guys who will oscillate in and out of the band. And and that's the beauty of it. And and and also the collective that we've got going amongst the musicians that we have, we all we all go to each other's gigs, for example, as well. And so you know you you're never going to play to an empty room. And and so that's it's a really healthy thing that's happening in the central coast. And um I've got my little studio is actually set up as a library. It's it can all literally wheel out on a on a removaless trolley.

Owen 1:06:42

Nice.

Nathan 1:06:42

And I can wheel it straight into the back of my car, and I've got the the the carbon in there with with eight mic stands and and eight mics, and I can go and record live. Yeah, unreal. So that's what I'm starting to do now as well. I've done a couple of recordings at rehearsal studios, and yeah, I get there an hour early, set up, and the band come in, and and so and and so we we we we're we're all um we're all helping each other out, which is unreal. So yeah, yeah. And so it's looking looking really the future's looking good, eh?

Jimmy 1:07:10

Future's looking good, it's looking fun. Yeah, yeah. So they're sorry, that's all right. Oh, I was just gonna um get on to a bit of um yeah, yeah, we've uh you know looking and just ask you about what you do outside of music. That's always uh something I like to know about people.

Nathan 1:07:28

So yeah, I'm a mad keen surfer. I love surfing. Um I also uh my my actual day job is uh I've gone back to landscape gardening now. I've done that since I was 16. I love watching the footy with with Jamie, I'm a mad Manley fan. Yeah, and that's a shame. That's a shame. Yeah, we're both life supporters, so we have that over here. Nights. Nights, yeah. At least Manly beat Para. At least we beat you, so Brooklyn. What round what round what round is we playing again? Look out not again this year, I don't think. No, I looked that up. We're not playing again? No. No, that's a shame. Yeah. In Fosby Trust, I mean for now. Fosball. Yeah, for yeah, Fosball. Yeah, um, that and um I used to read a lot, but I don't so much now. And and and um, and so you know, it's funny because music to me is like a really expensive hobby. Uh and and so there's people like yourself and Benny that it's their life all all the time. So music is is actually for me, it that's what I do outs outside of music. Does that make sense? Or yeah, no, 100%. Yeah, um, and could because like I I've got a busy life and and I invest a lot of time in my friends, and so I'm out seeing friends a lot and and and and you know so with all that it's it's um my family and friends are really important to me and and I love going to see live music and but I also love going to things like markets and and and running around and and getting involved with nature.

Jimmy 1:09:00

I love I love getting out and I know you like your hidden camping spots.

Nathan 1:09:03

Yeah, yeah. Well I'm I'm moving house again for about the ninth time this week, and um I've got a great little paddock out in um in the Glenworth Valley Corporation where I'm setting up my my camper trailer because I I lived off grid for for a year on top of a mountain.

Owen 1:09:17

Wow.

Nathan 1:09:18

Um Yeah, and I loved every minute of it. And and I'm getting sick of moving into places where you have ungrateful landlords when you do all their landscaping for 'em, and then they they they get angry at you for it. You know. And so I'm I'm I I I I like being in a place where I can play guitar to whatever time I want uh in front of a campfire and howl at the moon at midnight, you know, naked if I want. And and so I'm I'm I I I I put it out there in the Central Coast uh conscious community, and I got quite a few replies actually, and I picked the best one, um which is complete solitude, and it's a horse paddock out near Lamo Valley. And so that's where the camper trailer's going, and um Russ from the FNC's um I'm renting out his garage, and so that's where the studio's going. And I I've got all the acoustic material, and in between that I'll be taking a shit and having a shower there and then living grubby for the rest of the week and why not. Yeah, but but cooking on the fire every night, and that's what I love doing. So so it's all about being outdoors and and and the solitude. And um, and either of you guys are more than welcome to to pop up and and have a sing around a campfire and I'll I'll cook. I'm really, really good at cooking um Brazilian meat style meat and stuff, you know. I cook, I feel at steak on schools with with uh capsicum and onion and and just Australian mustard. Australian mustard is is the most underrated mustard ever. It's so good.

Jimmy 1:10:43

Eat prey love, brother. Hey? Eat prey love, brother. Eat pre love.

Nathan 1:10:47

Love your love, I love all my friends, but you know, as far as relationships, um I I've been celibate for almost five years, which is quite bizarre, you know. Um uh because I I had a girlfriend when I moved up from Sydney when COVID happened, and um, and and um and then I haven't had a girlfriend since. So so that's been good though for me. It's been it means I can focus on on my music and it and and it also means that um, you know, I can I have a a level of flexibility and freedom that that um I really enjoy too.

Jimmy 1:11:20

So yeah, it's great. Cool. Well, on that note, um let's wrap it up. Yep. Uh as we always do at Welcome to Studio 2. Yep, I'm gonna get you to recommend me a song, but I'm just gonna ask you to wait a second. Pardon me, while I do a little shout out to the crowd, to the listeners. Yep. So I want you to be pleased to know we've gone from 20 listeners a month to between 90 to 100 listeners a month now. So thank you everybody for all the support. It's been absolutely blown away this year. Just how many people I'd look, I you know, I knew my mum would listen. Scott said he would, so I knew I had two down. But to see Scott, yeah. I want to meet you, Scott. But honestly, to see to see the the listeners and the listens jumping up on the podcast, um, you know, every now and then when I do check, it kind of blew me away. I was a bit blown away by it. So I just want to thank everybody for that. Um, also want to remind everybody that when you listen to the podcast, it really helps to get it out to everybody else with a like and a comment. So I've actually found out that it doesn't matter what your comment says, as long as there's a comment. Fucking hate this podcast. This is the podcast five stars. Let's bring it on, baby. This podcast is up, five stars like honestly, it doesn't matter what you say, but what it does is it helps put it in front of other people. So I really appreciate all you guys listening. It means the world to us. Um and I don't expect you to share every episode and do everything like that, but after you listen, if you can just give it that little five star and and even a good one, a thumbs up, it doesn't matter what you do, it just helps to put it in front of people that wouldn't necessarily get to hear it. And I'd just like to get it in front of as many people as I can. So if you can help me with that, that'd be amazing. Yeah, we've got the Instagram, as shit as it is, it's still out there. Come and follow us at welcome to underscore studio two, and that's welcome to underscore studio the number two. You can find us there. Um few people have asked for a Facebook page, and when I get around to it, I'll do it. But it's just it's it's you know, the the the whole thing about this is the podcast itself. Um we're having so much fun doing it, and we just want to keep doing it. And the more people that listen to it, the better. I know they're gonna enjoy it, and I know they're gonna go back and listen to all the old episodes because that's what happens, they do. So thanks everybody for listening. Help us get it out there. Nathan, recommend us a song. Oh, and thank you. That's all right.

Owen 1:14:05

Can I before we recommend a song? Can I food for thought for you, Jimmy? Yeah, you now that you're amassing a a large listener base, you need to uh find a way to address those listeners with a name. With a name. I into the ballot box for you for your consideration is uh the interns. The interns. Yeah, your listeners are the interns. They are there, the okay, I'll like that. If we're in studio two, then the interns are the interns. Just a thought. No, no, no.

Jimmy 1:14:32

No, I can thought I think we can ride with that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think we can ride with that because that means I don't have to pay them, right?

Nathan 1:14:38

Is that well, do you know what? You could call them your patrons and then get up on patron and they could pay Patreon.

Jimmy 1:14:49

As always, I always want to thank Scotty um and the Grove Studios and the Grove Studios Academy because you know, without these guys being up here and helping me out, you know, we we wouldn't be doing this either. So, yep, as always, just a big big thanks to him, Owen. You're amazing. Nathan, it's been great having you on. Thanks, guys. What's the song?

Nathan 1:15:09

What do we what do we listen to on the way out? Um, well, one of my favourite Stoner Rock bands of um of the 90s that I think uh would have gone absolutely gangbust is that if it just just the recording itself was just a little bit um the the vocals weren't like quite cutting through. It's called The Hanging Tree, um, and their song's called 440, and I love that band. Hey, cool. It reminds me of Mossin at uh the Narraben Sands Hotel because I used to be a big metal head back in the day, so um I'll stick with that one. Um the Hanging Tree 440. Cool, thank you. Hangs heaps, guys. All right, thanks in turn, see you next time.