Name: Civic
Members: Jim McCullough (vocals), Lewis Hodgson (guitar), Matt Blach (drums, vocals), Roland Hlavka (bass, guitar)
Interviewee: Jim McCullough
Nationality: Australian
Current release: The new Civic album Taken by Force is out via ATO. They are also about to embark on a big US tour. For tickets go here.

9/29: Memphis, TN @ Gonerfest
10/01: Nashville, TN @ DRKMTTR
10/03: Birmingham, AL @ LCY
10/04: Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
10/05: Durham, NC @ The Pinhook
10/06: Baltimore, MD @ Metro Baltimore
10/07: New York, NY @ Zone One
10/08: Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brendas
10/10: Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
10/11: Detroit, MI @ Sanctuary
10/12: Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
10/13: Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
10/14: Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive
10/15: Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
10/17: Seattle, WA @ Barboza
10/18: Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
10/20: San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
10/21: Los Angeles, CA @ Knitting Factory
10/22: Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room
10/24: San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
10/25: Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge
10/27: Austin, TX @ LEVITATION

Recomendations: Book of longing  - Leonard Cohen; Big white cloud - John Cale

If you enjoyed this Civic interview and would like to stay up to date with the band and their music, visit their official homepage. They are also on Instagram, and Facebook.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you’re listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

Depends on what I am listening to. I've just inherited my granddads old Mercedes. The rule is only classical, so I’ve been smashing that. There's some dope stuff I'd never heard before.

Classical always seems to conjure up imagery for me. Kind of feel you’re you’re in a film, or living out a play. You’re oblivious to the hot heads around you when you’re basking In TCHAIKOVSKY

What were your very first steps in music like and how would you rate the gains made through experience - can one train/learn being an artist?

I mean I’d always think my father got me into good music. Channeled me in the right direction since I was young. But I’d say I more fell into it.

At age Mayne 3/4 I was on my fathers knee whilst he was listening to Sabbath bloody sabbath. He was bouncing along to Bill Ward and didn’t realise I was climbing down and I got launched into the speaker. Cut my face open like the joker. I got plastic surgery. I’ve still got that copy of that record Dad gave it to me.



But I actually didn’t get into singing until I was 23. I was in a bar with a bunch of mates “The gasometer hotel” around 2013. Two of my mates were standing at the bar having a convo. I could see them getting passionate so I went over and asked what they were talking about. They said “We’ve started a band and we need a singer” They both looked at each other then at me and said “you should do it” and that was it.

I started singing in Leather Lickers. We jammed in my room. I lived under a hairdressers with no windows so it was easy to make noise.



According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music mean to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

I have this memory of hearing “Obstacle 1” for the first time on a bus on the way to school camp when I was 13, this kid Jack sheppard was this little punk kid and I said hey what you listening to and without saying a word he just pulled his ear phones out playing on his discman and put them in my ears.



That song did something to me. I had heard music differently, I’d come home. Looking back now as much as that song slaps, I think it had something to do with the power of it being a peer showing me music and it resonating with me on some other level, rather than my father or my sister.

I still love to do that now days, always sharing and receiving music with friends / family. It’s a language you know.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and what motivates you to create?

I love lyrics, stories, and hooks. There's always better lyrics to write, or another story. And without a doubt there’s millions of un-touched hooks out there waiting to be hummed in the shower.

My motivation to create comes from everywhere. Current Experiences, past traumas, anxieties, relationships. Any kind of human emotion is a good place to start, then you try to get poetic. If you dare.

To quote a question by the great Bruce Duffie: When you come up with a musical idea, have you created the idea or have you discovered the idea?

I mean I do love the idea that these songs or arrangements come to us at the right time and we have to be open to accepting them, or they move on.

I’d also heard this same idea from none other than Mr Rick Rubin. I like the fantasy being it.  

Paul Simon said “the way that I listen to my own records is not for the chords or the lyrics - my first impression is of the overall sound.” What’s your own take on that and how would you define your personal sound?

I think it's pretty hard to listen to your own records back and hear them in the same way that everyone else does. I just don’t think you ever really get to feel that joy. Which is fine. I love that feeling of hearing someone for the first time and it clicking with you.

Personal sound is a tough one. I think it's like painting or most creative things, I think your style will inevitably shine through if you let it. If you’re trying to bite other people's stuff, it's obvious and that can shine through, In a murky way.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you’ve had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

I think that wind is that one natural sound that can evoke terror in me. Which I love. Even to this day. It's this invisible power that is completely unpredictable.

From very deep/high/loud/quiet sounds to very long/short/simple/complex compositions - are there extremes in music you feel drawn to and what response do they elicit?

I don’t think that I'm ever just drawn to one particular composition. It's all emotive. You’re feelings change and so does your musical desire. Some days I need to listen to A Blaze in the Northern sky by Darkthrone and others its Brian Eno's Music for airports.



There's also no right or wrong. Just be truthful to yourself. Listening to the music is a part of the art.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of one of your pieces, live performances or albums that’s particularly dear to you, please?

Vocally I would normally write my melodies first. And I would generally stick with it.

Unless it's complete trash, I like the idea of the initial ideas being kind of instinctual. But also a bit naive. You kind of have to jump on that, because you lose it quickly once you’ve heard it a few times.

Do you conduct “experiments” or make use of scientific insights when you’re making music?

For me, it’s all kind of throwing it at a wall.

That's art, you mash it all around the rules you know or got taught or have learnt, and then you try to make your version of it.

How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?

I would say music is a good way to find understanding within yourself. It can be very personal.

In other words, it can be some of the most joyous and connected times you’ll have on your own.  

Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn’t or wouldn’t in more “mundane” tasks?

I’ve seen some pretty good Latte Art. But no, honestly I think it's all about integrity right ?

Like if you make that cup of coffee with whole heart and passion, and you know that in your heart. Then that’s as powerful as like "Heroes" by Bowie.



If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

I’m happy to just watch it all unfold organically from where I’m sitting.

In a world of constant evolution, out of humanities creations it’s really the only thing, along with painting that I have hope in.