Interview with Ivan Beecroft

Interview with Ivan Beecroft

Interview with Ivan Beecroft:

As a steel worker in a dying industry he was often affected and appalled by the unsafe working conditions that surrounded him. He turned to music as a way of coping with everyday reality of working in an unsafe environment. His work place is often reflected within his music, as well as life experiences. His music is Retro Rock/ 90s Grunge Pop both unique and addicting.

Where are you from?

The eastern suburbs of Melbourne Australia

How long have you been making music?

5years

How many songs /albums have you released to date?

I have released 2 albums one in 2016 and one in 2017

Can you tell us about your latest release and the background and inspirations behind it?

To be honest, the album probably should not even exist, it was put together after I released the single Believe in March this year that did really well in the U.S. Half of the songs on the album were recorded three years ago and the other other half were recorded throughout this year. The title came from an ex-bandmate who used the term as a universal answer to practically everything. The anger that some of the songs exude come from my own personal experiences of being disadvantaged, marginalised and mistreated when I was working in factories as a steel worker around Melbourne.

I think the realisation that you were considered to be worthless and were to be used and abused and thrown out like an old shoe has had a lasting affect on me. Writing songs and playing music has always been a great relief valve for me to deal with the frustration and anxiety that came from working in an industry where the possibility of losing life and limb was always prevalent. I think the shock and sheer horror of having to watch your workmates suffer horrific injuries in front of you due to the callousness and negligent indifference that most employers treated their workers with has left a lasting impression on me. Writing songs and playing music for me was a form of therapy to cope with this. Having no money and being displaced on a regular basis on top of all this has probably fuelled a lot of resentment also.

So I can definitely say that all these experiences have been expressed lyrically and emotionally in Whatever which is probably more obvious in the first few tracks on the album, rather than the last four or five tracks.

How have you ended up in the music industry?

I was taught to read and play classical music when I was 10 years old, my parents encouraged me even though at that age I had no idea that I would end up doing anything musical in the future. I never actually pursued it seriously until recently, so I have always just been around when someone needed a band member to fill a spot, you could say it happened accidentally in lot of ways even though I have always used playing and writing music to deal with difficult circumstances and as a form of solace to cope with tragedy.

What do you think of the music industry in 2018?

I don’t listen to a lot of stuff as there is just too much of it so I can’t dedicate a great deal of my time to just listening to other artists as I spend most of my time either working to keep a roof over my head or writing and recording song ideas. I don’t want to offer up a negative critique of the music industry as that tends to make you look like a jealous insecure loser, but from observing how much power and influence that three major corporations have over who gets heard and who doesn’t it seems to have led to an atmosphere of mediocrity and apathy.

Who do you think the most influential artist?

It’s unfair to just pick one as I think there are many that deserve that accolade, for me personally it would have to be Kurt Cobain.

Who have you collaborated with so far in your career?

I have collaborated with various unknown musicians and songwriters in the independent scene over the last 10years which was a great experience and has shaped the way I approach playing and writing music, l haven’t collaborated with anyone in the last few years.

How do you think you differ from other artists?

I think I differ from other artists is that the reason I create music doesn’t come from a narcissistic desire to become famous and have always been mindful of what a privilege it is to just have the opportunity to express ideas and to champion the underdog through music.

Dead or alive, who would be your dream collaboration?

There are so many that I would love to collaborate with, I think Dave Grohl would be be my first choice, maybe a really cool altrock ballad type song would be interesting to do. Courtney Love would be another artist that would definitely be on that list as I always felt she had a great voice that suits gritty rock songs.

What was the first album you bought?

I can’t remember the first album I bought as I used get given albums as presents for Christmas or birthdays from my family. I will take a bit of a stab in the dark and say it was probably Guns’n”Roses appetite for destruction.

What’s your favourite song at the moment?

I don’t have one at the moment.

If you had to sell your music collection tomorrow, what album would you leave in your draw?

That’s a hard one, it would definitely be Nirvana’s unplugged album.

What is your favourite saying?

There are only two things that are infinite in this world Man’s stupidity and the universe.

What other hobbies or interests do you have?

War history, and theology. At the moment I am learning more about WWI as I am fascinated by the impact on the people involved in it and the geopolitical changes that resulted from it. I have an interest in theology as I am very curious about spiritual things and have an inner desire to find a sense of meaning and purpose in my life.

Do you have any tattoos or piercings?

No

Tell us more about your upcoming project or this new project?

I am currently in the process of getting as many people as possible to listen to my latest LP WHATEVER.

What’s in the pipeline after this project?

There are no definite plans for another Album as yet but that might change depending on what mood I am in at the time so who knows your guess is as good as mine at this stage.

It’s a pretty angry album, as far as I can tell. What started that feeling, and how did it develop into Whatever?

IVAN: To be honest, the album probably should not even exist, it was put together after I released the single Believe in March this year that did really well in the U.S. Half of the songs on the album were recorded three years ago and the other other half were recorded throughout this year. The title came from an ex-bandmate who used the term as a universal answer to practically everything. The anger that some of the songs exude come from my own personal experiences of being disadvantaged, marginalised and mistreated when I was working in factories as a steel worker around Melbourne.

I think the realisation that you were considered to be worthless and were to be used and abused and thrown out like an old shoe has had a lasting affect on me. Writing songs and playing music has always been a great relief valve for me to deal with the frustration and anxiety that came from working in an industry where the possibility of losing life and limb was always prevalent. I think the shock and sheer horror of having to watch your workmates suffer horrific injuries in front of you due to the callousness and negligent indifference that most employers treated their workers with has left a lasting impression on me. Writing songs and playing music for me was a form of therapy to cope with this. Having no money and being displaced on a regular basis on top of all this has probably fuelled a lot of resentment also.

So I can definitely say that all these experiences have been expressed lyrically and emotionally in Whatever which is probably more obvious in the first few tracks on the album, rather than the last four or five tracks.

Aside from what’s on the album, is there anything else you feel that strongly about?

It would probably be a lot easier to ask me what doesn’t piss me off, where would I stop when it comes to things that do? I don’t think there would be enough room for any other articles on your blog if I tried to cover all of them. There is one thing that has recently got up my nose, and that is highly maddening as an independent, alternative artist, and that is constantly being pressured to conform to a certain set of rules and so-called norms in the music industry that have gradually crept in over a long period of time.

To someone like me who prides themselves on living as a non-conformist and who swears by the mantra “the rules are there ain’t no rules” this absolutely infuriates me. One other issue at the moment does upset me and that is the hard-heartedness of our federal government’s disgraceful treatment of refugees on Manus Island and the despicable treatment of the unemployed earlier this year by sending fines and debt collectors to the most vulnerable in our community. I won’t go on any further, that’s enough politics for one article, we can’t have whoever’s reading this dying of boredom, now can we?

Does your album have a theme?

I didn’t intentionally set out to have a theme for it. When I sat back and looked at it after it was finished it appeared to be art imitating life by going on its own journey. It starts off really angry and goes through an emotional roller coaster ride: from beginning to end it goes through anger, frustration, pain, healing, and melancholy to the sadness of loss. To me this gave the album an unexpected quality of having a life and personality of its own.

Can you describe some of the messages that you are trying to get out there with your music?

I wouldn’t say that I was deliberately trying to send a message with music as the whole process of writing and recording the album was very spontaneous, developing ideas in an organic fashion rather than sitting down to “create an album”. But if I were to send a message it would probably be this: to use a sporting analogy, Team Humanity is losing games and is looking like losing the season and all its sponsorship as well. This is due to people being increasingly divided on a whole array of political issues, such that we are in danger of forgetting our essential humanity and compassion.

The last song on the album is very sad, was it based on a true life experience?

The song was about the painful experience of the sudden loss of my father a few years ago due to an aneurysm. I have always used music as a form of solace and an outlet to deal with difficult circumstances and tragic events in my life. So it was a way of coming to terms with not only the immediate experience of losing someone dear, but also the lasting effect of the loss. It was hard to contain the sadness I had when I wrote it, the first person I played it to after I had finished recording it was my mother. Watching her get teary-eyed while she listened to it with me was very emotional and I almost regretted writing it, as I felt a strong sense of guilt about how eerily the song brought us both back to the moment that we had to say goodbye. After an intense heart-to-heart with my mother she reassured me that she absolutely loved it and it served as a great source of healing for her too. She was the one who insisted that it should be on the album when I was agonising over whether to include it.

Thank you for your time and may you carry on making great, fresh music.

Thank you it’s great talking to you.

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