AM Reruns Interview

AM Reruns Featuring Shaunna (from Cable Ties)

Melbourne modernist trio AM Reruns announce their debut self-titled LP, due 9 August and on vinyl from 23 August.

Conceived by guitar player and singer Andy Campbell, AM Reruns' 10 tracks of mod guitar music marry classic pop intros to the hyper-compressed structures of Red Bird 7"s: each song is brief, thrilling, noisy and vital. The result is an idiosyncratic take on '70s LA punk rock with a sliver of Northern England drama.

Formed in December 2016 as Lip Sync Chicks - a nod to the Replacements - the band took their cues from iconoclasts Johnny Marr, The Only Ones and The Plimsouls, with a dose of heady escapism from teenage dramas Buffy The Vampire Slayer and The O.C. Opening with their defining statement, the midnight pulse of "Looking For A Victim" - a Marr-tinged riff tapping into a rich vein of 80s post-punk - the album shows off the band's eclecticism, skirting proto-punk on latest single "Vicious," Mats-esque romance on "Bad Time Child" and L.A. power pop on "Dial-in Static." The LP includes appearances from Baby Blue's Rhea Caldwell ("Slow Learner") and MAGNETS' Siobhan McGinnity (on the Everly Brothers-inspired "Formal Night"). At 31 minutes in length (the same running time as A Hard Day's Night) AM Reruns' is a timeless sound: a new-wave, rock'n'roll rush for a new generation.

The LP follows the band's debut 7" Looking For A Victim b/w Bring That Boy Back, included in Erica Dunn's 'Best of 2018' rundown on PBS FM's Mixing Up The Medicine. To kick off 2019, Capitol Records and L.A. rock scene veteran Bruce Ravid added "Looking For A Victim" to the playlist of his syndicated U.S. radio show 'Go Deep With Bruce Rave.'

AM Reruns are Andy Campbell on guitar and lead vocal (best known as guitarist with Melbourne staples Jim Lawrie, Nat Vazer and Box Rockets) and Daniel Parsons-Jones on the bass guitar and harmony vocal, joined in February 2019 by Shauna Boyle on the drums (from iconoclastic punk rock group Cable Ties, Jackson Reid Briggs & The Heaters and Customer).

Tour Dates:

Friday 9th August 2019
The Last Chance Melbourne w/ HITS (BRIS)

Wednesday 11th September 2019
Valve Bar Sydney

Thursday 12th September 2019
Sideway Canberra

Friday 20th September 2019
The Eastern Ballarat

Saturday 21 September 2019
Nighthawks Melbourne

Interview with Andy Campbell

Question: How would you describe your music?

Andy Campbell: This is guitar music. It has a lot in common with what you might call new-wave or power pop. When I formed the group I took my favourite bits of Blondie, Magazine, The Replacements and Johnny Marr, and made up-tempo, dramatic new-wave songs. It's in turns dark and euphoric; it has a lot of style and a bit of flash without being too showy. We're a slick band, but we're very real.


Question: Can you tell us about the debut self-titled LP?

Andy Campbell: Well it's ten tracks, 31 minutes in length - the same running time as A Hard Day's Night! We recorded the music quite quickly, most in the John Curtin Hotel bandroom over four weekdays. And then I spent the next year getting the vocals and the lyrics right.


Question: What inspired the release on vinyl?

Andy Campbell: I just love vinyl. I like the sound of a well pressed record - the crackle and the depth. I like the scale of possibility with the artwork. And vinyl LPs are what my favourite bands released, and still release. And it's great to put music on and not be connected to the internet or have the computer on. Having said that, I still buy CDs if I can't find a vinyl copy of something, or if a CD is a bargain. I stream music too, but it's important to me just to have the music in some way. Streaming isn't good enough to me - I need to own it.

But vinyl is expensive - we did a Pozible campaign to raise money to manufacture our LPs. Thankfully we have enough amazing fans that we were able to hit the target two weeks early! I'll never forget that.


Question: What is it like working with Shauna (from Cable Ties)?

Andy Campbell: "Fabulous" - her words. Shauna has been playing with us since we did a residency at the Tote Front Bar in March, and we've worked on some new songs together. She has an innate ability to play tasteful parts and make them sound really badass. There's a bit of Rock Action (the Stooges) in her style. I love Iggy and the Stooges' live album "Metallic K.O." and sometimes I get a sense of that thunder and spontaneity when we play live.


Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?
Andy Campbell: They're different worlds. But I think I prefer writing the songs and recording them. That's the creative moment and it's the biggest thrill in life. When our shows start to get bigger though, I'll probably have something else to say about playing live. I have had some transcendent moments on stage where a song doesn't feel like its being played by us - but rather being pushed on by some other force. That's quite magical.


Question: What should we expect from your upcoming tour?

Andy Campbell: Let's see… loud guitars, amazing haircuts… a loose, passionate rock'n'roll gig with a lot of style and love.


Question: Which is your favourite song to perform live and why?

Andy Campbell: At the moment, I like to play Looking For A Victim. This is because it's started to feel like the audience are taking control of it - by dancing to it, singing it, smiling at it, filming it… they're making the song evolve. It's exciting.


Question: If you could have anyone, in the world, attend a show, who would it be?

Andy Campbell: Iggy Pop and James Williamson.


Question: What is the story behind the band name?

Andy Campbell: Well, I like B-grade horror movies of the kind that are often shown at 2.00AM on Gem, or SBS, especially the type that Elvira would endorse. Which I guess are themselves 'AM reruns.' Also I like AM radio in the early morning… there is a whole alternative community of people who are up late: working late, unable to sleep, calling up the radio at 3.00AM to share their fringe views, I like this community. Meanwhile Scott Morrison says he likes people who get up early in the morning, so he wouldn't be able to keep up with us.

Question: How did the band come together?

Andy Campbell: Dan, Pam (our original drummer) and I knew each other from Box Rockets gigs (RIP) at The Great Britain Hotel in Richmond (RIP). Shauna and I started chatting on Instagram about WIRE. Then we hung out and I asked her to play some shows with us.


Question: What motivates you most when writing music?

Andy Campbell: The hope that I can recreate the feeling that I get from listening to my favourite music, and maybe share that with other people. But primarily I write for myself - to find a feeling, or to craft a track that satisfies me. Creativity isn't selfish, but it isn't a selfless impulse either.


Question: Which music/artists are you currently listening to?

Andy Campbell: The Only Ones! Pinch Points, Spike Vincent, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles.


Question: What or who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Andy Campbell: As a 15-year-old, I was obsessed with the Smashing Pumpkins (for better or worse…). I learned all of "Siamese Dream" and "Pisces Iscariot" on guitar, a fair bit of the "Melancholy" album, and stepped into a world which I just never wanted to leave. I've been living that way, with the attendant priorities, ever since.


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Andy Campbell: People who know me would know that the answer is Johnny Marr.


Question: Can you share your socials?

Andy Campbell: Facebook.com/amreruns/
@amreruns
Spotify


Interview by Brooke Hunter