LOCAL ARTIST TOM GILLESPIE
LOCAL BAND VENICE ON FIRE HAS HAD A CRACKING YEAR
How did you discover your love for music?
Personally, I discovered most of my early music through Mum and Dad. Dad has been a professional guitarist for more than 40 years, and Mum had great taste. My first discovery of rock music was Dad putting Billy Idol’s Rebel Yell on, and I’d dance around his studio as an eight-year-old.
How long have you been playing for?
I’ve been playing guitar since I was about 15. I was never really interested in it until my sister took it up. Sibling rivalry will do that. I started my first band The Weekend Hiatus (awful name) in 2008 and we ended up putting out one EP in 2013.
How did your band Venice on Fire start?
I met the boys while I was working out at Roma. Both were in school and even took the same classes together but never spoke. We started jamming in my garage, slowly crafting our sound before we moved together to Toowoomba in 2016 to keep the “fire” burning. Roma ended up being the perfect breeding ground for us, because there was no scene.
Who are the other members in the group?
Jarrod is the bass player, back-up singer (read: yeller) and hype man of VOF. Darcy is the drummer, which he does incredibly well. We are all such different people, yet it works so well. What has been the highlight of your artistic career so far? 2017 was filled with unforgettable moments for us, even though it was a year of extreme transition and evolution. We released our debut album Tempt A Saint, and the tour of that release in Nov-dec included a spot at the Airlie Beach Festival of Music. That was without a doubt one of the greatest weekends of my life, and I’ll carry the memories for life.
What was the process for creating this work?
We write songs from a variety of places. Although I would probably be considered the main songwriter, no tune is complete without input from Jarrod and Darcy. We like to build powerful songs with aggression, distortion and energy. Lyrically, the songs often cover dark or complex subject matters. We have discussed depression, broken families, societal inequality and childhood memories in a variety of our songs. But by no means does that make us depressing people. In fact, we pride ourselves in being warm and approachable.
What are your future plans for Venice on Fire?
The next three years will be a make-or-break for us. By 2020, I’ll be 30 so I want to make a real go of this before I start getting too old for it. We have started writing new material for possibly two EPS or even another album.