FEATURE
Living The VB-Best Life Joseph Earp chats to Spencer Scott of the band Paper Thin about success, struggles, and the magic of the VB Hard Yards competition
B
y this stage, the members of emo titans Paper Thin are old hands. Sure, they might have only had their first band practice together a little over two years ago, but they have each been around the block a fair bit separately; bassist and vocalist Spencer Scott has been a stalwart of Newcastle’s burgeoning music scene for yonks now, for example. “I had been playing as a solo performer for a few years, and was looking to start a band,” Scott explains. “Even from the first band practice, everything felt really natural, so we knew we wanted to do something from the get go.” The band were lucky to have the weight of experience on their side – as Scott tells it, going about this industry as a fresh-faced newbie can force one to climb an extraordinarily steep learning curve. “I think if you’re just starting out, it can be really confusing figuring out how the music industry works, even on a small local level. We’re all lucky in the sense that we have all been in bands before, and kind of knew what to do. But I remember being 15 and starting my first band; the idea of booking a show seemed impossible.” Not, mind you, that it’s all been some casual, crisis-free dream. The bandmates – Scott, guitarist and vocalist Aidan Roe, and drummer Liam Tobin – have to juggle day jobs in order to make their music, and they sometimes struggle with having to keep their fingers in quite so many pies. “It can be tough,” Scott explains. “We’ve had to turn down some good opportunities so we don’t miss work, and we’ve had to skip a few family events to make shows work. I think we’ve found a good balance now though: we definitely try to do our best to work with what we’ve got.”
“WHEN WE FIRST STARTED, I THINK WE DEFINED SUCCESS AS PLAYING OUR FIRST SHOW AND HAVING And luckily, they have each other to turn to for support. They have only grown closer and more collaborative since the release of their first, self-titled EP in August 2016; they relish riffing together, and their music is the fusion of all of their distinct voices, likes and dislikes. “‘When You Call’ [From 2017 EP Living With. Being Without] was one of the first songs that really felt like a collaborative effort,” Scott says. “We had some bits and pieces, but the majority of it was created in the practice room. The bones of the song came very fast, but we were tinkering with it right up until it was recorded. We made a last minute decision to ask Grace Turner to come in and sing on it, which really makes the song, in my opinion. “The more we play together, the more we end up writing as a group,” Scott continues. “The first EP was mostly written by myself in my bedroom, but now it’s a much more collaborative process. Aidan has started writing songs, and we spent a lot more time working out structures and parts together.” All that hard work and support is starting to truly pay off, with the band riding somewhat of a high at the moment – they have just recently been announced as one of the three finalists of the acclaimed VB Hard Yards competition, and will play a series of concerts alongside Tired Lion, Claws & Organs, and Being Jane Lane this October. True to their hardworking nature, the band were toiling away at their day jobs when they found out about their Hard Yards success. “We didn’t really get the opportunity to celebrate together, but there were a few feverish texts in the group chat,” Scott says. “We were pretty blown away. There were so many entries this year; we’re quite honoured.” Not, mind you, that the band are letting all this go to their heads. They are a group of singularly humble individuals, who relish every single aspect of making music for no other reason than it feels like the thing they were born to do. When asked, for example, what success means to him, Scott is quietly understated. “I find that it’s always changing,” he says. “When we first started, I think we defined success as playing our first show and having people there. We’ve just been moving the goalposts since then. I remember being asked to play Poison City Weekend in 2017 felt very special.” And anyway, the band are keen to keep their successes in check, focussing only on the important stuff – like, for example, another of their recent wins. “Aidan and I won $500 at trivia the other week for correctly identifying a photo of Mem Fox,” Scott says. “God bless Possum Magic.” What: VB Hard Yards 2018 With: Claws & Organs, Being Jane Lane, Tired Lion Where: Lansdowne Hotel When: Saturday October 6
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