dust

Photos courtesy of dust.

We don’t say this lightly: dust’s set in Austin, Texas fucked us up.

Permanently. We will never be the same. It was furious and demanding and compelling and reclaimed the hearts and minds of the exhausted two in the morning lingerers. Truly, they are Newcastle’s favuorite and most gifted sons. We don’t mean to be hyperbolic, so we won’t be. We will spare them and us and you that terrible injustice. We will, however, say that it is a very difficult thing to dominate a stage, a room, a cavernous space populated by people who aren’t on your side to begin with and who, only moments ago, were bent on going home for the night. To turn the head of a person walking toward the door and compelling them, drawing them in to stay to see what you’re going to do and say and play and try next, that is an absolutely incredible thing. dust did that a couple hundred times that night in March in the sticky heat of Austin, Texas.

Photo by Nathan Rathsam

Who are you?

Hey, I’m Gabe from the band dust.

What do you do?

I play guitar and sing. Same as Justin. Kye’s on drums, Liam’s on bass and Adam on sax. We’re a band inspired by other bands such as My Bloody Valentine, The Birthday Party and Fugazi etc.

How long have you been doing that?

The band has been going for about three years now.

Where is home for you?

We’re based in Newcastle. Justin, Adam and Liam grew up in Maitland.

If you weren’t in music, what would you be doing?

Probably trying to see out the blueprint of life in some way. Whether or not that would be rewarding is another story. I think I wanted to be an architect as a kid.

“I think we just want to stay as true to ourselves as we can, knowing that it’s a pretty vulnerable spot when you play your shit in front of people.”

What do you think about the current state of your local music culture?

Post-covid I think it took a few months for the scene to take shape again and it seemed that music changed direction with the rise of social media and Tik Tok. Having said that, there was a solid one or two years where live shows were going off and it seemed that people were just keen to get out and about. The last year or so I think we’ve seen a lower attendance to live music across the board, especially regionally where the cost of living is having a widespread effect on the community, which in turn impacts venues and festivals.

What do you do outside of music and how does that thing influence or affect your craft?

I think one of the most influential things for the band is spending time together away from home and in nature. We’ve been writing new music so getting our heads clear is super helpful and we can just think about the writing process without distractions. It’s good when we get to travel around all together, visit a bunch of different venues and watch our friends play. I find that really inspiring.

The best/worst thing about the music industry?

The best thing is being able to meet different people that all have unique views on how to do things in the industry. There are so many people that have a great deal of passion for music to keep it moving and alive. The worst thing however would be how vacuous it can become. It becomes people’s whole life, which I guess in a way isn’t always a bad thing, but it becomes a game in getting ‘wins’ or ‘plugs’ and falling in love with the high life. There’s a real difference between those that are driven by money and those that are driven by passion.

Something you’re most proud of?

dust is touring with Interpol in the UK and Europe later this year. I never ever would’ve thought that could happen but here we are. It’s like a fever dream that feels really good.

Biggest lesson you’ve learned in life so far?

I think we’re yet to face a few life lessons in the coming years, but so far, I think we’ve learned to put ourselves out there a bit more. Trusting the ebbs and flows of where the band might be at in terms of career is another thing. I try not to get in my head too much about who’s going to like our music and rather rely on the fact that we’re in such fortunate positions to be able to make music in the first place.

Something anyone can do today to make the world a better place?

See question fifteen. It took me two seconds to Google climate change. The UN has attached some handy actions. Pick up some rubbish. Plant a tree. Ride a bike. Eat more vegetables. Recycle. If your plastic doesn’t ‘scrunch’ like cling wrap or bubble wrap, then it can be recycled. Got that one from the War On Waste.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome so far?

One on the biggest challenges I’ve come across is understanding that there’s a method to making a profile for yourself as a musician. It’s quite hard to keep it consistent when the way in how you promote things is changing all the time. I really struggle with the whole marketing side of things and trying to keep up with what people want to see. Writing the music is one thing but getting it in people’s ears is another. Having said that, it’s still really fulfilling when shit goes right, and you get to release your music out into the ether.

What is something people might not know about you?

I have seventeen cats.

Who do you think is doing it the best/coolest in your industry right now?

Gut Health. On a local level they are leagues ahead in how they’ve merged their presence online with their live show resulting in such a strong image and sound. Six-piece post-punk band and they’re tight. Jagged and abrasive yet melodic and exciting. What’s not to love?

What do you think is the biggest issue facing young people today?

From what I’ve gauged, it’s probably the ever-impending doom that the planet faces because of fossil fuels emissions driving temperatures up exponentially. The fact that the media blurs our perception of what or what isn’t a fact is dividing us and our attention spans are becoming shorter and shorter. That’s a bit morbid but an issue that young people will indefinitely face for years to come. In my most humblest opinion.

To what do you owe your success so far?

We owe a lot to the people we’ve got backing us, talking about us, listening to our music and coming to our shows. We owe it to the bands we’ve supported and how welcomed we’ve felt entering some daunting scenarios.

Top five albums of all time in descending order: go.

Massive question.
5. (I’m) Stranded – The Saints
4. Crushing – Julia Jacklin
3. Place Without a Postcard – Midnight Oil

2. New Long Leg – Dry Cleaning
1. Repeater – Fugazi

What are your goals as a band today and have they changed over time? If so, from what to what?

The goal now is to just keep writing songs. I mean that goal hasn’t really changed but we’re in the midst of it and it’s nice. I think we just want to stay as true to ourselves as we can, knowing that it’s a pretty vulnerable spot when you play your shit in front of people.

What would you like an audience member to take away from your live show?

After ‘et cetera, etc’ came out, it was surreal to experience how it had connected with others. I suppose when someone comes to the show, it’d be nice if they went away feeling like it had connected them with music as well as the audience around them. It’s a beautiful thing when the set moves through the motions and it feels like everyone is feeling a similar way.