Blake Scott – Season 02 / Ep 06
Carol’s protector,
Smashing sparks from Epiphone,
Wisdom from Tempel
There was a period of time, referenced during the conversation I had with Nicholas F in Season one of Inside the Heliosphere, when North Mel-bourne seemed to me alive with musicians and other creative types. These were the days before our children were born and my wife and I made regu-lar trips to her brother’s bar on Victoria Street. The nights were long and the drink measures non-standard.
Somewhere in this fog of promise and alcohol I made the acquaintance of this quiet, thoughtful man. We may have discussed music, we may have discussed guitars. There was a lot of that back then.
I’m never certain that people I meet remember me. A favourite question to put to people, and not just here, is ‘how do you think others see you?’. It’s a toughie.
So when I found myself at the Grace Darling Hotel in Collingwood, re-viewing one of Blake’s solo gigs for Stack Magazine, (read it here if you like: https://stack.com.au/music/live-review/blake-scott-grace-darling-melbourne/), I didn’t think he would much recall our conversa-tions, if at all. Therefore I was surprised after his quite brilliant performance to be given a hug and have a cheerful catch-up chat. Fur-thermore, I was extremely happy when Blake agreed to be interviewed.
I was lucky enough to see him play with his band Peep Tempel a few times, including their farewell gig at the Forum in Melbourne, (review here: https://stack.com.au/music/live-review/peep-tempel-forum-live-review/). I also watched with pride and a huge grin as his band released a series of fantastic videos to accompany their singles. Watch the one for Mister Lester Moore to understand why I asked Blake if he has had any training in acting.
It is a strange and wonderful thing to see friends take off with wings of acclaim, to feel real pride in the accomplishments of people with whom you’ve shared beer and crisps. Blake and the stupendous Peep Tempel fully deserve every compliment they get.
So listen to this fascinating conversation, conducted in Blake’s North Melbourne home, half a mile up the road from our old drinking venues. Whether a fan of Peep Tempel, and surely you should be, or a stranger to the man and his band, I think you’ll be intrigued by the complex duality of his life, and by the humble, disarming, eloquent and insightful way he views and skewers the world.
And I hope that one day, like me, you have the singular pleasure of standing in a large crowd at a festival, shoe in the air, chanting ‘And I don’t think Trevor is good for you’ While Blake tears it up onstage with his trusty white Epiphone.
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02 06
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1) I feel the earth move, Carole King (00:37:55)
2) Too much monkey business, Chuck Berry (01:16:10)
3) Time, Tom Waits (01:37:34)
4) Break it up, Patti Smith (02:12:41)
5) Nancy (live), Leonard Cohen (02:37:02)
6) Love me like a reptile, Motorhead (03:03:59)
7) Which way to go, Eddy Current Suppression Ring (03:14:19)
Now finally, along with all Douglas Adams’ written works (Google if you’re not familiar with him), please tell me:
Your choice of film
The Good The Bad and The Ugly
Your choice of book
Gerald Murnane – The Plains
Your luxury item (that may be neither alive nor an aid to escape)
My Epiphone guitar.
The one piece of music or album you would choose of your seven if you could have only one
Leonard Cohen- Live Songs.
Finally, to stave off madness, should that be your choice, which vista, which single place in all the world would you choose to have surround you in the Virtual Reality Pod (VRP). Open the pod bay doors…
The property where I grew up.
Over.
