Friday, January 4, 2008

Interview with Aaron Green.



Aaron Green is a Tasmanian Singer/Songwriter who requested me on myspace a few days ago. Later that night, my cousin called me and said I HAD to listen to him. I was immediately drawn in by his meaningful lyrics and amazing piano skills. He was awarded third place in the Urban category at the National MusicOz Awards 2006 for his song 'The Game (Pointless Affair)'. He has an EP out now entitled 'Live at Martian's Law'. Definitely for those who like Ben Folds and Thom Yorke.


E- Minor: How long have you been playing music?

Aaron Green: I've been playing the piano since the age of 6. Starting with classical piano and moving to contemporary. I've been songwriting and singing for about 6 years now which has become my true passion in the music playing field.


E-Minor: You list everyone from MUSE to Mariah Carey as your influences. How do they fit into your song writing?

Aaron: From artist's like Mariah Carey, they influence me in the way they manipulate a simple melody into something amazing. Alot of the gospel chord progressions used in Mariah Carey's music has influenced me in trying to broaden my writing. With artist's like Muse, I am influenced greatly in the way the piano is used as a feature component of a song and not just a background instrument. So when it comes to melody, chords and singing techniques, I am influenced greatly by a deverse range of artists.


E-Minor: In a no holds barred battle to the death, who would win: Mariah Carey or Matthew Bellamy of Muse?

Aaron: Well in this instance I believe Matthew Bellamy would give Mariah a run for her money by winging and complaining her to death, but Mariah Carey would destroy Matthew's ear drums with her high pitched dog notes leaving him for dead....
So i think they would both equally defeat each other, but then Matthew would complain about his ears and Mariah would get her servants to clean up the mess...... or something... hehe.


E-Minor: I think my favorite song from you has to be Rather Be Cold. What went into making that song?

Aaron: Rather Be Cold was written at the end of one of my relationships. It's a simple song conveying that I would rather be sad and miserable alone than sad and miserable with 'you'. It's about discovering that you cannot gain happiness from another individual, you have to find it within yourself. Like most of my songs, it was written in about a day, I wanted to write something that swaped from my false-setto to my chest voice quickly. I also started experimenting with different sound effects and noises which is limited with my equipment, but I hope I kind of pulled it off.


E-Minor: You definitely did. Its pretty amazing in my opinion and very relatable. Is that what you go for when your writing songs?

Aaron: First and foremost I try to tell my story. I 'spew' out everything I'm feeling and try to organise it into some kind of story. Then if it's getting a bit too personal or way too abstract I will rework it so that it can be more relatable to the listeners, maybe so that the message is easier to understand without destroying the original 'feeling' I'm trying to express in the first place. At other times I try to be as abstract and vague as possible so that listeners can create their own story from my lyrics. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.


E-Minor: How has the whole "Australian Scene" been to you? Do you find you have more fans in other countries?

Aaron: I think it's hard anywhere. It's easy to find people that 'love' your music, but there's always a huge leap between someone that's really really into your music and someone that will actually be willing to buy it, or support it, or anything like that.
I tend to search for fans all over the world because I just want people to listen to my music. I often offer free downloads of my music so that it gets out there more and more. I'm not worried about trying to make a name in Australia, I just want anyone in the world to take some time out of their day and take a listen to some of my music.


E-Minor: What should fans look for from you soon?

Aaron: Well at the moment I'm currently on holiday, writing new songs but I have no recording facilities at the moment. So when I am back at Uni studying I will be able to record my new songs I have written. So my fans should stay tuned and hopefully in a few months time I will have a bunch of new songs for everyone to check out. Stay tuned!!!


E-Minor: And for those who have never heard you before and are just reading the site, where can they listen to your music?

Aaron: The best place to check out my music is at www.myspace.com/metaza. This is where all my latest songs will be uploaded to, anyone can contact me there, listen and buy my music and add me and become my friend!

1 comment:

Eater said...

I really enjoyed reading this interview.

I am glad to be on the same wave-length of not relying on others to make you happy; being happy and comfortable with yourself is foremost.

Keep up the good work, both of you.

Paul