Rollerball : Interview

Last Updated on Thursday, 20 August 2009 18:08 Written by Sam Kerr Wednesday, 01 July 2009 15:32

Rock And Rollerball

‘Submarine’, the third album by hard rocking Brisbane group Rollerball, sees the band refining their classic rock blend with great results.

Spending only five days in the studio the band, along with famed Brisbane producer Jeff Lovejoy, produced an album that balances shredding riffage with stretches of mind-bubbling prog.

In our chat guitarist Dave Talon explained that spending such a short amount of time in the studio was necessary for the end result.

“We’ve always recorded as cheaply and quickly as possible. It works for us because as a collective I don’t think we’d be able to handle doing take after take or any studio workshopping. We’re well rehearsed so we just go in and do it. We wouldn’t have it any other way; spending months on a record would drive us nuts. It’s all about getting down that really good performance. If you do more than three takes of a track, you start to lose that intensity and freshness.”

Dave asserts this is how good rock is and listening to the band it’s easy to see that Rollerball are all about the intensity of playing live. Fortunately “local hero” and producer Jeff Lovejoy understood this.

“It was good to talk to someone like Jeff, who has a good understanding of what the band should sound like and we felt very relaxed our new record was going to sound how we wanted it to sound. Even though it took ten years I think it was really good timing to work with Jeff. He’s honed his craft in the studio and I think that as a band we’re a lot more familiar with the studio than we used to be.”

It’s been five years since the last Rollerball album and after years of fans demanding a new one the band finally decided to release it.

“I think it’s been worth the wait. We’re really excited about this record. We feel like it’s a good representation of where we are now, while at the same time it’s not that different to where we were ten years ago.”

Virtually every bit of press Rollerball have got over the years has mentioned their distinctly Australian sound. Dave isn’t entirely sure what that means but is certain that whatever it is, it’s ingrained deep within how the band plays.

“Even if I’m playing like British metal, or a Kiss riff, it sounds Australian because of how I play it. It’s just the same as how each amplifier has a distinct sound, the way you strum a chord or sing has a distinct sound and the way we play is Australian and I think that’s a good thing.”

Rollerball play the Plus One showcase at The Zoo on Saturday July 11. ‘Submarine’ is out now through Plus One Records.