Everyone knows everyone in Canberra, according to Blake Bashfield from four-piece indie rock outfit smartcasual. I spoke to the multi-instrumentalist and producer for episode 30 of Round the Ground, and here’s our chat, edited down for clarity.
Is it common for musicians to constantly be jumping on each other’s sets in Canberra?
It’s a very tight-knit scene, and it’s very community-driven. Canberra’s always had this DIY, like gritty, build yourself energy. You’re forced to figure things out without industry handholding.
Has Canberra afforded you and the band good opportunities, or did you need to travel elsewhere to get gigs and recordings?
In terms of actual external opportunities, every Canberran would probably agree that there’s not a lot there, because in the past there hasn’t been a lot of infrastructure in Canberra.
You’re forced to get good live, and all these things help shape your identity pretty early, so that when you do venture out to Sydney or Melbourne, you’re a bit more refined than usual.
Do you have any favourite venues currently in Canberra that you enjoyed playing at, or even just watching gigs at?
This is really crappy of me, but I haven’t actually been to Dissent Cafe and Bar yet… it’s not very Canberran of me. But I know that that place rules at the moment and it’s giving a platform for heaps of Canberra artists.
Fun Time Pony is another good one, they always take good care of us. There’s been so many iconic venues in Canberra. Sideway was a big one, and the Phoenix—those no longer exist, unfortunately, or they’re under new names.
Is Canberra facing the same issues that a lot of regions around Australia are—especially Brisbane—in terms of venue closures?
I used to run a music venue in Canberra and it was one of the scariest businesses to go into ever, because you’re watching these ticket sales all week, and you’re like, “oh, this is going to be really expensive and we’re not going to make anything back from it.”
You and your band have relocated from Canberra to Wollongong. Why is that?
The move for us was about a change of scene. As a band we just felt a bit stagnant in Canberra, and felt like there was more for us somewhere else, and that somewhere else just happened to be Wollongong. Now we’ve been living here for three years, and we adore it.
That’s so interesting… I’ve lived in Wollongong my whole life and I’ve seen bands come through and say that they’ve outgrown Wollongong, and then they’ll always move even further up north, or you get the classic Move to Melbourne Syndrome.
To be honest, I’ve never like fully understood that thing with Australia. Like “I’m going to move to Melbourne and more opportunities will be given to me…” I feel like you kind of shoot yourself in the foot there, because you’re just throwing yourself into this massive ocean of people that have done the same thing, and nothing really sticks out.
Whereas here, we’re loving it because there is so much platform here in Wollongong. There’s so many venues, and there is a lot of industry infrastructure here. Also, it’s pretty handy being able to like apply for those sort of regional grants.
Can you tell me about your most recent single ‘Give’?
It’s a song about loving without keeping score. We were in this phase in our lives where everything was just breaking on us—our car, our surfboards, our music gear… We got pretty complacent.
“I’m not going to wear this watch because it might break on me” defeats the purpose of why you buy the watch in the first place.
We generalise that into giving love without expecting it back, even when it breaks, continue to give love again and again.
