Neal Carlson has just finished sound checking for Mink’s gig at Melbourne’s Ding Dong Lounge – he immediately breaks the ice by suggesting I have the second best name he’s ever heard…
And what’s the best name? I enquire “Jaz Virgin” – he smirks…
We laugh for a second before he settles down to tell me the history of Mink and how much he and the band are looking forward to playing at the Fasterlouder Christmas parties.
Reality TV buffs may recall that Carlson first rose to fame as a finalist on the Rock Star INXS show. While he didn’t wind up with the coveted top spot – Carlson has finished up as something much better – the lead singer in a band of his own.
Said band, Mink, has already been making a name for itself; scoring the support slots with EMO outfit Angels and Airwaves and recently spending time in the recording studio with renowned producer Sylvia Massy (Red Hot Chili Peppers).
“Yeah,’ drawls Carlson “we’ve just spent some time in Weed, California – which is the subject of a lot of jokes, – But I’ll leave that alone. We were recording with Sylvia Massy – She worked with the Chili Peppers and Tool - and Tool is one of the bands after Michael Jackson that I was really into, so it was a great honour to work with her.”
Yes, you heard right – Michael Jackson. It seems a as a youngster Carlson liked nothing better than to dance around to tracks like Bad.
“We really had no privacy in my house except for the bathroom,” he explains. “And so I kinda locked my self in there and played Thriller and New Edition - I’d go in the bathroom and work on my dance moves.
I imagine a little air guitar wasn’t outta the question then?
“I was never into the air guitar, I think it’s a little over-rated” smiles Carlson. “But singing into a bottle of cologne – that’s a good option… if the hairbrush isn’t working for you, the bottle of cologne is a good filler…
Although Carlson loathed the air guitar, the guitar is his instrument of choice these days.
“I was actually a pretty late bloomer,” he admits. ”I didn’t start playing guitar ‘til I was in college – and it was acoustic guitar when I was young – I’m thirty now. But I guess I just had my day with acoustic – and I was ready to get an amp and plug in and play a little louder. Start a little neighbourhood controversy.” He laughs.
These days he’s happiest when he’s cranking the guitar up to eleven and singing his heart out with his band – and unlike most NYC rock outfits, Mink leaves the pretensions at the door.
“I grew up in New York,” says Carlson, “and a lot of bands in that scene really try and play up that too cool for school attitude – and I think we came to terms pretty early on with the fact that we are pretty uncool – we wanna just have fun and appreciate everyone that is coming out to see us each night.”
With a bunch of Australia gigs on the slate for the next month, Carlson says he’s looking forward to playing his new material at the FasterLouder parties.
“We’re excited about these FasterLouder Christmas parties – it’s Christmas yeah – jingle bells and all that stuff,” he laughs. “I think what we’re most looking forward to is playing these tunes that we’d just recorded. We’re gonna play them tonight…But it’s still a new process for us – but by the time we get to the FasterLouder gigs I hope we can really nail it.”
Want to go to the FasterLouder Xmas Party?
Sydney members rsvp here
Melbourne members rsvp here
Brisbane members rsvp here
Five things you don’t know about Neal
Music: Apart from Michael Jackson I’m really into Outkast
On spending Christmas in Oz: I’m very curious to see how it feels to be here in 95 degrees heat eating seafood.
Secret fetish: Easy Listening Rock. My mom loved Linda Ronstadt
Speedos or board shorts? Speedos – neon green to draw even more attention to it… No I have some nice knee length fishing trunks…
Silent Night or Jingle Bells? Silent Night the death metal version
