Shooting at unarmed men:lethally engaging

Wed 21st Feb, 2007 in Features

When mclusky decided to disband in 2005, many fans were up in arms. However, as much as the Cardiff trio attracted an international cult-status following within the space of three albums, the band’s underrated skills forged the way for Jon Chapple to instigate a new creative direction. The former mclusky bass player formulated shooting at unarmed men when he realised the potential of soon-to-be band mates Simon Alexander and Steven Morgan.

Consumed by sweat and drive, shooting at unarmed men emerged with their frenetic debut Soon there will be shooting at unarmed men in late 2005. A tweak in the lineup saw Alexander depart the band to pursue his own directive in King Alexander with Simon Jarvis (Big Joan) later filling the bassist’s shoes. From here, shooting at unarmed men surged to construct sophomore release of 2006, Yes! Tinnitus!, within three weeks. Such a quick succession therefore captured the band’s sudden evolution. “Our second album was influenced greatly by the loss of one bassist and the capture of another and also by self-imposed time constraints, which I put on the band in order to keep everything moving with a sense of purpose,” Chapple confirms.

Roaring with vicious guitars and an angry persona to mirror unrelenting lyrics, Chapple defied the critics and marked the start of anything but a wind-down from his time in mclusky. “I rarely aim for a particular creative direction as I have found the best way to write music that I like is to stand in a room with two other people and just play. Then it’s a matter of editing what spews forth. Having said that, the direction that all our music takes is – very literally – a ‘record’ of where the band is at, at any given time. They are documents of progress made and experience lived. [It] sounds wanky but that is the way I believe music, or indeed any art, should be – an account of human progression.”

Side-swiping newfound fans with Chapple’s decision to pack up and head for Melbourne saw shooting at unarmed men in its Welsh form distinguish. Once in Melbourne, Chapple was quick to embark on an Aussie incarnation of the band, calling on the skills of The Cheats’ Julian Tovey and Thomas Robert Lee Cooper. Chapple is adamant that shooting at unarmed men’s current lineup pinpoints his initial blueprint. “The antipodean version of the band I have started here with Tom and Julian is more the band that I was looking for than the previous incarnations and I am currently preparing a visa application in order to stay here so that this band may continue. I have no intention of jetting back and forth, to and from anywhere (except to visit friends and family back home in Cardiff as often as is possible). The band is all set to record a new album at the beginning of April this year and spend a large portion of the rest of the year following it up with nation-wide (and eventually) over-seas touring.” While reports suggest that mclusky fans are still lamenting over the band’s disbandment, Chapple believes what he has established in shooting at unarmed men is his sole priority. “The only thing I’ve been able to manage in shooting at unarmed men as opposed to mclusky is creative control over my music. Some mclusky fans like it, some hate it, some care neither way. I have the necessary support where needed and that’s all I care about.”

The music melting pot that is Melbourne is also allowing Chapple to pursue his ambitions without feeling disjointed from his homeland of Wales, or even the UK as a whole. “I don’t feel in any way disjointed from the Northern Hemisphere. I’ve always been very good at adapting and ingratiating myself with my surroundings, which helps enormously when you’re touring for months on end. The atmosphere of this city has, very definitely, influenced me and there-by had an effect on the music I create. There is a great sense among the friends I have made here that all goals are achievable. As long as you are willing to stick your neck out and put some guts into it, (the great Aussie tradition of ‘give it a go’) is an attitude I, myself, ascribe to. In Britain, there seems to be a problem these days with people having relied on the state for so long that some folks expect things that they don’t earn and have no intention of working for; a sort of ‘the world owes me something’ attitude, which I’m sure exists everywhere. This attitude belongs to individuals and not to entire nations but that is my overall feeling; ‘can do’ versus ‘what’s the point’, if you catch my drift. But these are obviously massive generalisations. I greatly contemplate making Melbourne my permanent home. I love it here.”

Such an aesthetic reaches deeper into Chapple’s current creative frame of mind, exemplified by a quote found on his band’s MySpace page – “the art of when to give a s—-”. I ask Chapple whether artists in the current music world have honed the ability in order to determine when to give a s—-. “The art of when to give a shit is a philosophy for all things; an attitude toward everyday living and not just something to be prescribed to music and / or art. But there seems to be a great well of ‘why should I care about your music?’ from all areas of the music industry (bands, fans, the companies) that could be blamed on many different aspects of modern day living. The gluttony of bands, choice, medium, and media could all be to blame. It is now up to the discernable or objective person to decide what they believe is important or not in terms of all the choices they make – whether those choices be where they buy their food or how, where and why they find the music that they enjoy or the jobs they choose to keep or quit, the people they choose to put their faith and trust in and all the choices that define us as the people we are. Maybe there are just too many f

---

-g people on this planet?”

It’s innovative times ahead for shooting at unarmed men and the chance for Chapple to realise his vision sparks a busy future ahead. ”[There are] the same plans as I’ve had every year since I was fifteen – play, write, record, tour, play, write, record, tour, sleep, eat, play… And just when you’ve had enough, play some more. Simplicity is the best path I can think of to being a positive human being because, as Bill Hicks once said, we are just ‘a virus with shoes!’”

Shooting at unarmed men will appear alongside The Good Intentions and Like Bears for C’mon C’mon’s First Birthday at The Evelyn this week, Thursday February 22. Doors 8:30pm. $10 on the door.

Yes! Tinnitus! is available through Too Pure.