The Red Paintings Make A GameReturn

Thu 5th Jul, 2007 in Features

Trash McSweeney hardly needs an introduction as he is bringing the final part of the trilogy to town, that is the Animal Rebellion. Adelaide hasn’t been a fond place for The Red Paintings in recent times and we’re lucky there’s been a change of heart as Trash explains.

How’s Animal Rebellion going? “We just marched it for the first time in Brisbane,” Trash mentioned. “There were about two hundred people marching with us.”

Do you think the word is starting to get through? “For this band,” Trash questioned. “I think people are starting to take us seriously and that this is not just a once off. The band is an installation and we’ll continue to push and push until we can’t push any more or I’m not alive.”

Do you think you’re game coming back to Adelaide? “I really didn’t want to,” Trash replied. “The last couple of times I’ve lost a lot of gear but I received a lot of emails from kids after the Dresden Dolls tour saying that we got to come back. People have offered their houses for me to stay in with secure car parking and everything. Given that we had already done two parts of the trilogy down there I decided that we’d do it. How’s that? Two shows and a march, you’ve got lucky.”

Will there be a SWAT team to look after your gear this time? “It’s getting that way,” Trash thought. “Adelaide’s a little crazy! Every time I’ve gone out after a show they’re all so violent people. I’ve seen the most terrible fights in the streets of Adelaide.”

What is the next part of the trilogy about? “It’s really about the fact that the world is disintegrating and as human beings the one thing we’ll always neglect is the environment and animals,” Trash outlined. “Humans are always thinking about themselves so I’m bringing awareness to the fact that we should take care of animals and watch out for what scientists are doing to the globe. Originally the final part of the trilogy was going to be about aliens and conspiracies around the world I thought that this was something more closer to home that was happening in reality. This was something I thought we could change right now. I think the band has a social responsibility and I want to live up to those expectations. There aren’t to many Australian bands that have any social responsibility at all.”

Has the process of making Feed The Wolf been less taxing on you this time? “It’s been a completely different world,” Trash suggested. “The management company in Melbourne that has looked after for six months were just a fucking waste of time. They did not understand anything they were saying and it was like talking to a wall and after telling them what I wanted to do they pretty much said – œTrash, shut the fuck up, take two years off, learn how to fish and take on a part time job.’ I said to them that by saying that you not only insult me but my fans as well.”

What happened next? “The next morning I wrote a sincere email to the fan base outlining the situation that we were fifty thousand dollars down from the Dresden Dolls tour,” Trash revealed. “I said that I couldn’t get the band back up and I really want to record some songs, what do you want to do. People started donating money and I was hoping for enough to do a single but had enough for an EP.”

Is it hard staying positive knowing how much debt the band is carrying forward? “I don’t know,” Trash answered. “There was a period where I was living off two to three dollars a day. I was putting everything I had in to the recordings and I have to work it twenty four seven. Once again, it’s the fan base. They keep supporting me and a fan in America has been giving me money to eat and when I lost my Marshall head in Adelaide she paid two thousand dollars in my Paypal account so I could go and buy an amp. Just last week on tour in Sydney my guitar snapped in half on the plane and then it fucked up during the gig. All the songs for The Red Paintings have been created on that guitar and a fan on the forum found a replica from 1997 in China. I only found out yesterday that they all put in money raising thirteen hundred dollars and have ordered it for me. How awesome are they? That’s why have to keep this going and going.”