By Jessica Fichera
Michael Paynter, a local Melbourne musician, is slowly making his way to the top. The 23 year old has just finished a nationwide tour with Seal and, most recently, launched a free giveaway of his acoustic album Money On Your Tongue. So what’s next for the talented multi-instrumentalist and singer?
Jess: Where do you see your music taking you?
Michael: I just think I want to be doing it for a long time. I don’t actually want to get anywhere in particular I just want to be doing it for as long as possible. I want to be doing it ‘til I’m old and grey and hopefully people will still want to hear what I’m doing. That’s really the dream, you know. If I could still be playing gigs where people turn up that want to hear what I’m singing, I’m happy.
You could make music for yourself, but there is something special about making music for other people, so as long as people want to hear it, I’ll want to make it.
J: What made you want to become a musician?
M: Being a musician, in particular, a songwriter, gives you a certain control over your emotions. I’ve had friends that have gone through break-ups or parental divorce or something and unless they played sport, they didn’t really have an outlet. From an early age, even before I was really writing songs, when I was 8 or 9, whenever I felt a bit bad I would just go to the piano and I’d just improvise, not really write a song, just…play. And what I felt in my heart I’d try and speak out on the piano. So I guess that attracted me, just that kind of release and the fact that it gives you a chance to put you in control of your feelings for once.
J: Of all the cameo performances on your album, who was your favourite?
M: Definitely Josh Freese. Josh Freese is a drummer that played on my record, [he] plays with the Nine Inch Nails, Sting, Avril Lavigne, A Perfect Circle and he played with a band called The Vandals that were huge in the ‘80s.Being in the studio and seeing him drum, as a mediocre drummer myself, puts you in your place. So it was just good to sit there and watch him work. It was the best thing.
J: What was it like performing Don’t Say Goodbye with The Veronicas at the Palais Theatre?
M: It was awesome. It was very good. The girls approached me about 6 months ago when they first booked the tour, and they said, ‘cause I’ve been friends with them for a while, “You wanna come and sing?” They chose that song, which was sung by Tania Doko from the Bachelor Girls. It was just loud…screaming girls, lots of them. They are very good at what they do so it was a pleasure to be on stage with them.
J: Which instrument do you prefer playing; drums, guitar or keyboard?
M: I like them all for different reasons. I kind of like the expression, the power and the dynamics of the guitar and I’m probably most competent at the guitar so it’s probably the easiest for me to express what I’m feeling with it. But I do love the piano and the drums. I love the piano for its sensitivity and the drums for its raw energy. I need them all!
J: You have a band, yet you choose to play all the instruments when recording, why is this so?
M: It’s not something that I specifically choose. I didn’t just hear the vocals and the guitar I sort of heard the piano and the drums as well, in my head. So it was kind of a natural progression for me to get on the instruments and play out what I heard in my head.
J: Why is Crave your favourite song on your album?
M: I think it’s one of those songs that kind of carry a certain mood. I think it’s one of the most mature lyrics that I’ve written and I think the tune and the chords themselves and the song as a whole really carries a certain message. So, as you said before you can sort of be singing in another language or not singing at all and the song, just by the chords already puts you in a certain place. So I kind of like it how it does that. I didn’t actually mean it, it kind of just happened.
J: What music artist inspires you and why?
M: Lots inspire me at the moment; Billie Holiday, Freddy King, Sam Cook and Smokey Robinson, B.B King and Albert King. And more recently people like John Mayer and Franz Ferdinand. I’m kind of into the slower songs, into the older songs rather than the newer ones.
J: Is there any special meaning behind the album title, This Welcome Diversion?
M: Yes. I was on a plane home from L.A. after making the album and I wanted the album to be something kind of different and a diversion or a distraction from people’s issues that they were having in their lives. You know, where they could put on the record and be taken to a place and at the end of listening to it they feel a bit refreshed. And, actually, I saw the word ‘diversion’ in the aeroplane magazine. So I wanted it to be ‘a welcome diversion’.
J: That makes sense. Thankyou.
M: That’s a wrap.
You can download Michael’s acoustic album ‘Money On Your Tongue’ for free, here.
