#crazy that strange trails is a real album . like the world is a mess but at least i have this album.

[golddustdyke]

I took a little journey to the unknown and I come back changed, and I can feel it in my bones .... I fucked with the forces that our eyes can't see, now the darkness got a hold on me....Oh, the darkness got a hold on me ....... I have seen what the darkness does - say goodbye to who I was, I ain't ever been away so long...don't look back, them days are gone

[janeyumback]

Just found out about the passing of Scott Hutchinson. I was fortunate enough to interview him in 2013. This is the unedited version of that interview.

Scott Hutchison, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Scottish outfit Frightened Rabbit, has no problems laying it all out there. The unassuming singer is softly spoken and personable, displaying the same level of openness usually found within his lyrics.

It’s just hours before he is due to take his place on stage at The Corner Hotel for another night of Melbourne sideshows. But instead of the usual routine of sound checks and vocal warm ups, he has agreed to meet me backstage to discuss art and the crazy touring schedule that he is deep in the thick of. “It makes me tired just looking it” he admits while rubbing his eyes and adjusting to the light. He looks like he may have recently woken up from an afternoon nap, with messed up hair and a wrinkled t-shirt. “To preserve my sanity I like to take the schedule one day at a time” he says laughingly, but I can’t tell if he’s joking or not.

In Australia as part of the Groovin the Moo festival, 2013 marks the forth visit to our shores by the indie rock group. Last time they played in Australia, promoting the 2010 release, The Winter of Mixed Drinks, the band, made complete by Hutchison’s brother Grant on drums, and multi instrumentalists Billy Kennedy, Andy Monaghan and Gordon Skene, found themselves performing at The Hifi Bar to a majority British audience. This time around it’s two nights at The Corner and a more varied crowd “We’re making ground [in Australia]” the singer smiles timidly as we take our seats on a big grey couch in the corner of the intimate band room. “Everywhere in the world picks up at different times and for us things went really quickly in the U.S.”

Frightened Rabbit have flown down under straight off the back of a sold out American spring tour. It’s a continent that Hutchison says responds well to their distinct brand of melancholic Scottish rock “It’s working out for us over there and it [America] has been very good to us. We went out as soon as our first album was released (Sing The Greys, 2006) and were really lucky in a couple of respects. First of all we had a manager who took us over and then we somehow got into SxSW. We got a booking agent and things started working. This was our twelfth U.S. tour so it didn’t happen overnight but we’re able to keep going back and watch things snowball.”

This time the band is making the rounds promoting Pedestrian Verse, released earlier this year to critical acclaim. As a fan, I mention that the album feels more upbeat than their previous efforts, which all carry a distinctly melancholic feel. I tell him that the last album sounded bleak, and that this one seems happier. Scott pauses to consider my words before making his carefully curated response, “I think I feel more comfortable with what I do now, with what we do. There’s a maturity to this album but is it happier? Maybe there’s just a bit more hope. The recording was a happy experience but I think a lot of the writing came from strange experiences that I’ve had over the past few years.”

“There was a period of real self destruction” Hutchison continues, before stopping to rub his eyes and consider the next sentence. “I was so angry. In my mind we had finished writing the album, and the producer was unavailable for at least six months. It didn’t take me long to get over it but there was a period when I felt aimless and hard done by. I felt paranoid and then there was a breakup, and I was drinking a lot. I wasn’t a nice person…I’ve been asked before if I do things to make myself miserable on purpose, but that just sounds a bit twisted. I think you need to experience extremes of both [happiness and sadness] in life and I could never imagine just middling. I think my art would suffer”, he laughs at the absurdity of what he’s just said.

“I’ve always enjoyed coupling slightly downtrodden lyrics with a victorious chorus. We’ve always tried to do that, and the most pleasant thing that I can hear from someone who has been listening to our music, or is new to our music is that they don’t realize what they are singing along too. I like to suck people in with something quite accessible. I mean, it’s melodic and it’s poppy. The thing that we do though, is trick people into entering a song and then once they’re in there, there are all sorts of strange layers and meanings behind the lyrics.

The mention of strange layers gives me the perfect opportunity to bring up Hutchison’s artistic credentials; he graduated with a Degree in Illustration from the Glasgow School of Fine Art, and is responsible for a majority of the band’s artwork. A year or so ago he came up with the idea of drawing a small picture of a beard for every day that his band was on tour, and selling one every night at the concert. “I wanted to find a way of telling people that we were playing in their town without it sounding dry and boring. I started drawing beards and would write things like, this beard is playing in such and such a venue tonight, tickets still available… It was a different way of getting people down to our shows. Then I started selling them for charity and now it’s just become a thing. I don’t even have to say that there’s a beard on sale anymore, people just go up to the merch desk and ask for it.”

Curious, I ask if I can see some of his pictures, hoping to guess which one he’ll be selling at the show this evening. He carefully pulls a selection of inked drawings out of a nearby bag – They are sweet little doodles that wouldn’t look out of place in an art gallery – He shyly mentions that he “likes drawing beards” and his talent is evident.

I wonder out loud if the drawings are another way of preserving his sanity while on the road.

“One hundred percent. It’s twenty minutes to myself, which I find rare. Everyone in this band is a dear friend and I love them all, however there can be periods of days when your only alone time is while you sleep. That’s not quite right. So this is a nice little break, and a sanity preserver (laughs), and a way of connecting with something creative. Touring can be very mechanical…” his answer trails off as a door opens, and his tour manager gives the nod that our time is nearly up. I quickly ask permission for one last question before we part ways. I’m interested to know his opinion on ‘heritage’ rock bands reforming for major festivals in the U.K and America, taking potential heading spots from newer artists. “I don’t feel threatened” he says, without a moment’s hesitation. “If there’s a glass ceiling in the music industry I don’t feel stuck underneath it. In fact, I don’t need much more than this.” He smiles, and I believe him when he says it.