Kris Peter’s catches up with 1927 front man Eric Weiderman ahead of their show at the Vertigo Bar in Cairns on May 23 & 24.
1927 have been a mainstay in the Australian music scene for North of 25 years. Although they have had four albums (including the recently released Generation – I) and two best of CD’s, the band is best remembered for their 1988 debut album ……ish, which won a slew of awards and spawned the hit singles, ‘That’s When I Think of You’, ‘If I Could’ and ‘Compulsory Hero’, all of which are still on rotation on music stations nationally.
After an extended hiatus from the late 1990’s until 2009, the group disbanded and it wasn’t until a friend suggested a bit of a reunion for the then upcoming 20th anniversary of ……ish that vocalist Eric Weiderman thought seriously about getting the band back together
“It was one of those moments where the planets aligned,” he explained. “The ……ish album was about to turn 20 years old and a friend of mine suggested we should get back together and do a bit of a tour and see what happens and that’s pretty much what we did back in ’99 and it’s been going ever since.”
There is a good reason why the above – mentioned songs have survived on rotation and in people’s minds all these years, and it is the secret to writing a good song. While most songs these days are poppy, catchy, throwaway pieces of music, songs like ‘Compulsory Hero’ and it’s war tinged themes still resonate as strongly in today’s society as they did when they were released, and while Eric is thrilled to have hit the right note with people, so to speak, he is also quick to point out that he had no inkling of the future longetivity of these songs when they were first recorded.
“God no,” he stressed. “Personally speaking, I was just stoked to be making a record but we had no idea first of all that it was going to be successful and secondly, it would still be getting played today. It’s pretty crazy. Songs are just like poetry. I think if you try and write something with anything other than that in mind…… I don’t actually know if you could do it really.”
Music has seen many changes since 1927 first came on the scene, and although Eric is excited to be back in the industry again, he is also a little apprehensive about the current state of the industry.
“I think these days all bands sound like the last few bands that came out,” he said. “You’ve got all these genres like R & B, pop and rap, but they all sound the same to me. Occasionally there’s a band that comes out that has that unique sound that makes them stand out from everybody else but most bands just churn out the same radio friendly formula rubbish. To be honest I really don’t know where 1927 fits these days in musical terms because I think we kind of rely on the fact that we’ve been around for a while but you can’t try to compete with what’s new these days because it’s just not the same kind of music any more.”
Throughout it all though, Eric seems just happy that his band is out there playing to audiences and being a part of the music world again. “To be honest, just to be part of the whole thing is the biggest thrill of music. The awards and all of that kind of thing are good but it’s just exciting to be able to make music and have people enjoy listening to it again.”
Kris Peters
1927 play at the Vertigo Bar at the casino Friday May 23rd and Saturday May 24th. Entry is free