Korn‘s Jonathan Davis was so excited by ORGY that he created his own record label …
What’s not to love about Cam Bird? Hard rock coupled with the grit of grunge, out there prog elements, EP the third now out and, this band still have an exciting cliff edge of potential to throw themselves off of.
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There’s also a magnet of determination and perseverance evident in the Melbourne alt-rockers that’s drawing in the fans. The band’s namesake harbours a phenomenal tone in his vocals and packs a very involved history, all of which surface in new EP Neutrality.
“It’s been a journey up to this point,” he says, “The first two EPs was me pushing myself, getting session guys in and working that way, rediscovering who I was as a musician and what I wanted to sound like and the music that I love.
“I had a stack of songs, because it’s what I love to do, pretty much just sit down and write. I met the guys last year and it all started to click together–here’s this drummer [Tyrone Georgiou] who’s awesome, great with video, passionate and a lovely guy Then Bobby [bassist Bobby Manilla] came into the picture, an audio production nerd who’d done some cool things with Roadrunner in the past. That was it.
“I feel 100% the same way, that we have something more to give and to really dial in but this is a really nice effort to get out there and feel like we’re pushing our sound forward. It makes me really excited for what’s to come next, I feel like it’ll be another level.”
The universe is going to mould you into the person you’re supposed to be. I took door B and went for it.
[ Cameron Bird ]
The way in which this trio gel, not just in the sound they create by the way in which they perform together on Neutrality is very comfortable and speaks volumes of what they might be capable of. “I’ve got super talented guys around me,” Bird gushes, “We’re all veterans, all been around the block with different bands. We love music and we want to push it to people and provide them with something that’s inspiring, entertaining, that really comes from the heart and soul but is still hard-hitting and intense at the same time.
Intense is the operative word here. A few years back, Bird was down and out, homeless, with only a guitar and the clothes on his back. Bird considered ending it all but was saved by the lyrics of Metallica, words that gave him the courage to form a distinctive sound of his own and persevere with his dreams. Music of course, still plays a massive part in Bird maintaining stability and happiness in his life. “It’s everything,” he says. “I don’t feel happy if I don’t have music in my life. It’s in my blood, it pumps through my veins and it needs to get out of me!
“It’s almost like cabin fever. If I’m not writing, playing, it’s just something I have to do. That was something I had to accept on my journey–you know it’s something you want to do deep down but you’re scared of facing that because it’s not an easy path.
“It was like, if you can face the pain of that dull, incessant [voice, saying] ‘I know I should do this in my heart’ but never doing it and having regret later’, or, what I’ve been through, ‘Here’s everything in my face,’ and the universe is going to mould you into the person you’re supposed to be. I took door B and went for it.”
Bird talks of the universe and oozes conviction and, yes, though fate is a wonderful power, what surfaces in Neutrality is the result of conscious effort on Bird’s part. “I’ve always been a fiery guy and it’s gotten me into trouble. It has positives and negatives, I mean, look at my life, look at my journey. You’ve got to own your decisions and what’s gotten you there, your story.
“I accept that. It’s the double-edge of it and it’s what the EP is all about–finding the positive and negative in everything and coming to a place of balance.”
Order Cam Bird’s EP Neutrality here.
