8 November 2022
The Buckleys Part 1: Movie Premieres, Recording In Nashville & Exclusive Signing News
Sarah: Lead singer, bassist and songwriter. Effervescent as they come. Never not smiling and/or laughing (but not in a fake way). Obviously high on life and the thrill of chasing her musical dreams.
Lachlan: A chilled presence. Loves vintage gear and recording equipment but also embraces exciting technological advances (such as Dolby Atmos). He is a beast on his multi-neck electric and also slide guitar. Hopes to get a surf in at some point over the weekend.
Molly: Multi-instrumentalist, vocalist. Introspective yet captivating, you'll wanna lean in to hear what she has to say. Current musical obsessions: Blondie and Joan Jett.
Seated on one end of an L-shaped tan sofa in the living room, Sarah ponders the significance of our current location: "Even now, just sitting here, I was thinking: we came in here for our first meeting with Chris. Sitting here listening to The Beatles, [points to a nearby table] having meetings there – this is the space!"
"And we'd be sitting around the fire 'til 3 am," Lachlan reminisces. "Chris was so passionate about everything, he was like, 'Whatever you do, don't screw me, guys!'" They all laugh fondly at this shared recollection, clearly still missing their mentor who passed away peacefully on this Ballina property – which he christened "nature's playground" – on 16 January 2021, aged 66.
When asked how Murphy came to sign The Buckleys to his Petrol Records label, home of INXS, Sarah recounts, "Well, actually, I was working – what, like, four years ago or something like that? – at Falls Festival at a fish and chip stall..." This detail makes her little sister Molly get the giggles, but Sarah continues, "And I got a call from [artist manager] Dan Biddle saying, 'Oh, there's this guy Chris Murphy, he used to manage INXS,' and da-da-da-da-da and he wants to meet you guys. I'm flying up next week. Are you guys available? And I'm like, 'Yeah, hold on a second to anyone wanting fish and chips...'" she trails off, laughing.
"So we came over here [to Sugar Beach Ranch] and had hotdogs with Chris and [his wife] Caroline, and we all weren't expecting everything that came from that meeting; it felt very – Chris used to always say the reason we all crossed paths was something beyond all of us."
"Yeah, very much stars aligning," Molly chimes in as I notice an electric-blue neon sign that reads "Murph" glowing upon us from up high on an adjacent wall. "It was just such a perfect mix, you know? All of us."
"Exactly," Sarah agrees. "So, yeah! We just obviously hit it off, and it grew from there. We very much put all our trust in him, and he put so much trust in us, and we became this ultimate team."
"Because we teamed up at such a good point in our career – we were just starting out – and built such a backbone from working with him. He taught us how to work, like, 'Don't be wusses, just work hard," Molly recalls, chuckling.
Byron Bay Film Festival premiere
When asked how they found the experience of watching their documentary on a big screen – for the first time – the night prior, Sarah confesses, "It was so uncomfortable! We were giggling. We just kept being like, 'Oh, my god, what are we saying!?'" Lachlan also admits, "I was laughing the whole time," before Molly adds, "It's my coping mechanism when I'm uncomfortable; I just laugh."
The premiere screening of Take It As It Comes was followed by a brief Q&A – with the trio plus the doco's director, Grant James, in attendance – and then The Buckleys' portion of the evening culminated in a short live performance, which was artfully done. The drum riser was concealed by a stage right curtain, which was eventually opened to reveal their drummer Vinnie Sebastian in action and usher in the gig segment of the night. The Buckleys remained in the centre of the performance space.
"It was so heartwarming seeing people turn up to watch and share that experience with our hometown," Molly extols. Sarah agrees: "Yeah, it was amazing. And it was cool because I spoke to some people there last night who I didn't know personally, but they had seen us when we were really young – here in the Northern Rivers, playing – and now seeing us, you know... What? Ten years, 13 years later? It was really cool to share with everyone." Lachlan agrees that "all the support" they've received from their local community over the years is very much appreciated before sharing, "Our good friend Rex [Parker] that played drums with us when we were ten years old – he came out [to the film premiere]. I hadn't seen him for years!"
The Buckleys' documentary is dedicated to Chris Murphy. During one section where his image graced the screen, it felt like the entire Byron Bay Theatre audience collectively held their breath for a moment. Viewing this film in the company of the late legend's nearest and dearest was always gonna be emotional.
"Chris was so big on: you have to be a great, solid person and be grounded and humble," Sarah reflects, "and all those lessons were so important for us to get early on. Because, you know, so many artists – you go through so much, and it is easy to get caught up in ego or whatever, and Chris really drummed that into us from the get-go. And I'm grateful for that because we try to remember those lessons daily."
"Yeah, he was awesome," Molly continues. "Like, while we were recording our first album, Daydream, he wouldn't let anyone call us – no one intervened with the music-making. He was very much, 'This is your guys' space; you create what you wanna create'."
Lachlan remembers Murphy telling his band, "Do your thing, and make it good." Molly laughs before adding: "'Make it your best, and then we'll listen to it after you've created it,' you know? He'd fly in after we recorded, which is very different. With a lot of labels, you have someone come into the studio – from the label – to listen to it while it's being made and put their two cents in. But he was like, 'Make it and then we'll do a listening session after'."
"That trust in us!" Lachlan marvels.
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