Posted on April 22, 2009 - by Mark Zonda

Happy with China

I don’t know what’s up with Australia. The fact iiiiis, that that crazy country keeps on baking for us such mavellous and cleaver and cute indie bands. Wanna a proof? Go and check “The Good China”, Melbourne. The band is so crowded and full of good and various musicians, that was really easy to compare their songs to early Arkitecture in Helsinki. Are they suitable with this paragon? Let’s ask to the band.

Mark Zonda: How did you decided to form a band, and why “The Good China”?

Nicko: All credit here goes to Cara Lanyon, keyboardist, singer and founder of The Good China. In early 2008 she put a message out on an online Melbourne band forum searching for like-minded musos to form a new indie group. Having never met each other, we arranged a blind date where we all got along surprisingly well.
I think Cara ambitiously chose so many of us because she initially expected members to lose interest and drop off, but we’ve all gelled and aren’t going anywhere! With regards to the name “The Good China”, the meaning often gets confused. It has no political connotations whatsoever, but rather refers to good crockery like what your nan has locked away in her glass cabinet in the living room. And your nan will always bring out the good china for her best guests. Further to that, in Australia, rhyming slang for “mate” is “china plate”. Which makes “good china” a slang term for “good mate”. So we figured it was suitable, plus on top of that we can prefix everything with the word “China”, for example; China-party, China-house, China-merch, and my favourite, Chine-o-mite!

Mark Zonda: The Indie Scene is growing very quickly in Australia, blessing us with very brand new cool bands. Who are your favourite artists?

Nicko: It’s great to be a part of the Melbourne indie scene; there are so many bands that we’ve had the opportunity to play with and many more to come I hope! Some of our favourite artists are those which we’ve had the chance to play with, including “Sierra Fin”, “Plastic Palace Alice”, “Hoshi in the Clouds”, “Spun Rivals”, “Hercules in NY” and “Institut Polaire”.

Mark Zonda: Tracks like “All nothing” are pure joy. Arrangements are very wide and rich of instruments and ideas. Which artists inspire you? Does songs like that still born from just a guitar in a room?

Nicko: I find the most inspirational stuff comes from artists that are creating something refreshing and unique. A few that come to mind are “Sufjan Stevens”, “Beirut”, “Danananananaykroyd” and “The Postal Service”. One time when feeling particularly creative, Adam (our main drummer) and I attempted to write music spontaneously, simply by bringing a range of different ideas together and playing them over and over. I often use a Loop Station pedal when writing to get ideas down by layering parts on top of each other. Vocal melodies were developed by shouting at each other randomly whilst playing (before any lyrics were written). Essentially this was how “All Nothing” initially came to being! We brought the chord chart into rehearsal for the rest of the band and they just made it sound incredible. It’s a fun process.

Mark Zonda: Do you feel comfortable with those people comparing you to “Architecture in Helsinki”? What do you have in common with them?

Nicko: We’re both from Melbourne; we both have lots of members and lots of instruments. So it’s an easy connection for people to make. I don’t see a problem with the comparison; I absolutely loved “In Case We Die” and they’re an incredibly talented and entertaining band to see live.

Mark Zonda: Does “A million little pieces” born from real life or is it pure fiction?

Ryan: It started with a friend of mine saying I was always intent on making myself a martyr in arguments and the words came from there. Like any songs about arguments it’s not what happened that counts, it’s the interpretation; which is, in part, where the title comes from.

The Good China – “All Nothing”

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