A Quick Chat with Mark Howard

You've just released your live EP featuring live versions of your already recorded music, what made you want to put out a Live EP?

I wanted to bridge the gap between the live show and the studio records. I perform pretty frequently, and most nights it’s just me or a stripped back version of the band, so the songs naturally shift away from the studio versions. I started to feel there was a bit of a disconnect, so I wanted to document what they’ve actually become out there in the wild.

There’s also something I like about it being a little ragged around the edges. Maybe even a quiet push back against everything becoming too polished, too perfect and machine made.

How do these songs differ to the album versions?

There's more space and risk....they’re looser and more vulnerable.

I had John Kendall join us on fiddle, who’s played with The Pogues and Weddings Parties Anything, which immediately takes things somewhere else entirely. We’d only had a couple of quick run throughs, and in John’s case, none at all with the full band before recording. So there are definitely moments where everyone’s just hanging on by feel… which I love.

What's your favourite things about performing live?

I like that it holds the room still for a while. It cuts through the noise and gives people permission to just be there, properly present.

There’s this unspoken exchange that happens between stage and audience... no words, just a kind of agreement. If it’s working, you can feel it in the room.

You've played shows all over the world, do you have you got a favourite venue to play in?

Anywhere the sound is taken seriously. Get that right and everything else follows.

A good room will make a quiet song feel like it’s speaking directly into someone’s ear. Audiences remember that and so do artists. That’s usually the difference between somewhere you play once… and somewhere you keep coming back to.

Tell us a bit about your Japan trip. What was it like to play for a Japanese audience compared to your home turf?

Japan really shifted my perspective on live music. Across the country I played everything from tiny underground rooms to more formal live houses.

The audiences there were amazing, so focused, quiet and fully present. Incredibly polite. At first, that silence felt exposing but eventually it changed the way I played. I stopped pushing and started listening more myself.

It became less about performing at people and more about sharing a space with them.

Do you have any pre-show rituals or something you can't go home without when you're on tour?

Always a vocal warm up. It's so ingrained, I'll loosen up the pipes before doing the shopping, school pick up or checking the letter box.

Before hitting the road, I'll always pack the black felt hat. Every time. It’s got a Bubble O’Bill bullet hole in the brim that’s somehow become part of the mythology now.

What else have you got coming up?

UK, Germany and Denmark in June and July. Then back home for a run through the eastern states of Australia. There’s also more new music coming before the end of the year.... so the road keeps rolling.