A Quick Chat with Northern Lights

Interview with Dustin Schmidt

Your band consists of yourself, a mum and her two sons... What is it like having a partridge family dynamic in a band setting?

I think it makes the experience even more special for us. We’ve already got a strong connection and camaraderie, and that just naturally extends to our music. We’re able to really lock into a groove and build off of each other in an organic way. Plus four of us all live in the same house, so we’re constantly jamming and sharing ideas. It helps keep us productive as a band when you’ve always got access to each other and whenever you’ve got an idea for a song you can have a jam with each other or bang out a demo to share. I think it’s really brought us closer together as a family too. With the teenagers getting older and living their own lives a bit more, we’re still coming together all the time to collaborate and spend time with each other.

When you say your band is 'flying the flannel,' what does this mean to you?

The reason why I wanted to start this band was because of how I felt discovering grunge music as a teenager. For the first time in my life it felt like I belonged somewhere, like I’d found a place that truly accepted me as I am. And I wanted to create that space for other people. It’s about carrying the torch not just for the music but the mindset of grunge. That DIY spirit, the attitude, the rebelliousness. As a homeschool family made up of musicians and independent filmmakers we live a very different life to the mainstream. It’s important that people know that they can carve out their own path in life instead of letting society dictate who they should be. Grunge music gave us permission to be ourselves and embrace our individuality and I think that’s a great thing and something more people need to hear.

Your debut album is called 'Growing Pains', what does the title mean for you?

For me Growing Pains represents not just my own journey from adolescence to adulthood but also the growing pains that the band has gone through to get to this stage. It started out as a solo project and went through a few iterations before morphing into a family band. It was just a very natural progression. The kids have grown up around music and have grown up around this band. Dane played his first show with us when he was 17, the same age that I was when I played my debut show with my first band. Fraser was even younger. He was chomping at the bit to join us but I wasn’t sure he was ready until he put on a Nirvana tribute show at 14 years old where he and his friends played Nevermind from start to finish. The kid’s just got great stage presence and he’s so sure of himself and his musical identity at such a young age. It’s one of the benefits of being homeschooled his whole life and being able to spend the time honing his craft and going after what he wants in life without anything holding him back. Angie’s done a great job at giving the boys the foundation they needed in life and I’ve just been here to help guide them in the right direction a little where I can.

Has growing up on the grimy streets of Ipswich, Queensland impacted your music?

Ipswich has definitely played a huge part in our identity as a band. Me and Angie both lived in Logan before coming here which is rough as guts, so Ipswich feels like an absolute sanctuary compared to what life was like beforehand. You still get a few yobbos and crackheads causing problems here and there but for the most part people are pretty understanding. These days a lot more alternative people seem to be drawn here. There’s a real strong sense of community in the Ipswich music scene too. Everyone’s always pitching in and helping each other out which is really nice to see. You really feel like the other musos in the scene have your back. I think our upbringing has just helped keep us grounded and community focused. We don’t pull any punches with our music and we don’t hold anything back. We just lay it all out there and wear our hearts on our flannel sleeves.

You filmed the music video for 'Higher,' a single from your debut album, inside a church. What was the thinking behind choosing this location?

I was raised catholic and went to catholic school as a kid so that iconography finds its way into our music from time to time. I’m not a particularly religious person but seeing the message behind the faith being corrupted to spread bigotry and hatred doesn’t sit right by me at all. It was just a bit of a reminder for people to practice what they preach instead of picking and choosing parts of the Bible to serve their own self-interest.

There is a very honest theme to your album, it feels as though everything's on the table. Why is that important to you and does it scare you being so public about it?

I think as an artist that’s the only way I can really operate. Music has always been a therapeutic outlet for me, a way for me to make sense of the world around me and to unpack my own experiences in life. It was definitely daunting at first letting the world in and having your innermost thoughts and feelings laid bare but it’s just something I’ve had to make peace with. I’m trying to find that delicate balance as a writer where I can express everything that I need to get out whilst writing about it in a way that feels universal and people can project their own meaning and experiences onto. My filmmaking background has actually been really beneficial with that process. Something I learnt from directors like Steven Spielberg and George Lucas is that by telling stories specific to them and drawing from their own unique experiences they’ve been able to have a universal appeal. The more specific you are, the more you can create a world for people to get drawn into, the more relatable your art is going to be. And at the end of the day we’re making music to connect with people. That feeling you get when you’re interacting with a live audience and you’re feeding off each other’s energy is the best thing in the world and it’s the main drive behind what we do as a band. You just wanna welcome more people into our little found family and give people a place where they can belong and can be themselves. Music has the ability to bring people together and create a sense of unity more so than just about anything else in life and that’s something really special and feels particularly important in today’s age of misinformation and division.