STEVE KILBEY: THE CHURCH 2022 AUSTRALIAN TOUR INTERVIEW

Australian seminal psych-guitar masters, The Church have announced a national headline tour of Australia - their first in four years, playing shows in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Margaret River this September.
Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips caught up with The Church main man Steve Kilbey to discuss the ‘The Slings And Arrows Of Outrageous Fortune’ tour, songwriting methods, the new lineup (which has recently become a 6 piece band featuring 2 drummers!) and his dislike for nostalgia.
#australianmusician

[@kyletodaro4946]

Steve is awesome. Cool hearing him talk about his various processes. No surprise he is always experimenting and open to new possibilities with processes and modes of creating. Very inspiring

[@jesusislukeskywalker4294]

👍🏻

[@bibsma3401]

This guy has got to have the greatest track record in the history of music. What a legend

[@MrZoom1964]

Very interesting interview, thoughtful questions and Steve's typical honest, witty answers. Looking forward to the "proggy" new album. I could definitley see Peter Koppes disinterest on the last couple US tours. Stilll seemed to play well but he looked like he wanted to be somewhere else.

[@aus80srockradio94]

I love The Church. I am so disappointed they aren't coming to little old Tassie : ( I just love this interview, Steve doesn't hold back, he tells you exactly how it is.

[@janetcashmore8622]

I thought the set list worked really well, it was a great mix of classics & new material. It’s been 30 years since I’d seen the Church & the new line up really blew me away..brilliant! ☺️💖💫

[@louiehusted6173]

I can't wait for the new Church album!!! Sounds like it will be amazing!

[@SoupA150]

The audience has a lot of feeling for those old songs though. So it enhances the whole atmosphere and vibe of the gig when you balance it out between some "classic" tracks and new material. Not necessarily the singles, but album tracks people already know from back in the heyday!

[@theselector4733]

I see what you did there. Nice one.

[@holboroman]

Steve, dude, songs like Under the Milky Way and Unguarded Moment are truly great songs. Every time I strum the chords of Unguarded Moment I get goose bumps. That intro is a classic. You might also be interested to know that with one of my jam mates, we jam on Milky for about 30 minutes; it has so much scope, both in the bridge and the outro. Reinvent them if you must, but please don't leave them out of your sets. How about a bit of Mr Guy Fawkes. When I heard the intro at the opera house at the beginning of the second set well I can't describe the feeling...........................blown away is a cliché................excuse my for saying it.

[@lostipod12]

Fan since 'Reptile' hit the radio in 1988, I was 14. I *love* seeing The Church live. Yes, I love the old tunes, but I've also been enjoying the newer stuff. They opened with 'The Hypnogogue' at their last show here in Phoenix AZ, it was clearly a winner at the show, and the video release the other day only solidified my opinion of it. The Church have a lot of tunes out there, many of them get missed because there is just so much. One of the perks of hearing older tunes in a live setting is that the audience gets to hear them from a different perspective, possibly one which is more attractive than the one recorded on the album. Two of my favorite Church tunes today are 'Block' and 'The Disillusionist', both of which I glossed over when listening to them on the albums, but years later got turned on to when hearing them get performed live. Completely understand the football analogy. 'Greater than the sum of its parts' and all that. Steve does really, really good interviews, there are lots out there which I've listened to multiple times. He's engaged, engaging, candid.

[@aus80srockradio94]

Reptile is an absolutely amazing song. Sheer brilliance.

[@JCridford]

Wonderful interview with SK. I really like what he says about DAWs, because we've had it when you finally get a grasp on it, then an update throws it all out of the window. His album Garage Sutra is a testament to his tenacity and appreciation of technology.

[@markyyaya]

Have seen them 3 times in the past 25 years - would definitely go again, as long as Steve is there! (I’m in Chicago ;)

[@realitywinner7582]

Thank You both. God Bless !

[@Seawithinyou]

Would so love you to come and perform in our beloved city of Christchurch Steve and All 🥰

[@buggulugs]

Great band. I must have seen them at least twenty times. I like the way Steve is swaying in this video.

[@craigobrien4505]

Great interview. Interesting questions and good to hear some “difficult” topics being discussed. SK is a true musical legend/national treasure.

[@spaceagecleaners3671]

Steve I am looking forward to the new Church album. Still digging that Jupiter 13 album you did with Martin. Great interview, as always.

[@joceliarthurbauermann4147]

Thanks guys!

[@paulcollins5586]

Great interview.

[@elainec5333]

How do we find out their tour schedule? When will you play in Chicago?

[@centuryhousedw]

Great interview, very insightful questions and answers!

[@Rogerbyrd]

I like Steve's comment about music should not be a visual process standing around the computer watching the DAW

[@haydenwittig8877]

Remote Luxury LP in 1984 was Mystical songs like Constant In Opal and Shadow Cabinet were otherwordly.

[@theselector4733]

I don't think Steve saw the irony when he said his new stuff is much better but "people" still want the "old clunkers"...... then criticizing The Stones saying they're old material is much better than their new.

[@Thevinylscavenger]

Stop moving the camera Steve I feel sick. So hopefully they'll do new stuff and come to London that's all I'm asking for. After all these years sure we love to hear a bit of nostalgia but different and new is fine too.

[@thesaneparty4079]

It's a bit ironic to talk to someone who's released about a million albums about whether it's difficult that people want to focus on a handful of songs from the past for an entire interview.

[@SuonoReale]

Steve might like Unsuk Chin’s opera “Alice in Wonderland.”

[@blackvinylgrooves]

I love those horrible old hits. Been a Church fan for 42 years, and the old fart in me finds a lot of those recent proggy solo recordings by Steve kind of unlistenable. Those Parlophone gold records in the background are cool, and a nice touch.

[@Larry-Art179]

🙂

[@dondepalma3602]

Steven is very interesting, but the interviewer kinda sucks, doesn't really interact or flow with the interviewee

[@basehead617]

does anybody else feel like his brain doesn’t quite work right? he seems to have trouble speaking beyond basics.. maybe the combination of drugs and age..

[@LouiseAus10]

Steve has said that he has Asperger Syndrome which perhaps explains his struggle to convey his thoughts effectively.

[@kyletodaro4946]

Nobody else feels that way. It might be you

[@mikecummings3149]

I can't really explain, but this isn't the real Steve Kilbey..something has changed..for the worse unfortunately.

[@jeffdeitering6801]

What?