The decision to move to Los Angeles was a simple numbers game for Trash McSweeney and The Red Paintings.
The orchestral art rockers saw more opportunity in The City Of Angels and it paid dividends with the band getting significant airplay on a number of American radio stations.
“A smaller market means more close-minded people. You've got 21 million people in Australia and you've got 22 million in Los Angeles alone. It made more sense for me to go to America and work the market and build our name. You can always keep busy in America because there's so many opportunities to tour. I was really inspired by the people in Los Angeles. It's a very creative city.”
After five years of writing and recording with a revolving door of producers, The Red Paintings are set to release their debut album, 'The Revolution Is Never Coming' — Trash's creative vision taking a while to bear fruit.
“I started working on it in Brisbane and I got into a place where I realised the studios I was working weren't capable of mixing an album this big. It's also very hard when you're opinionated about a vision and what you're trying to create. I butt heads with producers quite often because they want to do things differently from what I would. I got to the point where we'd finished the album and I said, 'this is crap, I can't release this!' It wasn't the album that I told the fanbase I would create.”
Trash's unique style comes to life during The Red Paintings shows with artists creating human canvasses while the band performs. He says he wants fans to experience a show that incorporates all the senses. A major influence on his musical life is the condition of synethesia, which he developed after a seizure in 1999.
“The way it works is that I write songs and the images behind the songs become metaphors for the human canvasses and all the props on stage. Even the paint we use reflects the colours and moods of the songs. It makes it fun for us because we're continually evolving in the show and as a band.”
The inclusion of the artistic displays is a way for Trash to help struggling artists to showcase their talents in a creative setting.
“I'm always trying to find talented artists that are struggling. That's what I was, I did visual arts at school and I couldn't get anyone to buy my paintings and it was a really hard kind of world to be in. I understand what they're going through.”
After touring with the Dresden Dolls in 2006, Trash was in debt and looked to the band's passionate fans for support.
“It was the first time I'd taken a band to America and we got no help from anyone in Australia. I pulled the fans together and they helped me a little bit financially.”
The band then shopped around for a record label to help produce their debut album but Trash was disappointed at the offers. He believed an album that was so creatively intense needed better funding.
“I announced the record and I had all these meetings with labels and the money they were offering wasn't viable. The vision I had for the album needed better funding than what was being offered. So I went back to the fanbase and I said, 'look, this is what I want to create and this is why' and before I knew it they had donated $160,000 and I had enough to make the record.”
Trash is his biggest critic but he is confident in 'The Revolution Is Never Coming' and hopes the fans will appreciate the work the band has put in.
“I just wanted the album to be special for the fans, I think they are ready for something concrete. If this is the last thing I do in the band it will be worth it.”
The Red Paintings play The Great Northern June 8, Hi-Fi June 22 and The Coolangatta Hotel July 6. ‘The Revolution Is Never Coming’ is out now.
