Will Dayble

Innocent Cabbage

Let me tell you a story to chill the bones...Once upon a time, on a farm, lived a tiny little cabbage. The cabbage was innocent by all means and lived it's life free, having no worries, having no fears. Then one day, the cabbage decided to go to the local record store to buy some Heavy Metal music (it was curious we must add) and find out what the fuss was all about. It pressed the play button on it's Discman and then...the poor little, innocent cabbage exploded into smithereens. We held some Investigations (we had to travel all the way down to Australia) together with the local authorities and finally managed to arrest the evil mind behind this cruel tragedy. Here's Will Dayble, singer of Innocent Cabbage and manager of Pith Records. This is what he had to say (that won't save him in court!)...

By Orpheus Spiliotopoulos

• March 26, 2004

Hello Will, first I'd like to thank you for accepting this Interview proposal, since I know you're quite busy up there in England.

Hey it's cool... I'm usually sitting on the computer anyway.

You're owner of a Label in Australia, Pith Records. Tell us a few things about Pith Records first. How difficult or easy can it be for a young person, like you, to start a Label company nowadays? Does Australia have a lot of labels that are into the Heavy Metal – Hard Rock scene?

Well it's kinda a small scene... but a pretty close-knit one so it's kinda neat...I like that...Pith is still pretty embryonic at the mo with me still in London. The guys down under are getting things started at the mo so that's jive. As for starting a label... buggered if I know! I don't know anyone else that's tried personally. I've read a hell of a lot about it all, but it mostly seems to be disgruntled punker kids damning the man....

Damning the man?

Yah... it seems I'm not the only one out there with a large chip on his shoulder about the bigger record labels out there... it's a pity though, the punk kids have kinda got their shit sorted, really know where they're at. The metal crowd I hate to say seems a little behind there.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I always had the feeling the only widely known, Australian band, around the world, is Ac/Dc. Do you think Australia is always sort of «away» from the rest of the Heavy Metal Industry around the globe?

Hahaha... yeah, kind of! I know the lot I hang around with look to america and the netherlands for all our metal... that said, we got a few gooduns going, even if they aren't that well known... Cog, Daysend, some of the guys from Resist Records...They're few and far apart but there's definitely some quality there. We seem to be kinda developing all on our lonesome.

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What do you think is to blame for that? I mean, you know, being so isolated from the rest of the world (when it comes to Heavy Metal).

well we're not exactly isolated. I think on the metal front we tend to import a bit more than we export... there's nothing really to blame for that - hell, there's no Greek metal acts that instantly spring to mind... We're not exactly a massive population...

How many and which bands to you manage right now, as a label manager? I mean except Innocent Cabbage, which is the band you actually sing for.

Well considering the Label doesn't really exist yet we're kinda just keepin it family. We simply don't have the resources, time, or co-ordination to take on anything but the core of the folks... I guess you can say there's Innocent Cabbage, Nale Asylum, and the Fah Khing Project...Then there's everyone's side projects, and there's way too many of them. we're going to have to wait 'til spring (aussie spring) when I'm back before we really invest our time in it...The studio'll be up then and we can start actually DOING something half-reasonable.

Sure sounds promising!

I bloody hope so... It's kinda hard to tell from my vantage point but it's kinda... needed. Too many little melbourne bands dun have access to the stuff they should.... at least for the metallers.

Tell us about Innocent Cabbage. When did it all start? How'd the band name come up? I bet there's a funny story behind an innocent cabbage!

Hah.... you'd think so wouldn't you? There's a story, but you'll have to ask Joe about the name (Innocent Cabbage drummer). Well, it started with me and Joe messing around in highschool. He had been playing guitar for about a year and drums for God knows how much longer than that. I used to sit up in our school music room during lunch-times and listen to all the older guys play. Then I picked up a bass one time when no-one else there was playing and simply played along... from what I can remember our bassist (now) was playing Strapping Young Lad songs with the crazy 80s drummer guy that recorded our first demo.

And then one day you went like «why don't we record an album»?

Well, kinda...Me an Joe jammed like crazy, every lunchtime at school... Gaz quit his old band and joined cabbage.

I've listened to the self-titled album of Innocent Cabbage and I must admit that it sounds great! It's a pretty clear production, the other guys on the band are surely talented and you've got a very good voice. Have you ever tried to spread your wings over Europe via European companies?

Hahaha. Gad no... That album sounds like it does purely 'cause of our genius tech-wench Oscar... We kinda were just getting stuff going with that album when I decided to fuck off to London for a year.

Are you going to try and promote it after you return back home?

Hell yeah! When I'm back we're planning to gig like crazy, and start doing short tours up to Sydney/over to Adelaide, that kinda thing...

I know you've been getting this a lot about Innocent Cabbage but when I first listened to your music, I thought, «wow, these guys must have been listening to System of A Down», only you're much more fun listening to (take for example songs like «Ants» and «Manic»). Unscramble this thought for me!

That's the one line that comes up most... it seems we get compared to a bunch of bands depending on what the gig's like...But yeah - the SOAD similarity is entirely co-incidental... a bit to readily apparent yeah... but co-incidental. We all have kinda eclectic taste in music, I guess cabbage is the middle ground of that. we all write our own crazy shit and tone it down for cabbage...Manic for instance was originally meant to be this kinda odd song with Tubas and piano accordion and stuff but I had to cut it down to something manegable by a 3-piece metal band instead of the odd Russian folk band I had in mind in the first place...

Two story-describing words for every track on «Innocent Cabbage – Innocent Cabbage».

Okay...

1. Sook: Gaz. Retard.
2. Ants: A fucking stupid song that took like 5 minutes to write and we play too much and is like that 'funny' song that every band writes and all the kids go oh oh oh play THAT one and the guy who wrote the song hates it and wishes he never wrote the damn thing.
3. Bed Bugs: Adams Family.
4. Utopia: uhm... late PMG (Pre-Metro Gnome, the previous album).
5. Billboard: Motherfucking telesales.
6.Manic:HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!Uhm...and HAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!
7. Boner Boy: Uhhh...
8. Screaming out my own name by Joe, all instruments played by Joe -radio mix: Joe RULES!
9. Cowboy: Joe RULES (more)! Yeah... Joe is a funny bastard. You know you wanna have his babies.
10. Warganism: Neat live.
11. Chook Redux: OLD Cabbage.
12. Flight: Excessive vocals.

Which are your main musical influences as a person? Which are your favorite singers (since you sing)?

Chino from deftones... I dunno.. I don't really have any favorite singers. Devin too I guess. Ooh.. and Christine Sullivan (a neat jazz singer).

How about musical influences generally. What did you grow up listening?

A bunch of celtic music.

What are your ambitions as a band?

Gad... Buggered if I know! I'm pretty sure the other guys are set on complete world domination... I guess I'd kinda like to get a chance to fund our own tour, which is kind of a big ask I know, but that'd be fun. Perhaps in Greece huh? My only real 'want' for Cabbage is to keep it diverse, keep it flavoursome, and not drop into the old boring routine that so many other bands seem to fall prey to. There's nothing worse than not enjoying what you're playing...

As a future Label Manager?

World Domination. Naw.. really? We all have absolutely no idea where anything is going with Pith to be honest... Basically I want to set up something in that as many people as is humanly possible will gain from. I wanna get something going that works, to the point where anyone who is willing to put in a bit of effort will have access to the shit they need to get their albums recorded, get the nice artwork done, get noticed by people and get them in stores for folks to buy. I'm kinda set on having Pith Studios up and properly running by the end of 2004, by which point we hope to give the smaller bands who have no label support a chance to record something that sounds pro without dishing out buggerloads of money (or selling their soul to a major label).

We've got a good crew of people here, all of who are pouring their time and effort into this thing - we don't make any money from Pith and we all have day jobs, but I guess it's kinda worth it. As things progress we're hoping to get things going on a global scale... but that's another story altogether. World domination? (bwa ha ha ha...). It's quite amazing what can happen if a bunch of people come together and try and make something out of what they believe in.

As a person, about life.

That's a tough one...Probably stay sane.

Finally Will, I'd like to thank you for this Interview with Metal-Temple.Com Magazine and wish you all the best with your band and your label (and of course the bands in your label). The last words are yours. Tell the people around the world, who are reading this Interview, anything you would like to!

Hmm. How about a shameless plug for Pith Records? Come and show your support, say hello on the forum. We need people to make this work.. In large enough numbers little guys can do anything! Melbourne Record Label :: Recording Distribution & Promotion :: Pith Records" rel="">Melbourne Record Label :: Recording Distribution & Promotion :: Pith Records" rel="">www.pithrecords.com (woo woo!).

Aside from that - if you're in a metal band out there somewhere good on ya! Keep the metal flag flyin!! If you're not in a metal band - JOIN ONE! If your musically inept - start a zine, try and open up a venue, learn about live mixing or recording, join a street team... learn about free-trade and workers rights, learn how Sony and Warner and all the other big labels are fucking with your friends, do something.. anything!

Damn the man.. save the empire! Hehehe... Uhm.. yeah, I guess that's it.

And no - thank you Orpheus, it's been a pleasure. <img decoding= http://www.metal-temple.com/themes/default/images/ocf_emoticons/smile.png" />" src="http://www.metal-temple.com/themes/default/images/ocf_emoticons/smile.png" rel="">http://www.metal-temple.com/themes/default/images/ocf_emoticons/smile.png" />

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