Interview: Paperweight Chat About Their Latest Offering, ‘Asteroids! And Where To Find Them’

Following on from the release of ‘Tracks’, Melbourne-based pop-punk band PAPERWEIGHT have returned with their boisterous new offering ‘Asteroids! And Where To Find Them’ – produced by Stevie Knight (Stand Atlantic, Yours Truly, The Dead Love) and mixed by James Paul Wisner(Paramore, Underoath).  We recently sat down with the band to find out about the release, influences and more!

Congrats on your new release ‘Asteroids! And Where To Find Them’. The title really takes us back to the mid-2000s. What are the main themes behind this song, and how did it come about?

HARIS:
Thank you so much! When it comes down to it, this song is about not taking yourself too seriously. We can get so caught up in a sense of security instead of living in the here and now so push for the things you want and enjoy the ride while it lasts.

There’s an eclectic number of influences here – who would you say has inspired you the most in your lifetime?

HARIS:
For me it was Green Day’s ‘Bullet In A Bible’ live DVD – watching the way they interacted with the crowd and their energy on stage as a young kid was mesmerising – the rest is history.

LUANA:
I don’t think I could pick just one but the first band to inspire me to play guitar was NZ band Goodnight Nurse. They were my first ever local gig – I made my poor mum drive me an hour and a half just to see them. Their front man Joel Little gave me his guitar pick and ignited my musician spark!

TOM:
blink-182 and Sum 41 were the first two bands I really became obsessed with when I first started to learn guitar. They were a great gateway to similar artists and different genres, and assisted with my overall understanding of song writing. Some of their songs can be considered “simple” but in that simplicity can help with chord progression, vocal melodies and harmonies.

BASIL:
John Bonham would have to be one of my biggest influences as a musician. There are certainly plenty of bands that have influenced me but when I was first learning drums and heard him play his triplet fills, I was inspired. A simple concept but something he made some truly iconic drum fills and solos with.

What do you all do outside music? How do you manage to keep a healthy balance between life outside music and within music? 

LUANA:
Haris and I live together, and I don’t think there is much balance in our household – music is what we do all day every day but that’s exactly how we like it. Whether it’s writing/playing music, thinking of video clip ideas, planning what’s coming next for Paperweight – the music wheels are always turning. Outside of Paperweight – you’ll always catch me at a show, I live for live music. I also work at JB (like almost every musician I know) and I have a small business called Backbeat Media where I help smaller bands with their release campaigns, create social media content and organise shows! Music has been my life since I was 14 so I love spending every waking moment surrounding myself with it.

HARIS:

….. yeah, what she said!

TOM:
Finding a balance between music life and outside life is very important. Outside of music I work, I love to exercise, go on walks and play soccer. When gyms and various places closed over covid lockdowns, it really made it apparent how important it was in my life. Now that things are opening again, I am challenging myself to get back into the fitness passion and improve my overall health.

BASIL:
I’m mostly introverted so if I’m not at work or getting some drumming practice in, I’m at home gaming with my friends online. The social age we’re in now you can make friends from across the globe. It’s super cool to be able to talk about different life experiences and cultures with people you’ve never met but have known for so long that you’re basically best friends.
Balance in life is tricky and I won’t be the one to say that I have it all figured out but having different things to do so you break the mould in your life is key for me. Honestly music helps me balance everything else in my life. After being at work all week having music and the band to disconnect myself from the rat race is massively beneficial to my mental wellbeing. Having something you enjoy doing and look forward to that stimulates your mind is a wonderful thing to have for everyone.

Tell us a bit about how the concept for the video came along. How much went into planning / executing it, and how do you hope it resonates with fans?

HARIS:
I came up with the idea when I was listening to Asteroids… the swing-style bridge reminded me a lot of The Blues Brothers ‘Minnie The Moocher’ scene and I thought it could be cool to parody that scene in our clip… that thought turned into a brainstorm session and it blossomed into the video you see today! There was a lot involved in the planning of this clip – costumes, locations, logistics… but we’re glad we pulled it off! We hope it can make someone smile.

Can you tease us with any upcoming plans you may have for the year?
Paperweight will be headlining the huge AMPM return show in Melbourne on April 2nd, which is going to be all kinds of epic! We have some more releases up our sleeves, a sneaky tour coming up (you’ll find out soon) as well as a bunch of other cool things lined up – it really kills us to keep it to ourselves!!! For now, all we can give you is the classic “keep an eye out”!!!

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