Furchick
An Interview with Nathan Kelly



You've always seemed so comfortable before an audience.
I figure that people coming to a show want to see a show. I had a career in the professional performing arts and value the concept of performance. I have also been a front person in bands so that means you have to have some kind of performance style.

Do you think your work as a science educator has influenced that style?
It has a huge impact on what I do now, but it's not the only thing. Any artist that explores new ideas has an influence on me.

Even laptop performers?
I think if people plan to sit there and press keys on a computer they need to find a way to make it interesting for the audience. I am not really interested in watching someone mix live, no matter what they actually produce. Leave that for the home studio. For all I know you could be checking your emails after tapping the spacebar for play.

You've never been someone who uses things as they were intended. Fair comment?
Ha! Well, not always. I used to play drums and bass in bands and I played them fairly conventionally. Although, I guess my drum set wasn't that conventional. I played without a kick drum because it wouldn't fit with everything else on the trolley I took on the NYC subway. Otherwise, yeah I reckon you're right. Like all good people, I don't read manuals unless I really have to. I am not very patient and like things to work right away so that is probably a reason I find other ways to use things. I assume you're referring to my current obsession with turning anything into an instrument. I like to explore new sounds, but these are starting to sound normal to me. Might be time for a new project.



The drum shirt [a novelty t-shirt that featured an image of a drum set with touch-activated samples - ed.]; of course that was an instrument.
The drum shirt I played live and ended up with a bruised chest. Eventually I gave up on it because I kept hurting myself. I gave it to the op shop.

I never knew that. I'm pretty sure the first time I saw you play was at Scitech, and you used the drum shirt and the scissors. I would have guessed it would be scissors that would hurt you.
The scissors came about when I was trying to make music with paper. The paper itself was one of my many fails in the tinkering process. Fails always lead to success. Although they are a challenge to tour with, especially the ones I inherited from my mum that she affectionately called the rat's head scissors. They are massive and heavy. I have to wrap them up and place foam on the end to avoid damage to everything.

And they've never damaged you?
Once at Paper Mountain I was using them to cut my leg hairs. I didn't realise until afterwards that I had cut my legs and was told my performance was too aggressive and confrontational. I was not trying for that at all, only trying to cut my leg hairs... it was about hairy legs.

You recently moved to Mandurah. Did all of your equipment make the cut, or are you using this as an opportunity to start anew?
I gave away my collection of broken guitars that I saw up in performances. I regret that now. Not sure what I was thinking. Apart from that I sold lots of less major bits and pieces at a garage sale. Mostly I kept everything because I thought I would have more time which doesn't seem to have eventuated. I am not very good at doing nothing and got involved in a million non-music things already. I am now looking at a list of my equipment and deciding what to shed.

Your new music space looks big enough to host performances. Any plans?
It is definitely big enough for micro-performances. I have lovingly named it The Rat Room after the rats that are so prevalent here. The neighbours have a dog that never shuts up so I think the noise should be fine. I've also been looking for and finding people that live in the area to start something I have cheekily named Sound-A-Peel. Watch this space.

Do you think your former neighbours are happy that you moved?
Ha ha. Actually one neighbour was sad I was leaving because I looked out for her; she gave me a bottle of gin and a thank you letter so I can't be that noisy. ;-) Maybe it was my housemates?