And what do you do?
“In a word: jazz. But not in the way you’re thinking. More like ‘70s-era Miles Davis (when he wanted to sound like Jimi Hendrix) meets Mahavishnu Orchestra, with the compositional flair of Frank Zappa.”
When did you start doing that?
“Officially, the band formed at Southern Cross University (Lismore NSW) in the year 2000, but we moved to Melbourne and started late 2001 at Cape Lounge in Brunswick Street.”
Why did you start doing that?
“Being musicians, we play music; being people, we have personalities. I think we’re all very lucky to have found ourselves as part of a group of friends that share the same musical ideals.”
If you weren’t doing that, what would you be doing?
“We’d most likely be doing a similar ‘that’, just under a different name and with different people.”
What makes you happiest about what you’re doing?
“Playing music that knows no boundary.”
And what makes you unhappiest about what you’re doing?
“Putting up posters.”
What’s your proudest moment of doing what you do?
“Well, I can’t speak for the rest of the ‘Diamonds, but Damo Suzuki (from seminal German group Can) came to see us play one time when he was in Melbourne, and during the gig we had him lead a group improvisation with the band. Awesome stuff.”
:east proud?
“We were hired for a very formal wedding (which, if you’ve seen us before, would seem an odd choice. We don’t play covers, and our music is highly experimental). Not one of us thought to wear a suit (T-shirts and shorts all round). There was a lot of staring. Embarrassing.”
