In celebration of the 20th Anniversary of debut album ‘Begins Here’, The Butterfly Effect will be hitting the road for an Anniversary tour that takes in every capital city. Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra will bear witness to the album that started it all, being performed in full for the very first time, plus a selection of tracks from the bands killer catalogue including songs from their most recent album 2022’s IV.
The Rockpit caught up with frontman Clint Boge to talk about the tour, the fun of relearning lyrics from many songs that have never been previously performed live by the band, as well as taking a trip back twenty years to where it all began…
Sean: Clint, how are you?
Clint: Good, mate.
Sean: Thank you very much for your time. Good to see you again.
Clint: Yeah, it’s been a while.
Sean: Well, not sure if you remember but last time we spoke, you’d had a little afternoon in the pub and you were quite… relaxed [laughs]
Clint: That doesn’t sound like me at all [laughs].
Sean: But it made for a wonderful interview because you were so relaxed. It was great.
Clint: Well, I haven’t had any beers today, but I’ll see if I can mimic that. Replicate the relaxedness with enthusiasm.
Sean: Well, I don’t want to take up too much of your evening, so let’s just get straight into it. I’ve just been looking through the dates for the forthcoming tour and to see so many ‘sold-outs’ next to them must be an incredible feeling for you guys.
Clint: Yeah, it’s amazing. There’s still a lot of love around for not only us, but I think heavy music in general as a genre. And tonight, the recurring theme in the interviews has definitely been that community spirit, do you know what I mean? And how people bond through music. And also how an album can literally transport you back to a point in time. When we’re a bit younger, it might have been the summer of when you finish school, heading down the coast with a mate, you know, meeting a significant other. And to be a part of that memory is amazing. And I think that’s what connects us all back to, you know, certain points in time which are facilitated and shuttled by great music. And we are very privileged and feel very humbled to be a part of that and to have everyone come out and support it like they have. It’s amazing.
Sean: Well, the last album ‘IV’ was just superb. And I managed to catch you on the last night of the tour down at Fremantle. And that was the first time I got to see you guys live. I was just absolutely blown away by the performance. What a night as well. How is that to end a tour like that?
Clint: It’s, you know what, can I tell you, last night’s on tour always balls out. Like the show is just, it’s, there’s an energy level that is, it sort of builds to this fever pitch. And it’s, you know what I mean? It really gets quite intense. Now, whether that’s because we know it’s the last night of the tour, we can just leave it all out there. I think that’s what it is. You know, you don’t have to pace yourself anymore. You know, the shackles come off and you can just put the foot to the floor and just go for it. And we love coming to Perth. We love WA. I think the fans in WA are so supportive of not only of their own musical, you know, like who’s doing what in Perth. And we were always super jealous of it because, you know, there’d be the guys from Eskimo Joe rocking up to watch, Karnivool and Vice Versa. And it was just wonderful to see. We loved it. The fans are incredible and amazing. And to finish in WA for us, it was always, you know, a real treat. But this time we flipped it on its head. We’re coming over, I think it’s in the second week. So you guys are going to get us just as we’re warming up [laughs].
Sean: Yeah, fantastic. And of course you won’t have much, too much time to warm up because you’ve added a second Astor Theatre show.
Clint: What are they trying to do to me? They’re trying to kill me. I swear. I swear it, buddy. They really are. [laughs] They’re like, you know, what can we do to the singer to really hurt him? At this age, I’ve got to be honest with you. Like it’s really tough to fire up the engine. And I was reading an excerpt from one of Jimmy Barnes’s books. And he was saying that it progressively gets harder, obviously, as you get older and you realize that you’re not a young man anymore. You can’t party like you used to. But not only that, you can’t just walk out on stage and just go. Because, you know, there’s a whole bunch of other, things it’s like watching what you eat, when you eat, you know, and making sure you don’t drink too much, you know, making sure you get enough sleep. Oh, man, that was never an issue when I was younger. I tell you, well, when ‘Begins Here’ came out, I was in my prime. That was it. I was just enjoying the ambiance that is rock and roll.
Sean: What’s fascinating for me is that you’ve gone from the brand new album to taking it right back to where it all began with ‘Begins Here’. Have you gone in yet to do rehearsals? Have you done any rehearsals for the tour?
Clint: Funnily enough, yeah, I’m going in after I finish talking to you, which is I live about forty-five minutes out of town. And so when I’m going in, I listen to the album before I go and practice the album. That’s another thing, too. It’s getting the lyrics in there and just remembering, because we haven’t played some of these songs ever, really, since they were written… live, I should say. So, you know, going, so from ‘IV’, which was like really fresh in our minds, we had a great time writing it, the band’s back together. There was a really good vibe to going back to ‘Begins Here’, when there was this tumultuous energy surrounding the band. There was relationships were like forming and breaking apart as quickly as anything. So to revisit it now through more mature eyes and the way we feel about each other now, it’s a real treat. And it’s definitely a privilege to go back. And it really has transported us back to a time because, I remember where we were, you know what I mean? I remember where we were practicing, where we recorded, when we sent those tracks off to LA to be mixed by Tim Palmer and they come back. I still remember the day we went into the studio, this tiny little studio in Woolloongabba, which belonged to our then manager, Dave Leonard. And it was incredible. And that sensation of, ah, it’s finally done. It was so cathartic, man. It was like the weight of the world come off your shoulders. Because we’d poured so much into it. And so to recreate it for everyone live and to play songs that have never really been played live before, such as ‘Without Wings’ and ‘Overwhelmed’… Yeah, I can’t wait. It’s really exciting. I’m nervous. I’m anxious. I’m excited. It’s all about everything.
Sean: It must have been a big stepping stone then, that feeling from that EP, the self-titled EP, to suddenly taking this, almost like big boy steps into it. Into a full album, as you say, getting it mixed over in L.A.
And suddenly it comes back and you’re hearing this huge, huge album for the first time, your debut album. And here you are twenty years later. You look back at the journey of the times when you left the band. Now you’re very much back together. It just must be an incredible journey.
Clint: Yeah, it is. It’s amazing. I think it’s lucky. I think we’re very lucky that we stayed together. We kept writing. We’re lucky we had good management, a good record company that let us do pretty much whatever we want. So we were very, very fortunate. We had some great promotional activity around the band where we got put on the start of movies and all that sort of stuff. We went to Europe. We went to America. And we didn’t kill each other in the process. But that melting pot of emotion, that really fused us together, but also created that sort of darkness and that swelling. And that was the kind of emotion that was poured into the album. So I think without those forces attached to us, it would have been a very different journey for us. And even like moving from ‘Begins Here’ to ‘Imago’, which was more sort of personal for me lyrically. And the guys sort of changed the sound a little bit to ‘Final Conversation of Kings’, which was actually meant to be like a concept album about sort of the worlds of war. You know what I mean? Like this sort of conflict on a global scale. And I had, you know, I was going to do like a little graphic sort of booklet that was supposed to go with the album. But, you know, you run out of money and time and it’s hard to pull all of those factors together. So we’ve been very fortunate. And then getting to ‘IV’, which was just, we just wanted to get back to us. You know what I mean? And just write fearlessly. Well, as fearlessly as we could but also I sort of took the standpoint of like really singing about what I was seeing in society. Sort of thing. You know what I mean? At the time we’ve been, yeah, we’ve been very fortunate. So I feel really privileged and quite honoured that we get to go back out full circle back to the first album. And you’re right. It was big boy pants, you know, big boy steps. And there’s a darkness on it. And I love that. I think that comes from, not young guys trying to be mature, but just having a just really having a case. You know, just having a connection to something bigger than themselves so that was, yeah, that was amazing.
Sean: So, looking back from that debut album to ‘IV’, do you look back notice if there is much difference in the song writing back then compared to now? Has it evolved or was it very much done in a similar process?
Clint: Yeah, that’s a good question. I think, yeah, it’s always been very similar. Kurt always comes into the room with a riff and then basically Kurt and Ben just sit there and hammer it for weeks, if not months, trying to fashion it into like a verse chorus sort of middle section and into something that sort of resembles a format of a song. And then when I come in, I’ll like sort of sing on top of it and see where it needs to be cut, see where the lengths are sitting. We’ve always written like that. I really need to hear the emotion from the guitars. The music needs to hit me. So I’ll work it out and literally a film clip sort of forms in my head and I write to the film clip.
Sean: Oh, wow.
Clint: Yeah, so it can be like way out there. So with ‘Begins Here’, that was all very coded lyric and it was very dark. Each album has sort of been drawn from, you know, the EP was really singing about like the self. ‘Begins Here’ was, you know, it was binary. It was two. Then like ‘Imago’ was kind of like splitting it into a third person view and back, and then ‘Final Conversation’ was like way third person back out here. It was kind of written in a concerto. It was sort of a two step sort of style. Yeah, it was very interesting. I’ve loved writing on the music and I don’t know if I could work any other way. It’s sort of, it’d be weird for me, to be honest. I’m really stoked that I’ve had, you know, Kurt and Ben along the way because they’ve actually stopped me from doing some really, some not so cool stuff, I must admit. Because I’ve wanted to take songs in like really odd directions vocally and they’ve like pulled me up a few times. Mike Patton’s one of my greatest influences and I sort of sit there and I go, well, what would Mike do? You know what I mean? So like, I’ll do some operatic piece over here. Actually, they let me get away with a few of those. So I’ll do some operatic shit over here. I’ll do some like crazy whale noises over here. And, you know, they do draw the line sometimes at some of my lyrical content and some places I’ve taken the songs to.
Sean: Well, it’s worked for Freddie Mercury, the operatic side of things. The whale noises didn’t work for Yoko Ono so much [laughs].
Clint: I don’t think anything worked for that woman [laughs].
Sean: Taking you back to that show I saw at Metropolis in Fremantle. One thing that I thought was brave was the support acts because the energy those guys pumped into warming up that crowd was incredible. I saw these two huge support bands in Caligula’s Horse and Thornhill. And I’m thinking, holy hell, not many headline acts will want bands putting out that kind of performance. That really must have put pressure on you guys. But then you came out and it was just like a wall of energy. The room just lifted another foot off the floor. And I’ve not felt that energy in a room for a long time. I think I’ve put that in my review.
Clint: Yeah. Oh, I feel it too. I think something that I always talk about is that amazing energy exchange from band to crowd. And you could definitely see it through the support bands. So Caligula’s Horse, man, they’re doing great stuff. They’ve just released a new album or about to actually. They had tours to South America. They’ve been all over the world. They’re brilliant. And they’re so proficient with what they do, like musically, technically. They’re excellent. And then you had Thornhill. That was my pick, actually, because I really loved them from when I heard their first song drop. And I just thought I just really wanted to have two great acts on the bill to make it a bill, to make it a night, to make it like a mini event rather than just sort of throwing whoever on it. But also, I really wanted to support two Australian bands, you know what I mean, that could pull good heads anyway. You know what I mean? I just want to put it all together. So that energy that just built and built and built. And you’re right. I thought we really had to lift just to be, you know, just on the same night. And so it’s great because everyone sort of kicked each other’s bum in a good way and lifted each other. And I think that’s what makes a great show. And that’s what makes it a really memorable night. I was really stoked to be a part of it. I’m glad I suggested Thornhill because I really love them. And I think that, you know, they’ve just, yeah, they’ve got a lot of power. They’ve got potential. And I think they could really do something great. I mean, they’ve been backwards and forwards to America and Europe. And same with Caligula’s Horse. And again, we’ve got so much great talent in this country. I just want to see, you know, more support for that sort of emerging talent.
Sean: Yeah, definitely. Well, you’ve got a huge amount of shows starting not far away… 1st of February, I believe.
Clint: It’s next week, man. Can you believe it? It is crazy. I was actually saying to someone the other day, they said, “when are you going on tour?” I said, “not for a few weeks yet.” And they said, “no, it’s like you’ve got a week and a bit to go, mate.” I was like, “oh, shivers. That’s a lot closer than I was expecting.” You know, you just have this thing in your head. You’ve got plenty of time. Don’t worry about it. Yada, yada. You know, but now it’s like panic stations for me. And I think this is the way we always work best too. It’s like, you know, two weeks out, everyone hits the panic button and it’s like, oh, what about this? Or what about that? But always on the night, it’s always all right. Brilliant.
Sean: We can’t wait to see you back in WA. As you say, you’ve got a wonderful affection for us here and we love you guys as well. So it’s going to be two smashing nights at the Astor. We’ll get all the dates up at the bottom of the interview, the ticket links for any straggling tickets that are lying around the place for people to grab. My final thing to ask is after the success ‘IV’, is there anything that you’re going to do? Have you got any plans for writing for the next album?
Clint: Yeah, good question. Yeah, we’ve definitely talked about whether its an album or an EP. An EP would get to people’s ears a lot sooner as it does take us a little bit longer to write. But we’re still not discounting an album. It could, we are definitely writing though. Kurt’s got a few riffs. They won’t let me hear them because when I get into the room, I sing on them way too quick and I like usually map out where I’m going with it pretty quickly. And then when they change it, I usually get quite annoyed and I’m like, “man, you can’t do that. You can’t play this riff to me.” I get into it and, then you go and change it. And they’ve done that. Okay. Case in point, the song that ‘Reach’ came out of, ‘Reach’ the riff, come out of the middle section of a different song. ‘Room Without a View’ was a different song. ‘Final Conversation’ was a totally different song. But anyway, I think we did actually come up with some pretty good stuff on the end of it. So I can’t complain too much. It’s just when they go and change my really good melody [laughs].
Sean: Well, I’m looking forward to the EP called ‘Opera Tunes and Whales Vol.1’
Clint: Oh, can I keep that? Can I have that? [laughs]
Sean: Yeah, you can have that. You heard it here first. James Reyne tried to nick my ‘Birds Fly Backwards’ song title and he’s not having that idea [laughs].
Clint: Oh man, I love that. Dude, that’s cool. Opera Songs and Whale Noises. I’ve got to remember that. That’s great.
Sean: Clint, Thank you so much for your time again. We can’t wait to catch up with you when you get here. At this time, I’ll try and pop back and say hello because it’d be lovely to meet you all.
Clint: Yeah, for sure. No worries and make sure you do. Thank you so much. And as always, thank you so much for your time. We appreciate the work that you’re doing and keeping on and presenting more homegrown talent. And thanks to all the fans out there also. We love you all.
Sean: We’ll pass that all on. Mate, thanks ever so much. Good luck with the rehearsals and we’ll see you on the 10th of February.
Clint: Stop it. No, stop it. That’s only a couple of weeks away [laughs]. See you then Sean.
