Sydney-based sad party punkers Clay J Gladstone are days off from the release of their debut album Is This How I Die?, out this Friday, November 1 via Def Wolf Records. This past year has seen the riotous four-piece shed a number of album singles in the lead up, collecting a lot of love and anticipation for the full release.
Coined Corey Taylor’s ‘New Fkn Favourite Band’ on a tour last December, Clay J Gladstone teamed up with ARIA award-nominated producer Shane Edwards (The Libertines, Trophy Eyes, You Me At Six) on their collection of new tunes. The album thematically explores the concept of mortality. “After my father’s death when I was 19, I developed serious anxiety and panic attacks, which I later recognised as a response to my own extreme fear of death and the unknown,” explains vocalist Tim Wisbey. “This album chronicles my process to accept and cope with my fathers passing. Documenting emotions, situations and problematic thoughts I had throughout my 20s, moving from fear to acceptance. We want listeners to hear the story from song 1 to 13 as it is intended.”
Not long ago, Clay J Gladstone teamed up with long time friend and collaborator Colin Jeffs of Ten Of Swords Media (Make Them Suffer, Diamond Construct, In Hearts Wake) for an exclusive acoustic performance of this week’s final single from the album, Pessimist. HEAVY caught up with Colin Jeffs and Clay J Gladstone vocalist Tim to chat about their history, the new music and what’s to come.
HEAVY: For the uninitiated, could you tell us a little bit about Clay J Gladstone? And for first time listeners, what song would you recommend they start their journey with?
Tim: It’s a long story so I’ll give you the condensed, basically Matty and I had beef when we were kids, two 14 yr olds just hating on each other over girls and tastes in music. 4 Yrs ago we decided to settle the beef and start a band, so here we are. First time listener, I would say it would have to be the new one Is This How I Die?. It encompasses everything Clay J, Sad Party Punk.
H: Colin, you’ve made a name for yourself as founder of Ten Of Swords Media Collective, creating iconic clips and teaming up with some of our favourite artists in Australia. What have been some of your favourite projects to have been a part of and why?
Colin: Haha thank you, I made a name for myself being the biggest lunatic in the country, shooting way too much and never sleeping. That’s such a hard question because I have so many favourites! I’d have to say Hit It Back by Diamond Construct is up there just because of how much of a stir it caused.
H: How did the collaboration between Ten Of Swords and Clay J Gladstone initially come about? What’s the history there?
Colin: The way I remember it, Timmy messaged me on insta and said ‘can i call you’, then next thing I knew we were shooting in an abandoned roadside diner in central NSW. We have shot a bunch since then – ‘Hate Club’ is definitely in my top 5 favourite videos that I’ve shot.
Tim: We were looking for someone to work with on ‘Home For Halloween’, I was shown Colin’s content from a mate and was obsessed. Called him immediately and tried to convince him to shoot our clip in West Wylong, where the hills had eyes that day haha. And yeah, the rest is history, we can’t stop pestering him.
H: Having worked with each other for a little while, do you both have a favourite memory that comes to mind from your overlapping careers together?
Colin: Absolutely. After our first clip we went out drinking at a cocktail bar in Sydney, Timmy then proceeded to tell me he knows how to do magic. The rest of the night is a blur but I remember he had the whole bar going with magic tricks. I’m still in disbelief at what I saw.
H: Your latest collaborative effort is the Sony Tradeshow acoustic performance of “Pessimist”, which shares an early preview of one of the unheard singles from Clay J Gladstone’s upcoming debut album ‘Is This How I Die?’. What were the circumstances surrounding the Clay J appearance?
Tim: Colin called me about the opportunity, he was very specific in wanting to do something a little softer, authentic, acoustic – something performance wise without all the bells and whistles to show what can be done with limited resources. I recall him saying he likes shooting my face, it has character hence wanting us to jump on. I like to think of my face like wine or blue cheese, an acquired taste.
H: Why did you choose to perform an unreleased track off your upcoming album?
Tim: Once Colin gave us the brief, I immediately knew which song it had to be – ‘Pessimist’, which initially started as a bit of an acoustic swooner. I thought it would be cool to give fans a bit of a taste of that track before we actually drop the heavy version. I was told that was dumb, which made me want to do it more. Colin heard it, said it was cry material, and backed it hard! So we just went with the gut.
H: How was the clip filmed? Was it a spur of the moment recording or was it pre-planned? What was the brief for Clay J Gladstone that day?
Colin: Every year Sony has a big trade show, where they display all the latest tech and gadgets. We were giving a presentation for Sony on ‘music video fundamentals’ and as part of that, they wanted us to do a live demonstration. So I thought it’d be fun to get the lads to play an acoustic version of one of their songs and have people from the crowd come and play with the cameras and do some filming. Was fun to make something and get the community involved. Wholesome vibes!
H: Colin, do you have particular or preferred camera equipment and gear that you traditionally like to use to best capture the chaotic and raucous energy of Clay J?
Sony FX6 – all day every day. Versatile, fast, amazing image. 10/10
H: If Clay J Gladstone and Ten Of Swords could team up on a project of your choosing, what would you each create and why?
Colin: Please let me film an Australian bank heist video where Timmy kills the whole band.
Tim: Whatever the fuck Colin wants to do, you just do it. So Heist it is!
H: Finally, as mentioned earlier the upcoming Clay J Gladstone album will be out this week on Friday November 1 – can we expect any more sneak peaks at the album? And how will you be celebrating the release of your debut album?
Tim: On the 3rd of November we’ll be doing an in-store performance at Resist Records in Marrickville, Sydney. Day time thing, all are welcome to join. We’ll be having drinks around the inner west after, come along!
