The Band

Felix

For direct answers post questions at http://www.facebook.com/felixriebl . . .

For thoughts, info, and projects go to www.felixriebl.com

Previous Q&A:

In your ten-year career what have been the top three highlights for you as a musician?

Finishing my first gig ten years ago and standing outside the small venue on my own and not knowing what just hit me. 2. The whirlwind of colors and experiences that followed after the first show, starting with our first three tours: Adelaide Fringe at the Spiegeltent, Napa Valley/San Fran, and Edinburgh Late and Live 3. Playing at the Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony to an ocean of sparkling blue lights.

What is your ultimate time killer on tour?

I love listening to the music I forget to listen to when I’m not on tour, swapping between copious amounts HBO series that I would never allow myself to watch when not on tour, and reading all the great novels (and scando detective ones) I don’t have time to read when not on tour. Also, searching the curious netherworld of a foreign city in an appropriate haze.

What will you tell your grandchildren?

To be true to themselves, and do what feels right without the external expectations of others. To be curious. To read and listen. To discover their own sense of freedom. To laugh. To be strong. Not to suffer fools.

Favorite, one-liner of all time?

‘Because I need you to drive my chariot’ [Arjuna to Krishna, Mahabharata].

Sport of choice and why?

AFL is the most beautiful sport in the world to me - I think it’s also one of the best representations of true Australian Reconciliation. It’s a combination of art, movement, magic and toughness.

Who or what gave you the love/gift of music?

Music as a force was part of my family, but then again, discovering music in one’s life is completely personal. I loved my first 3 cassette tapes, Bruce Springstein ‘born to run’, Dire Straits ‘money for nothing’, and Micheal Jackson ‘bad’ in a way that no one could have showed me how. Also, the shapes Bach and Rachmaninov made inside my solar plexus when I was growing up, and the dialogue they started with myself, is unforgettable.

Do you ever get nervous before you perform? 

Yes, the more I perform, the more I’m prone to nerves, and the more I see them as a positive feeling. The challenge is to use them for energy.

I would like to ask which of the songs that you wrote is your favourite or the most effective? 

I suppose in a festival context The Chariot, Call me Home, Two Shoes, Fishies, Sly, and How to Explain are the most effective songs I've written for TCE, though my favourites are Miserere and more recently Reasonably Fine, they are very quiet and sit in another emotional space.

Felix, in your spare time what do u do? 

I write songs, listen to music, pace, read, think, watch films, watch football, try and spend time with the special ones.

How did you become so interested in environmental issues?

I looked around when I travelled, I read books, I trusted my instinct and they all pointed to the conclusion that something is very wrong with what we are doing to our environment. I think the world is magic, and the idea that we are messing it up goes against my idea of logic. It becomes a more difficult question when you realize that humans, for all their ingenuity are anything but logical or reasonable, myself included. But the challenge is there, and I am in support of any action or structure that let’s us overcome or at least tackle our destructive natures.

What do you suggest for people to become more involved? 

Invest in a world powered by renewable energy. Write to your local, state, and federal politicians. Get green energy for your home. Go to the ACF website and find out how to become more efficient and innovative with energy use. Get involved: bring it up with your family, friends, enemy’s, and work. Support the idea that paying for pollution is the most effective and necessary step in our capitalistic money driven society.

If you could live anywhere, where would you live?  

At the moment my favourite cities are Berlin, New York, Montreal, and Melbourne. I feel at home in all those places. Having said that I’m drawn to writing, and often it’s very difficult to find the space to read and spend an uninterrupted length of time in my daily city life. So at some stage soon I’m going to go to some remote island or town, not tell anyone where I’m going, and get settled there for a long spell.

Where do you get your biggest laughing moments from/with?

My Siblings Sessi, Rosie, and Maximilian are all very different, but when the four of us are together I often find myself properly belly laughing for hours, usually my brother Max leads the proceedings. The topics are very strange, but the visions are hysterical.

On the band members?

We’ve seen each other grow up; it’s quite amazing to be so close for so long, we change and evolve. It’s a great group of friends, who also always get the job done on stage. They are all awesome mates in their own ways.

Next road trip?

I’m going to spend some time in Greece for some sea travel, then Nepal after that for some trekking. South America is on the cards for the world cup. Apart from that the regular circles around Europe/UK/US/CANADA with the band . . . although I would like to convince the band to do a trip to Brazil and South Africa. I think we’d have a great run over there.

Recipe for a songwriter at 2am?

Stay with the idea if it’s there. Coffee, Wine, whatever it takes. When the river’s full, jump in, sleep later.

Worst jetlag story on tour?

LA, sometime between 2005-2007 . . . those years were a blurr. I remember arriving, and having a show that night. I came within about 5mm of an oncoming truck, with my head turned the other way, forgetting that traffic travels in opposite directions there. So close, still gives me shudders.

What is your favorite poet/poem?

There are so many. Derek Walcott, Jorge Luis Borges, T.S Eliot are probably my favourite poets . . . but my favourite poem at the moment is ‘And Death Shall Have No Dominion’ by Dylan Thomas.

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Felix