This last Friday, Thom Johnston and April released their collaborative single, Shiver, a country-inspired folk indie track. I did separate interviews with Thom and April to learn more about Shiver, them as artists and their upcoming gig at Bar Open on September 4th.

April and Thom Johnston, Image taken by Jaz Cooper

So what exactly is Shiver about?

Thom: It was originally about personal experiences with wanting to help someone who [doesn’t] want to be helped. You know when you've got that kind of relationship with someone that you're really close with, and they're in a tough spot and you wanna help them, but they're not really ready to accept that help, or they’re just denying that help. But you’re always there anyway, just in case they're ready one day.

But then again, I showed people and they're like, “Oh, it's a love song!” And I'm like, oh, I guess technically it's a love song because this is for someone you love, but it's not a particularly romantic song. Then there have been other people who are like, “Oh, it's a road trip song”. When you look into the lyrics, I guess, it's maybe not completely obvious. So sometimes [listeners] come up with a completely different interpretation. It's kind of opened up a bit more because I've heard other people's interpretations, which is really cool.

Sometimes people just decide for themselves.

Thom: Exactly, yeah. I guess my experience may be different from someone else’s. I've been lucky enough, or maybe I'm not lucky enough, [because] my past relationships haven't had many vices included; it was just the actual relationship that didn't work out. But I guess for a lot of people, their experience with this particular scenario would be associated with their past relationships. So, I can definitely understand how it's a love song, and I kind of started seeing it more like that. I even said to April the other day, I'm like, “is Shiver a fucking love song? Did we put out a love song?” She was like, “I dunno”. I guess I'll just keep wondering.

Did you have a similar interpretation of Shiver to Thom?

April: Yes, 100%.

What’s beautiful about Thom showing me this song and explaining that was, I have lived that, and very recently as well. So, it kind of really reflects on a time in my life that wasn't even that long ago, and I feel like I can really connect with those lyrics, in obviously my own individual way, but in the way that Thom was initially writing it too. I'm always quite an empath and want to help people around me when I can sense things [are] wrong, whether they verbalise it or not.

So it's kind of just like, I guess, surrendering in a way to the fact that's not always gonna be the case. You can't always just help everyone, but no matter what, you'll always be there anyway, even if it's just in the background. And whether that means something to another person, whether or not it works out, that's what's important to me.

And I know people are gonna interpret it in many different ways, which I love. That's what the most beautiful thing about music is. Once you put a song out there, it's not really just yours anymore; it’s everyone who listens to it, and I think that's really special.

There's so much commitment and effort put into creating and performing and getting your music out there. Having to be the artist, marketer, email venues, producer, etc. What motivates you to create and perform music?

Thom: I think when you first start playing music, you go through this really weird cycle. You start playing music 'cause you love music, and then you go through the next steps of like, okay, I'm running songs, but they're not going particularly well in front of these crowds. Maybe I'm running like too many sad songs? Or maybe I'm running songs that aren't good enough to be put in front of people? So you start catering a bit more to the crowd, [and] then you turn to a point where you're like, do I like my music? And then you go back to just playing music 'cause you love it. It's a really weird cycle that once you've gone through the whole trials and tribulations of trying to figure out what your music means to you and what your driving force is, it always just comes back to being you, actually, just like playing music.

What’s your driving force?

Thom: For me, it’s wanting to be one person's favourite artist, that's always been my goal; just to have one person who isn't either directly related to me or involved in my life to have me as their favourite artist. If you have someone as your favourite artist, that's a massive deal ‘cause they prefer you over everyone else. And my mother does not count, she’s a bit biased.

But I also just love the writing process. It's a really cheap form of therapy. Still get therapy, but it's a really cheap form of therapy where you can kind of express yourself in a way that you're proud of and you can share in front of people. And just, like, have fun, you know? Like, trauma to a backbeat.

Mums are always your number one fans.

Thom: Yeah. It's gonna be really hard for someone to be a number-one fan. They'll have to probably birth me, um, which is not really possible, bit too late for that.

What are you hoping listeners take away from you as an artist from Shiver?

April: I want to make people want to know who I am. Like, “Ohhhh, who is this April artist?” Like, “What's she gonna do?” I want to entice people with what my journey will be. And I guess, also, that on more of a personal side but maybe on more of a, you know, professional side, I would say it's a song. It's not like a silly song, but because of the whole process, we've had such a fun time, and I really hope that that seeps through when you're listening to it, even if you wouldn't know all the effort we've been putting into this. I would hope and like for people to take me seriously, but not too seriously, if that makes sense. For me right now, it's not the fame that I'm doing this for, or even trying to get to that point. It's passion, it's something that brings me joy. It's like clarity. It's therapy. It's just really fun. It's encouraging me to just start pushing some other stuff out there.

How did you get into music?

Thom: I'm from Geelong, and my dad has been playing in these cover bands for years and years. So I grew up in pubs surrounded by the same funny songs played each night, like Brown Eyed Girl, Eagle Rock, and I kind of resented music for a really long time. I didn't even really listen to music, apart from the radio, until I was like, probably 18. Which is just nuts. People [would] recommend me a song and I’d be like, I don't really know it, unless it was like Bruno Mars, which by no means an influence on me. I rebelled against music rather than rebelling with music. You see all these, like, seventies and sixties movies where they're rebelling against their parents, playing music that they don't like. I just didn't play music. I’m rebelling against my musical father with no music.

As soon as I moved out, that was when I took a guitar and was like, “You know what? I'll take a guitar so when someone comes over to my house, they could play the guitar and we can all have a great time!” And then COVID hit, and there's no one allowed to come to your house. And there's a guitar in the corner staring at you. That kind of forces you into it. I got bored of just guitar for six months and started singing too. I'm an attention seeker when it comes to public speaking and I just love being on stage in front of people. Immediately, when I found music, it was like, oh, okay, this makes a lot of sense, I can be creative as well as being on stage. And as soon as I could get on a stage, I just got on a stage

What inspired you to get into performing?

April: So it's actually a significant moment in time that I can pinpoint. It was like an epiphany.

I was at this kind of natural, no-electronic festival called Confest. I went there with a group of my girlfriends and it was like going into a brand-new world. 'Cause I've been in the festival scene a little bit, but I went there and [its] really just about connecting with other people who have passions and are willing to share them with you. It's about learning different things that you might be interested in. I guess I was just in the perfect place within myself after coming back from the festival, after having this amazing time. That week I had gone to Bar Oussou [for] the first time and I had seen people performing. I was like, you know what? I'm just gonna get out there and I'm gonna sing an original song and I don't even really know how to play guitar that well, but I'm just gonna put myself out there and see what happens.

'Cause like what's the worst that can happen? And that was the best decision I made because a few months down the track, this is where I'm at. [That decision] got recognised in this great way, with Thom and with other people too, and I've had a lot of support and encouragement to continue to do what I want to do. I also feel like things are meant to happen for a reason. And I feel like because I'm so passionate about it, and all the intentions are pure, and I really care about it, that's why these things are unravelling. You gotta put yourself out there, and you won't know until you try.

But obviously, it's baby steps because it's all still quite new to me, and I still have those moments of anxiety around performing. Once you kind of give yourself a name in that community, you feel like you have some expectations that you need to live up to. Whereas when I did it for the first time, I knew no one and it had nothing to compare to. So it was just very like, you know, on a whim, like freedom.

I think it's really great that you put yourself out there on a whim, and it's obviously worked out great for you, having released a single now.

April: Yeah, exactly. I couldn't be happier about that. It feels like a dream. It's like, Oh. My. God. Where I was literally a few months ago to this happening is crazy.

What inspired the collaboration for Shiver?

Thom: It's an interesting one. So we frequent a local bar on Wednesday nights and they do an open mic/jam night. And April jumped up, she borrowed my guitar [and] it was her first time. She was playing guitar for, like, maybe three weeks beforehand. I was like, oh fuck, that person sounds pretty good and let her know “if you ever wanna jam let me know.” 'Cause I wanna write with people and collaborate with people. By the time I got home, we were already organising a time to catch up and just play through anything we had. So she came ‘round, we played through a couple of songs, tried writing on the spot, [and] I pulled out Shiver, which was actually just a song that I had put to the side. I played it once and then was like, I feel like I've got better songs, so I'm just gonna not use it. But I thought it might be an easy and good way for us to get warmed up and used to each other's voices. So we went through and then eventually just kind of organised how we'd sing the song, and I think literally the next week we just went up and played it. People liked it, I liked how it sounded, she liked how it sounded.

April: We were just working on it and performing it, sometimes kind of experimenting with it. And then [Thom] came to me one day and he was like, “I wanna produce this song and I want you to be on it with me”. For me, that was really amazing. I feel really grateful for that because I hadn't had an experience like that before, and it definitely helps that we’ve created a friendship throughout this as well. It was kind of like we planted that seed and then, you know, in fruition, this is where we've ended up with it. It's beautiful because I feel like I also now have an attachment to a song that was never even really mine, but the whole process of doing it together has allowed me to feel it in my own way.

What inspired the bridge part that you've written, April?

April: I think it’s because of my feminine voice that's got a little bit of a higher pitch. 'Cause Thom has this great raspy kind of voice, [and] mine's a little bit more, I guess dainty and almost fragile in a way, but still deep. And I changed the melody a little bit because I could reach a bit of a higher note. It kind of added this layer of difference, because I think when just [Thom] sung it, it felt like the song didn't really have different elements. When he heard me sing it, he was like, “This needs to be sung by a female and this needs to be sung by you”. I would say for me, out of all of the [parts of the] song, the bridge is the part that I resonate with the most because it feels the most like my part of the song.

Is this single maybe leading into a bigger project you might have?

Thom: Possibly. We're kind of working on a big goal, an East Coast tour in the summer. I really love playing live, and finding new audiences up in different states will really establish me in the Australian scene. But there is a next song, and we've kind of decided what that next song will be. [There’s] also some pretty iconic venues that I’ll be playing soon.

April: Nothing set in stone. I'm just working on a few of my own originals that I'm also gonna be performing at our [upcoming] gig. That will be my first time, like my first gig, performing these songs properly to an audience that I'll know half of, and potentially, not know the other half. But yeah, I would love to get back in the studio and record, and also just work on some newer music, and kind of experiment a little bit with the direction I want to go in. Thom introduced me to [country music], and it's been great because it's really helped with learning and navigating singing and songwriting, 'cause it's very raw and real lyrics, and that's where I feel like my lyrics are at; quite real, like really painting a story. But I definitely like more heavier sounds because I've always been a little bit more into heavier music, like grunge, metal and rock. So, it would be really cool to experiment with that side of music within my own realm.

What was the recording process like then? 'Cause from the sounds of it, it was very busy and quite a long process?

Thom: It was a learning process, recording this song. It just became this whole ordeal of going through every single hurdle that we could have gone through. But, the recording process did end up being great, seeing the song come together, and especially the last day or so. We had a bit of time to play with, so we came up with our lead guitar lines and the little backing guitar lines you can hear sprinkled throughout the song, [and] , the inter-world part at the start, which I thought was really important to create some texture in the song. Also, that drum fill right before the last chorus, which is the stupidest idea we've ever had, but so fun. It felt like the first time we weren't doing something exactly by the book. It's one part of the song where it kind of doesn't make sense, but it’s kind of still cohesive, weirdly enough.

April: The recording itself was really smooth sailing. It was really fun because we were all working together as a group of friends. For me, personally, that first day going into recording, I definitely had an overwhelming sense of nerves, and it definitely took me some time to warm into singing. But because I was just surrounded by great people who are talented and have patience, it was encouraging. So in the end, I'm really pleased and I've been getting some really awesome feedback.

You've got the single release show at Bar Open, September 4th. What can people expect to see?

Thom: You can see me, I'll be there, hopefully. If I'm not there, then there's something wrong or you came on the wrong night.

I think it's actually a really interesting lineup. We've got Nic Bosnic’s band, Gardener, well, two-thirds of Gardener 'cause the drummer couldn't make it. Nic is just an incredible talent. He's been inspired by Jeff Buckley, [which is] how he learned to sing, so he's just got this incredible range but with real undertones of Cameron Winter. He has, like, a spooky, really rich, emotional kind of power in his voice and his songs are really emotionally powerful.

Then we’ve got Star Jock. They're like a grunge band, kind of alt-rock, really raw, not in your face, but they definitely have that bit of punchiness to them. They’re really talented. They packed up The Tote a few weeks ago for their own launch and they’ve played Fed Square, which is crazy.

Then we've got [my] band, which is the first proper time I've played a gig with a band behind me. So, two-thirds of the show, there's gonna be me and the band on stage. We'll go through some demo stuff I’ve realised* (*Barwon Bridge under the pseudonym Maxwell925) because those are the songs I wrote as I was coming up through the open mic scene. We've got really talented musicians like Ali Harman on bass, Jack Paraiso on guitar, and Nic Murray, who's our drummer.

I mean, obviously, people should come to the gig, but why should people come?

April: First of all, the tickets are very well priced, and everyone loves to go out for a little bit of a drink. [Especially] on a Thursday night, you know, it's a student night, so that's always encouraging. Living in Melbourne, it's a very artistic city, there's all sorts of different things going on [every] night, no matter what day of the week it is, and I feel like people in that artistic community, the local people, wanna support [their] community.

It's gonna be an awesome night, we've got some really beautiful bands as well that are gonna support us, and Thom's got this great presence on stage, so you know, he'll get the crowd kind of involved. It's quite interactive, so I feel like it's not just a gig where you sit and watch. It's a community thing. So if people are willing to come and support that, that's awesome.

Stream Shiver & Stay in touch with the artists down below! Also, head on over to Bar Open on Thursday September 4th to see April & Thom live!

Shiver - Spotify

TICKET LINK 4 SHIVER SINGLE RELEASE GIG

SUPPORTS MENTIONED

ALL IMAGES TAKEN BY Jaz Cooper (@jjazcooper)