Ahead of performing at the Oxford Art Factory this August as a part of the venue's 3rd birthday celebrations, the [AU] review caught up with Bodie Jarman, the singing, guitar-playing half of Wollongong's premier blues-rock outfit Mother and Son. Jarman answered the questions from his bedroom, where he is recording parts of M&S's second album, due out later this year. We began the session by asking how progress was coming along on the album.

Bodie: Slowly getting there. Just
some guitar, vocals and a few other instrument overdubs to go. Then to
track down someone to master it!

David: What do you think you learned as a band during the recording and subsequent distribution of your last record?

Bodie: Use
more than one mic for the drums! [laughs] We used two mics (one on the drums
and one on the guitar) for our first EP, and it was a vital learning
experience in recording and mixing. We are aiming for a much more
professional sound with this attempt, but still keeping the garage vibe.
We aim to get it properly mastered after I've finished mixing, just to
give a more unified CD quality that I can't manage with my setup.

I understand almost all of your recording is home/bedroom based. Have you ever
tried working in a studio? What is it about the D.I.Y. recording ethic
that works for you?

We did record the drums in a small studio
just down the road for these recordings, because of gear restrictions,
but I like having the freedom and control over our sound. I could spend
weeks in a studio and pay thousands of dollars and still not get the
sound I hear in my head, so why not spend a few hundred on recording
equipment and experiment in my own time to get it right?

Tell us about the "ShitoCaster" you just put together.

[laughs] Well, a long time ago, I bought a $40 Chinese piece of shit guitar off
eBay. Recently, I got really antsy to get a new guitar, and saw the piece
of shit in the corner and decided to 'fix' it up because I was bored and
have no patience to actually save for one. I had to file frets, rip out
electronics, crack off bits of pickguard, steal some decent Tele pickups out of another project that I never play and secured them on
with tape. After an afternoon of tinkering, ended up with a player!
already got a song out of it and it sounds pretty awesome... so, kids,
its not how much your guitar costs. It's how much tape you have on it!

What music has inspired your songwriting recently?

The
sound of the Shitocaster! [laughs] I've been listening to a lot of 50's
garage rock n roll tunes, 60's surfrock, Link Wray and Spaghetti Western
themes lately, and that's helped me get some new guitar sounds.
Lyrically, been listening to a lot of old country like Jimmie Rodgers.
I'm really into dark tales in lyrics... the ones where men go out
drinking, kill their wives, catch a train to Mexico, fight a hobo for
his hat, get mugged and stabbed by a transvestite hooker, and are left
to die in the desert, whilst their boots are pawned for drug money...
those kinda stories.

Much is made of there only being so much a
two-piece can do with their sound. Has the band ever considered
expanding or do you think there's enough to work with between the two of
you?

Live - no. On record - yes, we do lay down a few other
instruments to fill the sound, create a bit more sonic pleasure. Playing-wise, I think my style is intricate enough to hold its own against most
more-member bands, playing in open tunings means I can do bass parts with my
thumb, and finger-pick chords and lead pretty much simultaneously. On
stage we get each others playing, so we can fuck up and just go
improvise something totally different and instinctively know when to
bring it back to the original song. I think that audiences
appreciate spur of the moment shit. Excitement is what makes people
remember a show, not the harmonic relations between guitars and bass.

You have become arguably one of the better known bands from the
Wollongong area. How do you find the local music scene as it stands?
What do you think can be done to improve it?

Yeah, I guess. I
don't know how that happened. About a year ago, I thought Wollongong had a
really good scene with some really promising bands. But lately, I've
been pretty bored. Venue-wise, its been good with The Grand taking on
bands, and there are still some great acts locally. I think we've just
isolated ourselves with our genre. There is nothing local like us, so we've been focussing our efforts outside of home, mainly on Melbourne
and have been getting great responses. I'm not sure how to improve the
local scene, its pretty easy to start a band and play here. I just don't
see as many bands venturing out and making a name for themselves as
there used to be. I guess they're just waiting for the elusive 'big break'.

What are some local Wollongong bands you would recommend to readers of the [AU] review?

Paper
Moon have been doing good in Sydney this year. They've got a great
sound and live show. Somewhere between Neil Young and Jeff Buckley. Also,
The Pennys are a great folk band kickin' round the traps. And Pink
Fangs, who have only played a few shows have a really sweet indie/psychedelica/Joy-Division-y sound.

Finally, you're playing the
3rd birthday party of the Oxford Art Factory - how do you feel about the venue in
relation to the Sydney live music scene? Has it been beneficial?

Totally. We've only recently been trying to creep into the Sydney scene, and with
the closure of The Hopetoun, there are only a handful of venues left
that are actually genuinely interested in improving and nurturing the
local and upcoming music scene. They have helped us with a few gigs, and I hope to play there a lot more.