1. First off - congratulations on the success of your wonderful EP Watch Your Hands. What kind of experience have you had since the release of the record?

Thank you so much. It has been an amazing blur of a year for us since we released our EP. After starting the band this year and throwing ourselves into everything we could, we’ve learnt an incredible amount about Brisbane’s music scene, the Australian music stage (yes, it's one gigantic stage) and about one another. We have been given lots of encouragement and opportunities and it’s reassuring to think it has all come from doing something we love. We’ve also had the honour of playing with some amazing international and local bands like The Coronas (Ire), Old Man River and Skipping Girl Vinegar at some really rad and renowned venues.

As a band, we’ve shared a lot of inspiring song writing experiences, red wine, late nights writing and rehearsing and maybe too much fun and inspiration.

2. The characterstic Charlie Mayfair sound seems to perpetuate within a sixties music vibe (with the pop elements of The Beatles right through to some folk-infused stylings of Bob Dylan) - did you make a conscious decision to take cues from this revolutionary period of music history?

I don't think we've ever intentionally tried to reflect their work, but we have definitely subconsciously drawn inspiration from such an incredible part of music history. Even though we have a wide range of musical tastes and we've all been exposed to different styles during our upbringing, we all have a shared captivation and respect for the music of the sixties. I think all contemporary music (consciously or sub-consciously) in some way credits the fact that these artists were innovative, memorable and influential to the majority of pop music that would follow afterwards. So perhaps The Beatles' and Dylan's music has just sparked something reminiscent inside of us that comes out in our music and song writing. But maybe we are also hippies at heart. It would definitely explain why Hannah tends to be shoeless all the time.

3. How is Charlie Mayfair different from other folk-pop bands performing today?

There are six of us in the band, and everyone is passionate about life and about music. We are one big contrasting collection of influences and inspirations, musically and personally. We write for ourselves and the world with honesty and conviction and so our music is genuine and unique. We have a passion/obsession for vocal arrangements and this has become a main component of our current sound. Also, we have a drummer that pulls some amazing “drum faces” that nobody could top...

4. Your recently released film clip for "If I Fell Down" really seems to embrace a gypsy-ish 'free spirited' kind of ambiance - do you think this reflects what Charlie Mayfair is all about?

The gypsy-feel simply evolved from us wanting to create a parallel-universe ambience to the clip. It was fun creating a surreal environment for the shoot, because that’s how the song makes us feel - like it’s a little bit intangible. I guess free-spirited would also complement our approach to creativity, but only in a time-managed fashion!

Our creative director and stylist Matisse Forman (www.matisseforman.blogspot.com) went to town on us with a bombardment of sick vintage clothes. She is an incredibly imaginative individual and we trusted her judgement completely so she got to take full advantage of her creative control which she was pleased about. Additionally, Dave pulls off the whole Sultan thing incredibly well. A little too well in fact.

5. Did you enjoy filming the clip?

It was good fun, but very tiring and we inhaled our fair share of smoke fumes! We spent over 12 hours in front of a billowing fire, sporting outlandish clothes and makeup. It was the first film-clip most us had done before so we were all pretty apprehensive about how we'd look on camera. The whole process was great fun though - mainly due to the brilliance of the awesome team of people working with us. Matisse Foreman (Creative Director/Stylist) and Ruwan De Silva (Director/Filming master-mind) both made us all feel so comfortable, even when we were being strange. Watching the clip evolve afterwards was probably the most exciting thing. Ruwan had some amazing ideas and used techniques which blew our minds. He is a bloody genius!

6. What Australian acts would you most like to share a stage with and why? How about international acts?

We have been lucky enough to meet and see Robert Forster from The Go-Betweens several times. We got to see him perform at The Powerhouse during the Brisbane Festival which was a truly sensational evening. Forster’s song writing is phenomenal. It's so effortless engaging with a writer that you can relate to geographically, and considering he was a poetic pioneer of Brisbane, we would love to share a stage with him, or even a coffee. Or two. Or five.

We’d also love to share the stage with Boy & Bear. We are suckers for harmonies, folk music and quirky instrumentation which they seem to have an abundance of. Plus they are just a bunch of genuine, lovely dudes, who write killer tunes!

Other acts we’d love to share the stage with would have to include; Angus & Julia Stone, Cloud Control, Swell Season, The Temper Trap and The Middle East - possibly all at the same time.

7. Please tell us a little about the If I Fell Down Tour - What can audiences expect from a Charlie Mayfair gig? Why should people come and see one of your shows?

The If I Fell Down Tour completely rocked our worlds. We've never done that many shows in a row and so it was both exhilarating and exhausting. We met so many great people and played a really diverse bunch of shows from big venues to clubs to pubs to tiny cafes to car-trip ukulele singalongs. We want to go again. And soon.

If you come to a CM gig, you can expect a few bright shirts, large drums, lots of ahh’s, cowbells and several attempts at jumping off stage...

8. Lastly, When can fans expect a full-length Charlie Mayfair release?

A full length-release is floating around in the horizon. We’re looking forward to a break over Christmas to focus on song writing and to gather inspiration, but we’ll be releasing new material shortly after the New Year. We’ve been having some troubling studio withdrawals so we’re busting to start working on a new release. Expect something a little different to the first one.