Ancient Greek and alternative pop music might seem an odd match, but they’ve proved a perfect pairing for UQ graduate and staff member John Meyer, who releases his debut album next month.
Mr Meyer works at the University as a research administration officer, and moved to Brisbane in 1993 to complete a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Ancient Greek.
“Most people stare blankly when I tell them that,” he said.
“I find my studies really help with song writing; quite often little historical or literary references will pop up in a song, and I think that my studies gave me a real love of words that hopefully comes through in the songs.”
The debut EP – Silver Bullets Don’t Work on Vampires – was completed while working part-time at UQ, and with the assistance of Bryce Moorhead from Zero Interference Studios.
“Working with Bryce Moorhead was a fantastic experience. I learnt so much from him and will definitely be collaborating with him again soon,” Mr Meyer said.
“I feel quite lucky that I was able to go part-time at work and my boss is very understanding, which I really appreciate.”
Mr Meyer said the Brisbane music scene had a real “DIY” attitude and that being an independent musician isn’t always easy.
“It’s pretty hard being an independent musician, you have to do everything yourself and you don’t have a record label guiding you in the right direction. Of course you also don’t have a record label trying to rip you off!” he said.
“Brisbane’s a pretty good place to be a musician but it could be much better. It’s well recognised that to foster a great live scene and allow new bands to come through and become great, you need lots of smallish venues.
“You also need the support of the general public, and I don’t think there are enough places for them to be exposed to the wealth of talent in Brisbane. I hope that changes soon.”
Happy to showcase other UQ talent via his music, Mr Meyer has used colleague Jill McFarlane’s art piece Valencia and the Floating Theatre as the album cover of the EP.
“I fell in love with Jill’s work the first moment I saw it; she’s such a talented artist,” he said.
John will be launching his EP with a free, all ages show at the Brisbane Powerhouse from 3pm on Sunday 9 November.
Mr Meyer will undertake an extensive East Coast tour in November and December, which will kick-start in Brisbane at the Brisbane Powerhouse Livespark session on Sunday November 9.
Silver Bullets Don’t Work on Vampires is available now.
More information on tour dates and the album is available on
www.myspace.com/johnmeyermusic
Media: Katherine Hill (07 3365 2339) or Cameron Pegg at UQ Communications (07 3365 2049, c.pegg@uq.edu.au)
