Dustin Payseur's voice oozes with that Brooklyn hipster-cool we've all heard so much about.
Moving to New York is a dream kicked around by so many inner-city Brisbanites that it becomes hard to separate fact from fiction. Is the mythical land of Brooklynville actually this utopian hub of creativity that we outsiders have built it up to be? Dustin seems adamant that Brooklyn deserves its hype.
"It's extremely diverse, that's probably the best thing about it. You could go out every night and see a line-up of bands and they'd all sound completely different. That's what's so exciting about it; it's not like there's one type of genre dominating music. Everybody's doing their own thing, everybody's taking from what really speaks to them, and that comes out in different ways."
Dustin is quick to admit the low cost of living in Brooklyn is perhaps the main reason for the borough's throbbing cultural and creative pulse.
"A lot of people move here for the same reason I moved here. It's a place that has so much history in music and art... it's a place where people are constantly coming and going, and you can just come and meet other people that are creators and collaborate. It's the kind of place where you can play a show every night and it's not gonna be the same people coming to see you. It's almost like you can go on tour playing in the same city."
In terms of its members, Beach Fossils is perhaps more akin to a sieve than a solid base. Its members have come and gone, and Dustin remains the outfit's chief songwriter and sole permanent member.
"That's just the way it's happened. I was actually thinking about this the other day, about everyone that's been in the band before and the reasons [they left]. There's never any bad blood or anything, I just wanted to play with people that were motivated and people that I thought were talented. Everybody that I played with also had their own bands, so they've come and gone! But it's great, everyone I've ever played with has been a friend of mine."
Beach Fossils Australian Dates
Thu Sep 19 — The Spiegeltent (Brisbane Festival)Fri Sep 20 — The Standard (Sydney) (w/ TV Colours, Major Leagues)
Sat Sep 21 — Corner Hotel (Melbourne) (w/ Terrible Truths, Mining Boom)
