The Bell Streets is the musical collaboration between Nick Batterham and Josh Meadows.
Nick has been a central figure in Melbourne bands Blindside, The Earthmen and Cordrazine. Josh is the singer from The Sugargliders and The Steinbecks.Having known each other since the early '90s, Nick and Josh have come together as The Bell Streets to write songs that have a classic feel, but are at the same time fresh and new.
With their debut album, 'Monument', out now, we have a chat with Josh.
We sound like. . . folk/ pop poet Nick Drake fronting NZ band The Chills.
Our first gigs. . . were supposed to be in early May at The Old Bar in Melbourne and The Bridge Hotel in Castlemaine, but they've been cancelled – along with everything else – as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
When did you settle on the group's name, and was it a unanimous decision? We tossed around quite a few ideas before deciding on The Bell Streets. Bell Street is seen as a dividing line by many Melburnians. Dividing the hipsters from the old residents, new world from old world. We like the connotation of straddling the divide; plus, Nick actually lives on Bell Street.
In the studio we usually. . . eat Turkish bread and drink peppermint tea before doing anything productive.
If we could tour with anyone. . . it would be Juliana Hatfield.
Social media is. . . a necessary evil for bands in 2020. I do our Twitter, Nick does Facebook and we share Insta duties.
My favourite app at the moment is. . . the ABC Listen app because I'm a massive news nerd and fanboy of Leigh Sales, Annabel Crabb, Fran Kelly and Patricia Karvelas.
To date, my most embarrassing moment was the time. . . I met Lloyd Cole and couldn't find a word to say to one of my songwriting idols.
Life on the road can be. . . a lot like life at home, in the COVID-19 era.
If you'll have us on your bill, all we ask is that our rider contains. . . San Pellegrino natural sparkling mineral water, peppermint tea and spinach/ cheese Turkish gozleme. Please, Juliana.
The scariest scenario I've found myself in was. . . when my first band, sensitive lefty duo The Sugargliders, played a support slot to a room full of skinheads. They didn't like us much, but we got out alive.
What celebrity/ famous person would you love to be a spokesperson of the band. . . Robert Forster from the Go-Betweens, because I love the way he talks and writes about music almost as much as the music he makes.
Three people, you'd like to invite around for a dinner party: Robert Forster (see above), Liam 'Snowy' Halliwell because the new Snowy Band album is so intriguing and beautiful, and Annabel Crabb because she is so smart and witty – and she would probably bring dessert.
If we were coming over to your place, what would you cook us? Chorizo and pea risotto.
No matter the expense, send me a case of. . . coffee beans from Goroka in the Papua New Guinea highlands.
The last time I saw the inside of a gym was. . . I don't think I have ever been inside a gym. I run to keep fit.
What's the one chore you dislike the most? Cleaning the shower recess.
Do you have any phobias? I used to be scared of injections, so to overcome it I started donating blood. I passed out the first time I donated, but am well used to it now.
Would you ever partake in a reality show? If so, what type? I never would. But Nick might. It's not exactly a reality show, but Nick is a huge fan of the Chinese TV programme 'If You Are The One', which screened on SBS. I would love to see Nick as a contestant on 'If You Are The One'.
If you could prank any of your friends, who's your target, and how are you bringing them down? In this time of 'physical distancing', I just wish I could hug my friends, not prank them!
