Perth band Wooly Mammoth are about to go the way of... well, the woolly mammoth, as they bid farewell to their fans with one last show before disbanding for good.
“We've been playing together for three years and we're all still best mates, but I think we've reached a point where for whatever reason we weren't as passionate about playing as the four of us,” vocalist, guitarist and keys player Jon Stapleton says.
“Our bass player [Andrew Eyres] for example is a full-time engineer, so I think he's planning on transitioning into working out how he's going to be an engineer and be a human being with a job.
“The rest of us are still playing music and still as passionate as ever about playing music, but I think we reached a point where we wanted to spread our wings a little bit and move on to new projects.
For Jon and his bandmates, Wooly Mammoth has simply reached its natural conclusion as a band.
“At the end of the day, music has to be something you really believe in and I think especially the three of us continuing on in music, we still do believe in ourselves as musicians and people with things to say.
“It's not that we didn't believe in Wooly Mammoth, it's just we weren't as passionate about Wooly Mammoth moving forward; all the things can be happening in the world, but if you're not passionate about something that's when it's time to move on.”
The decision to disband comes after a year of firsts for Wooly Mammoth in 2018, including the release of their debut EP 'Fell, Took Flight', a national headline tour and a festival appearance.
Wooly Mammoth are sending themselves off in style with a farewell show at Rosemount Hotel next week. Certainly a bittersweet moment for the band, Jon says it's a decision that's been made in the best interests of everyone involved. “It's a sad sweet,” he agrees.
“Playing the last couple of songs will be pretty emotional but... sometimes in life these are the decisions we have to make. I think we felt a sense of relief and a sense of respect for ourselves and each other to be able to say 'maybe it's time we moved on from this'.
“In a way we'll be sad... but I think it will be really fun as well. We'll have some special guests on the night, and I think it will be a really fun and grand way to send off the band.”
In a parting gift from Wooly Mammoth to their fans, their farewell show will feature what will be a legitimate swansong for the band. “We will have a new song that night, it's called 'You've Come Round', I guess the last song we'll record together as a band for the indefinite future.”
After Wooly Mammoth, Jon says he plans on continuing in music primarily as a solo artist, while guitarist Christian Zappia and drummer Josh Wright continue their roles playing in Grace Armstrong's band. “I don't plan on it being the end of my time,” Jon says.
“I've been writing for my next project, which at this point I plan on being under my own name. I've written eight or nine songs for that already, but it's quite a freeing process too because it's almost starting from the beginning.”
