The Getaway Plan

The Getaway Plan are back at it again! Poised to record their third album, 'Dark Horses' very soon, the band is ready to remind us why they are one of Australia's most loved rock bands. Currently crowdfunding the record, we spoke with vocalist Matthew Wright about the full-length and the stigma around mental illness in both the music scene and the rest of the world.

So whereabouts are you guys in the production of the record?

We're in the final stages of writing. We're hoping to enter the studio in the next month, month and half. We're just polishing off; we've got around thirty five songs that we've got to polish and narrow down. That's the plan at the moment; keep chipping away and get into the studio ASAP.

What was the decision to crowd-fund the record?

In the past, we have released everything we've ever done through record labels and basically those experiences weren't entirely shitty but there comes a point where the angles try and get up in your shit and take control in the creative sense and that makes us really uncomfortable as we like having total control over everything we do. We didn't want to go down that path this time. It was pretty nerve wrecking to set up but I think it's going fantastic and if we pull it off, it's going to be so, so gratifying.

I was told you guys like to experiment on records, anything you can tell me this time around?

We just like to remain open to anything, we definitely always try and push ourselves with every new release we do. Our main thing is just remain open, we have no expectations as to what it will sound like and that's really awesome.

You're just going to let it flow naturally and not be forced into anything.

Yeah, that's exactly it! We just kind of write straight from the heart and if it's a nine minute program song then it works.

People are either against or for crowd funding it seems, what's your whole personal take on it?

I think it's a great thing for bands that need it. I've noticed that there are a lot of artists out there that do it when they are at a level where it's pretty obvious where they can afford to make their record themselves. I don't respect that because it kind of makes it more difficult for the smaller artists that can't afford to do an album when everything they're doing is being stacked up against other big artists. It's great for bands who need it to fund their record but for bands who don't, I think it's a bit wankish.

Well it seems there's a lot of ignorance on the fan part where they see people like Kevin Devine get over one-hundred thousand on his kick-starter and think, "oh he's rolling in it!" When in actual fact, it just goes straight to the record and doesn't really come back as profit. Do you agree with that?

Absolutely man, I think it is different for every artist as you don't know what they're going to be doing with the money. But for us, if we go over the limit, every cent will go into making the record; we will not be pocketing any cash. That's not what this is about. If we go over, it means we can put more money and time into the record. We actually set our target below the budget for the album so we can put in our own money. We are all working really hard and saving a lot of money to put into the record because we don't believe in relying on the fans entirely.

How were your shows with Anberlin this month?

They were fucking amazing! The crowd response was incredible. It was sad to be on a finale tour...again! (Laughs) Even if it wasn't our own, it was sad to see a rad band like Anberlin breakup. I wish them all the best and I can't wait to see what they do in the future. I think they are all individually talented people and I know they'll do great wherever they go. But it was sad to see them go.

So I do want to chat about the status you posted recently regarding your mental health issues if you are comfortable with that...

Of course man, absolutely.

Well there seems to be a lot of these statuses and these posts and open letters all about raising awareness around mental health. Yet it really doesn't seem to be going anywhere. People don't seem to get the message that they can talk about their feelings and that it's not a bad thing to have a mental illness. Are you seeing that too?

Definitely. That is just society's fault really that people don't take it seriously when you're not all there. It's very difficult to try and understand that someone would not have control over their own emotions and thoughts. But when you are there, it is fucking debilitating. It's unexplainable. I think people need to be more open to the fact that we all have our own issues and although it may not seem important to one person it means everything to another. I think we need to be make sure anyone who comes forward with a problem or is suffering something is accepted and loved and appreciated and that it's taken seriously.

The worst part is when you're "There" and you're not taken seriously and you feel like you're to blame for this. For someone just to blow it off and go "you'll be fine, just smile, drink water, exercise, you'll be fine". It's is not that simple.

There's still a lot of ignorance, even in the music scene where it's all supposed to be accepting and what not. Did you hear the statement Henry Rollins of Black Flag made about Robin Williams death?

No, I didn't actually.

Well he pretty much said that any parent who kills themselves doesn't have the right to as they're parents. He went on to say that if someone kills themselves then they are "out of his analogue world".

That's bullshit.

Yeah I just thought "what a douchebag".

Henry Rollins says some dumb shit. I've read a few of his things before and he seems pretty absorbed in himself. But that's really unfair. You cannot judge someone for taking their own life, you just can't.

I agree. Who are the people without depression or mental illness to try and understand it or try and judge it. Why do you think people still can't get the fact that they don't get it?

I guess they've just never been there. It's hard to gauge and even before I went through all of this shit I took it seriously and was always there to listen when someone came to me with their problems. I still couldn't put myself in their shoes and understand how someone could get to that point.

There's been a lot of statements recently about bands who almost reject the idea of their music saving people's lives. Do you think that the music industry, originally an outlet for these emotions and issues, has almost devalued them in a way?

Well yeah, it's hard to tell to differentiate between people saying these things to get attention and then people who legitimately mean it. But at the same time I think it is all just worth taking everyone seriously if they come forward with this stuff. Whether they mean it or not I don't think it is worth ever questioning.

Awesome man, thanks for your time today, looking forward to the album release.

Cheers man, much appreciated.

You can put your money towards 'Dark Horses' via this link.