ChitChat - With Birthday Raven
INTERVIEW BY: JADE GUIDA
I think for most of my youth, minorities were my majority. It was just the norm. All my cousins are “Half” Something. None of us look anything alike. My mum is Lebanese and my dad is Italian. You wouldn’t look at me, then my Jamaican/Lebanese cousin, and pick us for relatives. No one looks at my mum, with her fair skin and perfect Australian accent, and knows that Arabic drips from her tongue in fluent waves.
Growing up in a family where no one really looks like you is a weird experience. I think it sheltered me for a long time from the reality of privilege, access, and representation. It wasn’t until I was in my teens that I understood the depth of the microaggressions we all had suffered. The comments, the assumptions. The slurs people thought were ok because they assumed I, with my fair skin and almost Anglo-Saxon features, was ‘just white’. It wasn’t until my 20s that I started to really consider how privilege had shaped my life. I have had friends say something racist and when I would call it out, I would be met with “Oh, but you are basically white”. I will never feel the full force of Racist White Australia, because despite my heritage, I look the way I do.
My Friends Hells, Adrian, Ed and Karina have been ongoing sources of strength for me. They constantly inspire me to be better. These four people are always showing up in both big and small ways. They live their passion and it is present in everything they do.
That was what first caught my eye with Birthday Raven. From their music to their social media posts, they are showing up. They are engaging with relevant and important social issues. Their music is quick, punchy and their messages are clear.
When I was writing the questions for this interview, I’m not sure what I was expecting. Did they know what they stood for or was it a front?
Whatever my expectation, Pat exceeded them tenfold. I am probably lucky that they opted for a written interview. If I had received these answers verbally, I would have been rendered speechless for the first time in my life. It is easy to feel lost when it comes to issues in our community, especially those that don’t touch us personally. The way Pat addresses this in the interview is eloquent and well considered. Beyond the music, there is a warmth about this bands affinity to talking about social justice.
Check the interview below. Follow Birthday Raven on socials. Go to a show, buy a T-shirt and in the spirit of Birthday Raven inspired social rage, go to a Rally and get involved in the community in any way you feel you can.
I guess right up, first question has got to be where did the band name come from?
It’s quite simple an anagram of our names, Ryan, Pat and Mike
You have very quickly established yourself as a band rooted in social values, I follow your Instagram and I’ve been to a show and you make it very clear where you stand on political issues. I guess I am interested in knowing how social issues inform and inspire your sound?
Punk has always been political, we don’t have an issue with bands singing songs about other topics but for us there wasn’t even an option, we are angry at the current system and we love being able to channel out anger and frustration into something we are proud to put out into the world.
You have a few songs out. What can you tell us about them?
Well we have 2 releases, our first demo and more recently we released a 5 track ep called “solid block of Nonsense”. Most of our songs are short, fast and to the point. We all share in the writing process and together have put out 9 songs that we are all pretty proud of.
What can people expect from you guys when they come to a show?
Well I don’t like to blow my own horn too much so I’d have to say that you should just come and see for yourself!
I’s say your music sits in the genre of Punk. Punk is very often stereotyped in terms of both look and sound. I think for me, Punk is more about that rebellion of thought and activism. Do you consider yourself a punk band? Or activists? Or Both?
We are 100% a punk band, we always set out to be a shitty punk band and not much more. I wouldn’t go so far as to call us activists, that feels like taking something away from the people who really get out there and do the work, organize rallies, and campaign and so much more. We support activists.
I caught your set at Frankie’s last time you played, I heard you talk about the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. There have been 450 deaths since that time. As society I think it’s fair to say there is an element of desensitization to human injustice, to numbers and statistics like this. That is starting to change, we are starting to see more interest and more traction, and I think as a Generation we are trying to better grapple with these bigger social issues. Why is this such an important issue for you as a band?
When we played that gig the number was a 474+ since then it has risen again. Why is this such an important issue for us? Because people are dying. The genocide is continuing. The question is why isn’t this an important issue for everyone? We are pleading with people to look at what is happening and to be angry with us, be upset with us. People are dying needlessly simply because of the colour of their skin, on their own land, away from their families. This is not ok, this has never been ok and the only way for it to stop is for white people to stand up against it, to turn to black leadership and say that we stand behind all indigenous peoples and use our white privileges for good, to put a stop to this unending genocide. White silence is violence and we will not be silent until we see change.
Do you have any favorite indigenous artists or creatives?
Personally I’m a huge fan of Adam Briggs and Trials both for their work as A.B Original and also their individual projects. There is also an artist knows as Coffin Birth who does incredible artwork that I just love! Another hip hop artist that I really love is Barkaa, she’s put out some incredible songs and seeing her live was a truly moving experience
I go to a lot of gigs and I do find that in the alternative space a lot of all white male lineups, and by extension predominately white crowds. Is there anything you do as a band? Or think we can do as a music community to increase the diversity?
This is something we as a band have pretty openly discussed a bit. We definitely fit in the cis white male band category and are very aware of that. We are of course trying to make sure that we offer a safe and inclusive space for any and everyone but there definitely could be more done to encourage a more diverse crowd And I think that starts with creating more diverse line ups with indigenous / female members
I see you guys post about social and political issues, it’s thematic through your music, I have seen on Instagram stories that you as a band attend rallies. You are taking steps beyond writing and playing music to support causes. In your opinion, is writing music in isolation token activism, do bands who want to speak on these topics need to do more? Do you have any advice for bands wanting to be more supportive and active in community initiatives and issues?
Not at all, we can’t say what is and isn’t an acceptable level of activism, if someone’s way of being active is my writing music and using their platform to raise awareness of social issue then that’s brilliant! They don’t owe it to anyone to have to do more. We could all do more than we currently are and that’s up to us as individuals to decide what we can give of ourselves to help. In terms of advice, I’d say just go out and talk to people, whether that’s online or going to a rally and just talking to other people there, there is always events, meetings and gatherings where people get together to talk about these issue.
If you had to create your ideal lineup of bands, who would be on that?
Definitely our favourite band and biggest influence would be Tørsö so to play a show with them if they come to Australia would be an absolute dream! As far as locally goes we are really loving Sydney band ‘Dip' at the moment and hope to play a show with them sometime soon!
