Jim Grey – Caligula’s Horse

Caligula’s Horse are one of my new absolute favourite bands. They took me completely by surprise with Bloom (my best album of 2015). Last year was a big one for the band, supporting both Opeth, Mastodon and TesseracT in Australia, but also Shining on a massive European tour in the autumn/winter. The band is about to embark on a headliner tour back home in Australia, starting this weekend in Gladstone. I phoned up vocalist Jim Grey to have a chat about touring, current/future releases and Ne Obliviscaris’ Patreon campaign, just to name a few of the topics we managed to cover.

I started this interview with asking Jim how things are going currently, since they’ve had a break from playing shows, and if he’s excited to get back out on the road.

“Oh yeah man, I was talking about this with a mate the other day. It’s really interesting doing this massive European tour, more shows than we’ve ever played, first time leaving Australia, and all it’s done is sort of make me want to come and play a headline show in Brisbane, I just want to come home and play with my people. We’ve had a really busy year of supporting other bands, it’s been great, we’ve played with Opeth and Mastodon, but there’s nothing like playing for your own people. Pretty much I can’t wait to get back on the road and play for some Aussies, they’re our people!”

Are you bringing any new merch with you on the tour? 

“We’ll have Bloom and all our other albums on sale, and also Bloom on LP, for those who like to collect that kind of thing. And I’m not sure about shirts, we may have something in the works, I’m generally the wrong guy to ask about this because the business side of things is usually kept out of my hands, with good reason! [laughs] We will definitely have some merch available, so come along and buy some stuff. Send us home with money in our pocket!” [laughs]

2015 was a difficult year for all of Europe. Caligula’s Horse was pretty much caught in the middle of events that can otherwise seem pretty far away for us over here in Australia. What was the European tour actually like? Mixed feelings? 

“Unfortunately I was kind of saddened just by nature of things in the world at the moment, particularly as a response to the refugee crisis, and it was interesting to see the different countries’ responses to the refugee crisis in action. For the first half we were on the tour bus, it’s touring, it’s what you do. You feel like a rock star, you get no sleep, you play show after show. Everything got very real when we reached Italy. There was a riot in Bologna that we were sort of caught up in. There was some sort of political leader who’s a bit of fascist and came out against the refugees and a lot of people came out against him. And then of course, later on the attacks in Paris happened when we were about three days out from Paris then. While being over there and meeting all our fans, the European tour was an amazing experience, but it’s not one we’re walking away from without some scarring.”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNIP5LPuLHo&w=560&h=315]

The show in Paris was something that I had been anxious to talk about. I believe that most people, anywhere in the world, still remember the attacks like it was yesterday. With that in mind, I can’t even begin to imagine what it must have felt like to take the stage in the very same city just a couple of days later. The song Firelight from the latest album Bloom is a very emotional song, and I also wondered what it felt like to perform it in Paris. 

“We were rolling into Paris that morning, by the time we stepped off the bus it just felt like Paris, the people of Paris are very brave, walking around with their heads high. That was a really cool experience. Before the show I, in particular, was quite worried and the other guys, they at least kept it from me how they were handling it. Then you have a moment with yourself before the show and you go: “alright, if you die when you’re up there, that’s what you’ve always said that you were going to do.” And we get up on stage, and there was nothing but positivity in the room, the people were very supportive, and not angry. They weren’t there in a spirit of malevolence or vengeance, they were there with an open mind and ready to walk the path with love. And you mentioned Firelight, I gave a little speech beforehand. Dedicating that song to those that we’ve lost and all of them were there to celebrate that with me and to remember people in a possible light. It’s an experience I’ll never forget.”

Did you find any new inspirations for your next album on this trip?

“I don’t know, I tend not to write from my own personal experience in a literal sense. Of course, you take in from your surroundings and experiences, so I’m sure in some way when Sam and I are writing in the next six months or so, and working on new material, of course our experiences will help shape that music, but I don’t think there’ll be anything that’s directly relatable to our experiences.”

Bloom is a very unique album, mixing a sense of happiness and life with gloomier elements. Was it a difficult album to write at all? Jim also became a father last year, surely that must have affected his song writing on some level? 

“I think you’re definitely right about the latter part. The first part, not so much. We were incredibly inspired, we had a mission statement that we decided on very early in the process, we stuck true to that. We wanted to create that colourful and celebratory sound, not in a virtually happy way, because a bit of melancholy and bittersweet is just as much a part of the human experience as anything else. We didn’t really want to linger in that self-involved forced darkness that happens with metal. “It’s got to be grim!” I didn’t want to participate in that. I think you’re right, I think that was directly related to me becoming a dad. I also lost a friend at the time and it was kind of a great change in my life and I just found myself overwhelmed with sadness whenever I thought about writing music that would make people sad and I didn’t want to be part of that. So yeah, it was actually the easiest and most efficient song writing process we’ve ever taken part in.”

Caligula’s Horse are signed to independent German label InsideOut Music. The label is home to prog legends such as Devin Townsend and Pain of Salvation. I wanted to know if they had any input regarding the creation of Bloom at all. 

“None whatsoever. InsideOut’s mission statement, I think it’s important to note this, because I want people to know how good they are, as a label, they’re entirely based around progressive music. It’s less part of the commercial music industry. As a result of that we have no suits coming into the production or writing process going like: “hey, could you maybe add another chorus or something?!” None of that, ever. They’re really good about it and very, very cool people. It’s a fantastic label and I’m happy to be involved with them. I’ve been a Devin Townsend since forever, and just to think that we’re signed to the same label, it still makes me feel like it’s a dream from which I cannot wake.”

Next up was my fanboy moment/question of the evening. If you’ve listened to Bloom in the past you will most likely know what I’m talking about here. The transition from the first track, Bloom, into Marigold is etched into my memory. It is what caught my attention in the very beginning, and I can still not get enough of it. I had to ask Jim how they came up with this transition.

“We had pieces of those songs, there were two bits that was written as almost one kind of piece. Bloom ended up being quite separate from Marigold in tone, so it’s not just one big, long song. They’re related to each other but not the same, so they were written as two songs, but it was designed to have that connection with the single snare straight into Marigold. We found that very exciting. It was a very deliberate decision to have Marigold as a pre-released track for the album, so that people who are a familiar with the tune, when they put on the whole album, Marigold takes them by surprise. And that way we get to play them together live as well, which is exciting.”

I was hoping you would say that about playing them live…

[laughs] “You’ll just have to see what happens I guess!”

Speaking of that, do you know yet what kind of setlist you’ll be bringing out? 

“I’m not going to spoil anything! But we’re definitely going to mix it up. We’ve been looking forward to headlining our shows again. It gives you a bit more freedom, because you’re not trying to portray yourself in a certain way to an audience of another band. We also get to play a longer set, so we can play some of the longer songs. It’s going to be a nice mix of all albums.”

The first stop of the band’s upcoming tour is in Gladstone this weekend, where they are headlining El Grande Festival. I mentioned that while I’m not familiar with every band, there seem to be quite a few ones from Brisbane. I asked Jim if he knew any of them personally. 

“Yeah, one in particular. I’m good mates with the guys in Osaka Punch. They’ve been one of my favourite bands in Australia for the better part of a decade. One of my former project, Arcane’s first shows was with the guys from Osaka Punch in their previous incarnation, The Kidney Thieves, and that was something in like 2005, a long time ago. They put on one of the most exciting live shows that you can see in Australia, so I’m absolutely stoked. We haven’t had the chance to share the stage with them as Caligula’s Horse yet, so it’s really awesome that they’ll be there. I’m sure the turnout will be fantastic. Usually when you play places like Gladstone, or even Canberra, you might get a smaller crowd, but the people are really excited to be coming seeing your show, I’m looking forward to seeing all the people in Gladstone, and it’ll be a great day!”

After this tour, which will be going on for a good chunk of April, to an outsider the calendar looks pretty empty for Caligula’s Horse. What’s next?

“It’s going to be a busy year for sure. It’s not going to be the biggest year in terms of touring for us, at the moment the focus is going to be writing. There’ll be plenty of stuff for people to listen to over the next year, I’m not give away too much, but it’ll be a good time!”

As we’re nearing the end of our interview I wanted to take some time to discuss Ne Obliviscaris’ announcement regarding their Patreon Campaign. It is something that have divided fans and musicians near and far. I for one can’t understand all the negativity whatsoever, something that Jim and I have in common. 

“I think it’s fantastic. Tim sort of pioneered the whole thing with Ne Obliviscaris. He’s a strong business thinker, a great musician and a wonderful dude. One of my favourite people in Australia, I love him. His idea, I think it’s perfect for Ne Obliviscaris, just because of their dedicated fan base. You really need to be an established band in terms of having a support network for it to work in that way. Hopefully it’s a way forward for a lot of bands in the future.”

I read somewhere that Jim is studying Latin. I found this really interesting, and I wanted to finish our chat by asking him if he would ever consider writing a song entirely in the language.

[laughs] “Probably not, no! Purely because I’m not very good at it! I think, this is very important to us, the idea of Caligula’s Horse is taking progressive music and adding that focus on song writing in order to communicate a message more effectively. I find that progressive music in general makes things unnecessarily complex. I know it’s kind of a jokey thing with the latin song, but it really does tie in with what we’re doing, I want people to feel the way I’m feeling, I want people to understand exactly what I’m talking about.”

Tickets are on sale now via Wild Thing Presents, Oztix, and the venues.

Saturday, March 12: El Grande Festival, Gladstone*

Thursday, April 7: Jive, Adelaide

Friday, April 8: Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne

Saturday, April 9: Amplifier, Perth

Thursday, April 14: The Pier, Port Macquarie*

Friday, April 15: Oxford Art Factory, Sydney

Saturday, April 16: The Basement, Canberra

Sunday, April 17: The Small Ballroom, Newcastle

Saturday, April 23: The Zoo, Brisbane

*Chaos Divine not appearing

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