Earthless: A dream come true

By BRIAN GIFFIN

WHEN he connects to the chat, Earthless guitarist Isiah ‘Izzy’ Mitchell is out for a stroll on what seems to be a clear summer day in his home of San Diego, a place that, among other things, is very well known for its craft beer industry.

“There’s so many microbreweries here,” Mitchell confirms. “It’s one of the most populated areas for that, for sure. There’s a million different beer companies in southern California, for sure.”

Without too much further ado, the subject then turns to the matter at hand: the trio’s impending return to Australia in September. The band has a long love affair with this country.

“We love Australia so much,” says Mitchell. “It’s one of our favourite places to travel to, and Australian shows and Australian crowds are always so awesome.”

This time their visit will be even more special than usual. Along with a headlining appearance at Blacken Open Air, Earthless will be featuring at a special performance at Uluru two days after the festival. It is a site that has inspired the band’s music directly, in the shape of their 14-minute epic “Uluru Rock” from 2015’s equally monumental From the Ages.

Until now, however, none of them have had a chance to actually visit.

“It’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to go to. I haven’t been to Australia outside of a tour. It’s always been because of touring. It’s just worked out that way, and I haven’t come out for holidays before or after a tour, or anything like that. It just hasn’t worked out. I’ve always wanted to go to Uluru. The deep spiritual significance to the Aborigine people is huge, and it can be felt from over here, too. It’s so iconic. It’s a dream come true. Out of all the geographical sites across the planet, that’s high up there on the list of those I’ve wanted to visit. It’s massive.”

Massive barely evokes the incredible vastness and majesty of Uluru and the area around it. If you’ve been there, it’s difficult to describe. For those who’ve yet to visit, it’s impossible to gauge the magnitude and deep spirituality of the place. Mitchell has an inkling, but he’s keen for the complete experience

“I can’t wait. I can just imagine, you’re on this vast, flat land and out in the distance you see, for some reason, this gigantic hill or rock comes out of the flat ground and there’s nothing else around it. It sounds amazing, and the spiritual significance to the Aboriginal people is something very special and it’s something I just want to learn more, and talk with them and just be in their world.”

Sites such as the Black Hills of Dakota and Wyoming’s Devils Tower have similar spiritual significance for the Native Americans, Mitchell points out, but “on an overall scale, there’s nothing else that’s like Uluru”. He reiterates the band’s excitement at their chance to visit a location so sacred and inspirational.

“I’ve been telling people it’s a dream come true, but a dream I never knew I’d have. To, let alone go to Uluru, but being invited to perform our music there, to perform our song ‘Uluru Rock’, which is our love for Australia and the Aboriginal culture and the spirituality or the continent. To be invited to go to that place – of all places – is that holiest of the holies. It’s an immense honour. I’m already looking at it as the pinnacle of musical opportunities. I was told we could come a day or two early and spent time with the custodians of the land and talk and learn. It’s a wonderful thing. I’m just super excited.”

The honour was bestowed on them by the organisers of the Blacken Festival, and it was “an incredibly hard thing to say no to,” Mitchell admits. “Just the opportunity – I wouldn’t let it go.”

To clinch the deal, however, they had to get around one minor hiccup – Earthless needed to square it with their regular Australian agent.

Not only were they OK with it, they agreed to book a tour around the Central Australia dates. It wasn’t even contingent with them having a new album or, in fact, any recent material at all.

“A lot of promoters today are all over the place – ‘Oh you’ve gotta have a new record…’ For us, that’s a bunch of bullshit because we’re a live band and it doesn’t really make a difference.
Fortunately, we’re in a position now where we can play an album from 20 years ago and it works out well that way, for us.”

Since this interview was conducted, the band has added two further shows to their Aussie roster, giving even more of us a chance to catch them, and for them to see more of Australia.

“All that way and playing 12 shows versus playing two, that’s just better,” Mitchell decrees. “And we get to see a lot of our friends and hang out in Australia, which is a humongous plus. So it was great that DRW was on board to make it expand, and everyone’s happy.”

FESTIVAL TICKETS
TOUR TICKETS

EARTHLESS AUSTRALIAN TOUR
SEPTEMBER 9: The Northern, Byron Bay
SEPTEMBER 10: Crowbar, Brisbane
SEPTEMBER 11: Crowbar, Sydney
SEPTEMBER 12: Corner Hotel, Melbourne
SEPTEMBER 13: Theatre Royal, Castlemaine
SEPTEMBER 14: Barwon Club, Geelong
SEPTEMBER 18: Rosemount Hotel, Perth
SEPTEMBER 20: Blacken Open Air, Ross River Resort
SEPTEMBER 23: Shadow of Uluru, Uluru