STEPHEN SACCO OF CROCODYLUS
Hi and thanks for taking the time out to speak with us at Musicology. Firstly congratulations on your latest single ‘Ghosts’. It is not only a fantastic track but has an equally amazing video clip. The serene cinematic opening belies the electricity of the tune and fly on the wall journey of the video which begs the question was there a strong story board for this concept or one that organically presented itself throughout the filming?
The story and creative direction mostly stemmed from an idea our great friend Jamieson Kerr had, who has done the ‘My Love’ and ‘My Baby’ film clip for us in the past. He brought the idea to the band to bounce ideas as a group and to build on his vision to which he then went away to write a proper script and storyboard for the final product you see in the video. It’s a great video and all the shoots were deliberately planned for different hours/times over a weekend to get the correct natural lighting and shots like the mist on the lake in the opening shot. Jamieson did a really great job and takes great care into his craft and vision.
Having released ‘My Love and ‘My Baby’ in 2018 and now ‘Ghosts’ in 2019, lyrically is a there a thread tying them altogether?
All three songs, as far as I know, have no connection between them and stand on their own lyrically. If someone one were to interpret a connection though, I’m all for finding individual meaning or relation in songs.
Are there times during your song writing that you already have some music semi fleshed out but what it is missing is the scenario (situation/instance/subject matter/love/tragedy) to occur for it to then meld perfectly with music?
Almost all the songs the band have written to date have come as semi-fleshed out compositions from one band member and is brought to the rest of the band to add their own respective magic to the song. Usually it is just the lyrics and chords/occasional riffs that are first introduced with additional melodies/solos/beats/instrumentation added later with the rest of the band.
You have performed with some real heavy weights of late including supporting the likes of Ocean Alley, Dune Rats, Hockey Dad and Psychedelic Porn Crumpets. You must have had a few wild times back stage with some of these guys, can you share a particularly memorable tour tale with us?
Haha yes, we’ve had many fun times on different respective tours, and some fun maybe better to keep off the record haha. As a band though, we prefer tours where each band is travelling either in the same big van as each other or within each other’s company for most of the way. We like making friends along our journey and travelling together makes you learn a lot about your other touring comrades and brings you closer, resulting in some great times and memories. Both the regional tour with Skegss and Totty in Dec 2017 and East Coast Tour with Los Tones in 2016 were tours travelled in a shared van with the other bands and on both tours we met each band for the first time upon hitting the road, so we were forced to form relationships that we still have to this day. It’s great.
During this time this time on the road and meeting / performing with so many amazing artists and individuals, have there been any insightful words spoken to you that really resonated with you and in turn altered the way you approach your craft?
You learn the tricks of the trade from other bands and also learn from both yours and their mistakes too. Everyone has had different experiences on the road in which you can help troubleshoot a problem for a newly touring band or a more experienced band can help you through situations you may have never come across before.
Known for your relentless touring, do you find being on the road inspirational which in turn provides new material to work with or are you so focused on that task at hand that writing / recording takes a back seat?
Absolutely it's inspirational for new material! Some tour stories or experiences can result in the lyrics for a song, or you might hear a band on tour that has a sound or style you like that you can mix into your own without stealing their craft and keeping it original. You may even discover new influences from the music someone else plays in the car that you may have never heard before. Always relish the times on the road because they prove to be the best times and you learn and gain from them a lot! Writing new stuff is something that is constant for us Crocs. I’m always noodling and writing lyrics at home anyway because it's what I love to do, same with the other fellas.
It is still early in the Crocodylus life cycle but how would you say your sound has developed between 2017’s 'Christian Syrups’ EP and now?
Yes it has developed quite some bit. We are more focused on writing longer songs nowadays and expanding on what we can add to a song. The Christian Syrups EP has great tracks on it, all hard and fast and short with simple riffs and chord driven songs. The stuff we write now focuses more on melody and we tend to play and explore more with dynamics within the layers of a tune. The release of ‘My Baby’ also showed that Crocs can play slow and have a softer side but also created an opening for us to showcase and explore other styles that aren’t just hard and fast.
