Peter Moses (President Street) – The Necessary Facts

A new act for you to meet, with an intriguing video featuring an actress from the series Wentworth and for the full lowdown we ran these questions past mainman Peter Moses…

What happened to you in Hong Kong?

Hong Kong is where music really took over my life. I jumped up on stage one night after a few drinks and started playing congas with a Latin band – I had never played or had a music lesson in my life and I had a blast. Afterwards the drummer came up to me to ask where I was gigging around town and when he found out I’d never played before he insisted I learn. The rest is history!

How was the act name President Street selected?

President Street is the name of the street that I grew up in in Kewdale in Perth, WA. It’s a little suburb right under the airport – most people fly over it or just keep driving straight past it!

Your songs seem to paint pictures….is it a Dylan or even Peter Gabriel influence maybe? And do you actually paint?

Thanks! I’m really keen on trying to achieve that when I write and, yeah definitely Peter Gabriel is an influence but I think Prince is probably my biggest influence to be honest.

No I have no talent at all for painting unfortunately!

Any favourite stage instruments/stage gear? Reasons for choices?

I have an 80’s cherry red Japanese tele that I love. I know its dumb but I got it cos I loved the look and feel of it so much but it was pretty rough so we’ve had to put a lot of time into it to get it up to scratch. I can’t put it down now tho!

Is there a book or novel that you would like to provide music for, if filmed? What styles would you utilise?

I’m not much of a reader but I am a fan of Tim Winton. I really like his grittiness and I hear his new book ‘The Shepherd’s Hut’ is brutal and compelling – I can’t wait to read it. I reckon I would def try to keep it as raw and honest as possible and approach it with similar styling as ‘Need You Now’.

The vocal on Need You Now is haunting, beautiful….what do you have in mind to develop this sound?

Funny, I originally wrote this song on an acoustic guitar but I realised that it didn’t bring out the emotion that I was trying to convey. So, I stripped it right back to vocals only and then built it out again from there. I started by making the beats and then layered the guitars and keys. It was such a strong vocal performance and I had a really strong focus on making sure we didn’t let the music get in the way.

How did you meet Peter Nathan?

I was talking to my friend Kate (Kate Jenkinson from Wentworth) about making the clip and she suggested that, rather than go to a production company, why don’t we find an up-and-coming director from Victorian College of the Arts here in Melbourne. I thought it was a great idea so I reached out to them and I put together a brief. A bunch of the grads pitched us their ideas. We loved Pete’s vision for the clip and he is such an honest and creative talent so we chose him. We love it!

Suggest a song we might enjoy by a/ Cold Chisel b/ Radio Birdman and c/ Mahalia Barnes

I love “Breakfast at Sweethearts” by Cold Chisel;

I don’t know much about Radio Birdman but “Smith & Wesson Blues” is def cool;

Check out Mahalia Barnes’ version of “Never Loved A Man”

When you write songs, do you start with keyboards, guitar or…. ?

It actually changes for every song. Some start with lyrics first and then I try to translate them to a sound whereas others start on keys or guitar.

I really take a 2-step approach as I figure the song’s foundation really needs to be strong first and foremost in terms of melody, rhythm and musicality. If it is, then it usually allows us to be flexible in terms of which direction we take it from a production perspective. ‘Need You Now’ starting its life on the acoustic guitar is a good example of that process.

Where in the world is the best place to perform, in your experience

I actually really love the Espy here in St. Kilda in Melbourne. Its on the beach and its been the home of Aus music forever. So many amazing artists have come up through the place and I love just looking around thinking about who has played on that stage through the years.

Which of your own songs would you suggest as a duet for Suzanne Vega and Iggy Pop? Who would be in the band? Dream a little!

Wow, what a question! That’s an amazing combo to start with. They’re both really earnest performers but so different so I reckon I’d go with “Yeah I Know”. I’d let Suzanne start in the contemplative part of the song at the beginning and let Iggy take over where the emotion moves to anger towards the end.

I honestly wouldn’t want to replace any of the PS band but it’d be a dream (literally now) to have Prince do a guitar solo to see where he’d go with it!

Do you collaborate on songwriting, ever?

Absolutely. I work every track with my friend DC and a couple of the songs on our Involuntary Actions EP were a total collab.

Your nomination of the best movie credits song tune……I love the Hendrix start of The Dreamers

I love the big band vibe that they played over the credits of The Incredibles. Just perfect – and those horns!

Please describe your current home town in five words

Hipster, coffee-crazy, vibey, urban, creative

Who did you see ‘live’ that really surprised you?

I was lucky enough to catch George Clinton in a small club in Amsterdam a number of years ago. Amazing 4 and1/2 hour show and he had 17 people on stage who all rotated out – so I figured he had 34 musos on tour with him! The whole gig was so free and creative – he didn’t come out himself until about 45 mins into the show.

Which of your songs find you at your most a/ reflective b/ sad and c/ rocking?

A. IGK

B. This Day

C. Gotta Move On

The radio is on, what would you cross the room to turn UP? And what would you cross the room to turn DOWN?

Definitely turn up “The Middle” by Zedd – love that track. I’ve tried but I can’t get my head around heavy metal so I’d be turning that down.

Name two records by any artist with great drum intro’s ( NOT Superstition!)

‘Sympathy For The Devil’ by the Stones and ‘Little Red Corvette’ by Prince.

What song reminds you most of your childhood?

“You Shook Me All Night Long” by ACDC. They were a staple in Kewdale and that song is so timeless I bet it still is.

What are your hopes for your new single?

I hope primarily to connect with people and find a group of people who like it. I think the workings of the music industry are so hard to get your head around, so I try to keep it simple – I try to write the best song I can and hope that people will dig it!

Pete Sargeant