A Conversation with Nick Seymour (continued)

PM: Now, since the band's so-called demise in '96--certainly it turns out to be premature—

NS: [laughs]

PM: --what had your creative life found you doing? What were you up to?

NS: I had moved from Melbourne to Dublin, Ireland, and took up residency in the city of Dublin, and sort of set up a studio with a couple of other guys. And I produced a band called Bell X1, which is the same name as the plane that broke the sound barrier. They have three albums out. I produced their first album. They're possibly the biggest band in Ireland right now in terms of popularity. They're a really good group. But they haven't broken outside of Ireland, particularly. They've had a bit of play on public radio out of Los Angeles, I know, and New York.

Anyway, I produced their first record. I produced a number of other bits and pieces that have been singles or four-tracks for bands, a track here, a track there. I've done film soundtracks, but nothing of great success in respect of the free market. I did a record for Universal Island last year, that's a combination of a lot of Irish artists, including The Thrills and The Frames and Bell X1.

PM: Right. And you're probably always painting.

NS: And I'm painting. I'm painting up a storm. I think I've got one in me right now.

PM: Wow.

[laughter]

PM: Yes. It's the beautiful creative life of the artist.

NS: Look, I pinch myself. Every morning I do. [laughs]

PM: Absolutely. What possesses a Melbourne guy to move to Dublin? What was the impetus there?

NS: I always wanted to live in Europe. And what's great about Ireland is they speak English and it's not England.

[laughter]

PM: All my grandparents are Irish, so I think that's funny.

[laughter]

NS: I'm not sure what the plan is. It's possible that one day I would move back to Australia. My girlfriend and I still haven't had children, and we're planning on that, and if we did there's a possibility of moving back to Australia for the support of the family and all that.

PM: Have you been together a long time?

NS: Yeah, we've been together about 10, 11 years.

PM: Wow. She's seen the whole deal.

NS: She's a little bit younger than me, so she's not banging on the door saying, "My clock is ticking."

PM: Exactly.

NS: "Fertilize that egg, you bastard!"

[laughter]

PM: Yeah, right.     continue

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