Lucy Fitzgerald 
Q: Hi! So Alex, for anyone who’s just discovering you — how did Quiet as a Mouse come to be, and where does that name even come from?
A: Quiet as a Mouse came out of the ashes of The Seven Deadly Sins my original band/project/alias (which I still record and release music under). At the time in 2012 it felt like I had moved on from the punk rock n roll rawness of The Seven Deadly Sins and I wanted to move forward with a more mature indie, alternative rock and emo direction, which was Quiet as a Mouse. The name comes from a number of reasons, one that I’ve not shared before is; when I was living in Edinburgh in an old flat we had mice (quite common in Edinburgh in the old flats). And it was horrible, I’d never experienced it before but the mouse/mice would wake me up in the middle of night chewing on the bottom of my wooden bed posts…the noise is creepy and would freak me out being woken up by it. Before this experience I thought mice looked cute, but the reality of them is not cute! haha
Q: You’ve lived in so many places — London, Edinburgh, Adelaide, Hobart, and now Brisbane. Do you think all that moving shaped the kind of music you make, or is it something you don’t really think about?
A: I don’t really think about it too much with my music, but it will have shaped my music and songwriting for sure. Its definitely shaped me as a person too. Its wasn’t always easy moving so much and the constant change, but I look back and am grateful to have lived in lots of different places.
Q: When you sit down to write, are you someone who starts with a feeling or a melody, or does it tend to come from a specific moment or story?
A: I really only go into writing with a few lyrical ideas (sometimes a few chords I’ve found which I like) and I look for interesting chords, lyrics, timings and melodies from there. I try to let the feelings and emotions come naturally without too much thought.
Q: You’ve got this reputation for honest, quite raw lyrics — is that something you consciously go for, or does it just kind of come out that way?
A: It comes out naturally. I think because its part of my personality, to not be afraid of emotional and honest conversations and communication when its needed. Another reason is probably some of my favourite songwriters are also really honest and raw.
Q: Your vocals get compared to Dave Grohl and Neil Young — two pretty iconic voices. Do comparisons like that sit well with you, or is it a bit weird to hear?
A: Its lovely for anyone to write about my music, review it or to speak to me about who me or the band might sound like. But I’ve honestly heard so many different comparisons over the years, some completely wild ones too! haha…my honest opinion is that my vocals sound like me and I don’t think they sound much like any other singers, I don’t mean that in an arrogant or cocky way, I’m far from the best singer, what I mean is that I like that I sound like myself.
Q: You’ve worked with some seriously heavy hitters — Liam Watson, who did Elephant with The White Stripes, and Marcus Mackay who worked with Frightened Rabbit. What did those experiences teach you about making records?
A: Yeah it was a total pleasure working with both Liam and Marcus, they were really good guys and helped those early recordings a lot. I remember Liam was the one who said we have to start the song ‘British Flag’ with the chorus, which was 100% the right decision. I learned a lot from both and the experiences gave me additional confidence in the studio and with my songwriting. Liam only works with tape and equipment from the 1950’s and 1960’s, which was something totally new for me and along with his experience from ‘Elephant’ was the main reason I wanted to work with him. Marcus was also really sensitive to the songs and arrangements and did a great job on songs such as ‘Home Is The Hardest Place To Find’ and ‘Casketcase’.
Q: Two new tracks just dropped on YouTube — ‘Cocaine Soul’ and ‘From…To…’ — they feel like two pretty different sides of the record. Can you tell us a bit about where those songs came from?
A: ‘Cocaine Soul’ is an older song I wrote while I was living in Edinburgh. The verses are off kilter mini stories held together by a big and brash rock n roll chorus. ‘From…To…’ is a gentle song which is part romantic and part sad, where I’m looking back before I move forward. Its one of the most intimate and honest songs I’ve written.
Q: ‘Cocaine Soul’ is a pretty bold title — what’s the story behind it, and were you ever tempted to play it safe and call it something else?
A: The idea for the title actually came from listening to the Bright Eyes album ‘Cassadaga’ its a lyric he’s uses in one of the songs. I have sometimes thought to myself should I play it safe…I remember with ‘British Flag’ for instance but if you can’t take risks and be fully unfiltered in music, then I don’t see the point in it. I personally get really turned off by how boring and safe a lot of modern music is and how a lot of it says very little in its songs and lyrics.
Q: You’ve been at this for a while now — supporting bands like Hinds, Palma Violets, The Big Moon — what does the live side of things mean to you compared to the studio side?
A: Honestly playing live while you are an emerging act without a team behind you, for me, is either amazing or gut wrenchingly difficult. What I mean is when I’ve played to 50 – 500 people its often so much fun and exciting. When you play to below 10 people on a Tuesday night, its one of the worst feelings I’ve had doing music. For this and other reasons I much prefer being in the studio. The songwriting and collaborating, finishing of songs/recordings and releases are my favourite parts of doing music.
Q: The debut album was actually funded by the Scottish Government, which is a pretty unusual story — how did that come about?
A: It was a great opportunity and I’m very grateful for the funding I received from the Scottish Government (Creative Scotland) to record the debut album. I became aware of the funding opportunity through Creative Scotland and I applied and was lucky enough to be granted funding support.
Q: The new album ‘Nostalgia is fine…but…’ is out 29 May — the title alone raises a lot of questions. What’s the “but…” about? What are you pushing back against?
A: I think people looking back too much and not pushing forward enough. We all do it and fight against it, the brave thing is to move and push forward. My opinion is we should learn from the past but not live in the past. I could go on but modern society, culture and art, led my business, is too stuck in nostalgia for the simple reason of an easy way and risk free way to make money and for people to feel comfortable, that often lacks depth and staying power.
Q: So once the album’s out in the world on the 29th, what does the rest of the year look like for you — are you hitting the road, getting back in the studio, or something else entirely?
A: Quiet as a Mouse is a studio project at the moment, so no plans for live shows. I will take a bit of a break and then probably quickly come to writing the 3rd album.
Listening to songs so you don’t have to! Just kidding :D, you totally should. Music blogger by day, nurse by night
