It’s people like Snouts bassist leapin’ leading man, Ross McLennan that are respounsible for keeping the classic guitar band sound alive. Snout seem intent on portraying an original Australian image, so I asked Ross what he thinks that might be as we approach the millennium in this decade of Americanisation and Regurgitation. 
 
Ross: I don’t know, it’s all sounding global at the moment, as it has been for most of this century, really. So for anyone to have an Australian image is indefinable really. We did this Rolling Stone thing “What it is to be Australian” and the kind of things people were talking about were really interesting. Like I just don’t know if it’s something you should expend a lot of time thinking about. As long as you’re expressing yourself, obviously you’re the sum of your parts. But at the same time, you don’t want to. For example, continue to sound and pretend that your American, that’s the other end of the deal, and to go to that extreme is obviously pretty dodgy. 

Phat: No more than you want to try to sound too Australian, I suppose? 
Ross: Exactly, that’s where I’m coming from. 

Phat: So what first influenced you early on? 
Ross: The kind of stuff I grew up liking was like, The Beatles and a lot of that American and English stuff and Australian stuff like the Easybeats too. But really as a youngster I didn’t know what country these bands came from. I was indoctrinated from a really young age into that kind of music from relative and stuff. So that’s the foundation of where I’m coming from, but I’m basically interested in anything that is moving and works and is honest. 

Phat: Do you listen to many contemporary releases? 
Ross: I’m not a big record buyer. I’ve got a strange sort of way of finding music. I listen to a lot of Op-shop records, when I’m searching for samples and stuff and I’ll end up hitting on something in that way that I’ll be fond of. It takes a lot for me to get into any one band that comes along, I don’t trust them, which is pretty stupid, but it’s my problem I guess. 

Phat: So if you weren’t a member, would you trust Snout? 
Ross: I like what we do, suffice to say that’s one of the reasons. I’m making the kind of music, that I’d like to be hearing, which combines a lot of different elements. If I listen to an album, I normally like only a couple of songs from it. So for me, writing is like making a mixed tape of my favourite songs. I’m not trying to imitate, it’s just the way I express myself. 

Snout are touring this month in support of their new album “Circle High and Wide” released last week. Pick up the album and catch these guys live at a date near you soon. 

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