The Layman Preachers are back with their latest release, "I wanna be a bad man," and from the second it hits your speakers, that opening bass line sounds like the instrument cable was rolled in dirt and then plugged straight into the sound desk.We asked songwriter Corby Green a few questions to find out where that sound came from, and what the band did in the studio to make it so compelling.
"Oh boy! What a great description! I almost feel like we should first give you the backstory of the sound we were creating really started with the drums! We wanted the bass to sound big, fat and 'wooly' to really fit in the slot with the drum kit. The bass was plugged directly into the desk using a vintage amp from the Amplitube 4 plugin as our starting point. From there compression, a gentle chorus effect and a wide spread using 'Relay' by Izotope. This removes the 'down the centre' approach usually used on bass and spreads it out (much like you would hear it a few rows back in a club). EQ wise, we certainly roll off the top end definition while also rolling up the bottom end a bit too in order to leave space for the kick drum. Jason Bennett was our bass player for this number, and it cannot be understated just how much groove he brought to the track!"
The Layman Preachers has made it clear they wanted this track to sound like a big live venue bar rather than a tiny studio job, so we asked about the recording setup that gave them that open feel.
"During the development phase of the song, I chanced upon this remarkable three-piece American blues band on YouTube called Moreland and Arbuckle. In particular, a song called 'Tall Boogie' WOW! ...do yourselves a favour and have a listen!! I loved this song so much. Big sound, big energy...how were they doing it? What was I listening to. Firstly, it dawned on me that the drums did not sound 'close mic'd'. There was far more overhead or room mic sound on the kit than close mics. I started there, dropping the level on all the close mics and leaning more on the ambient. Huge effect! Similarly with the bass, less distinction to 'muffle' it a bit, some reverb to set the bass back a bit into the same sphere as the drums and it all starts sounding like you are in a big club room."
"I Wanna Be A Bad Man" stands out because the track surprises with a back-and-forth between the "bad man" and their partner who sees right through him. We asked Corby how they came up with the concept.
"Heather Armstrong and I (Corby Green) are the primary songwriters and several of our tunes have some interplay like this. I literally got the song idea in my sleep, jumped out of bed and started murmuring it into my phone! It took around 2 and a half years from inception to release and during that time the storyline and words developed, and then Heather happened to come in with the cocky/dismissive retorts to the main character's ambitions! It certainly went to the ridiculous before finally being sharpened and pared back to the dialogue you hear now."
Living and recording in regional Australia sometimes influences artists lyrics or sound. I asked Corby how North QLD has shaped The Layman Preachers.
"Heather and I began The Layman Preachers in 2022 after some years of performing in other folk style bands over the years. I always had the project in mind and so invited Heather to join me and off we went. There is some complications in trying to get a lot of musicians together to go and do gigs. Townsville is not a large city, so we all know each other, and some musicians are involved in two or three bands themselves. So, while it's easy to steal them away for recording sessions, co-ordinating a bigger outfit as a live band is harder to plan dates for. With our connections in the folk community, we literally were just performing acoustic versions of our material as a duo, then a four piece for festivals. Now, with 16 releases under our belts crossing quite a few genres, the next step for us is to bring a full 7-piece band together to start reproducing the actual arrangements we have recorded. It's a big leap for us, but with credibility established now, we feel this should be an easier goal moving forward and 2027 is the target."
There's also a subtle whiff of rhythm and blues in this track so we asked Corby how important those brass elements were in this recording and the band's overall sound.
"This has been our largest production number to date and the first song that has ventured into 'Big Band' territory. In saying this, brass has played a part in a lot of our songs, mainly trumpet and flugabone. Jason Curtis is the man behind these instruments and the flavor these bring to our sound is irreplaceable! On 'I Wanna Be a Bad Man', we had a guest musician in Marty O'Shiel who brought some saxophone into our tone pallet for the first time."
With players constantly rotating around the core duo of Heather and Corby, we wanted to know more about the instrumentalists who made their mark on the recording.
"There is no question that the biggest contributions to the track itself have come from the bass groove and that sax solo. Joel Wilson was integral in setting the drum groove while I handled guitar and piano. The impact of the bass and the low-fi vocals are absolute hooks from the beginning, but Marty's sax solo, which developed over two sessions and quite a few hours, is an absolute highlight. One other highlight for me was the 'Andrews Sisters' harmony that appears just briefly on the words 'Chicky Babes' during Heathers main retort. They are all Heather, but nailing the right intervals and balance took quite a bit of time to get it right on point, especially considering this style was certainly out of our wheelhouse. We broke a lot of ground for ourselves with this project."
As for what comes next, We asked The Layman Preachers how fans can stay up to date with the band and what is planned for the remainder of 2026.
"Although we have a presence on all the social platforms and YouTube, Facebook is still the primary platform to stay up to date with us. The remainder of 2026 will be in the studio doing our best to complete as many of the projects we have on the books that we can. 2027 will have a larger focus on getting the band out on the road and covering a bit more of the Queensland festival circuit."
Follow The Layman Preachers on Local Sounds
https://localsounds.com.au/artist/the-layman-preachers
SoundVerge Editorial
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