Byron Shire Echo 29 June 2010
Having released their album ‘Times Like These’ late last year, the music Bill Jacobi and Frank Corby make together has been described as an amalgamation of roots, folk, heartland rock and hillbilly funk; but to really get the picture there is nothing like seeing them live. Collectively know as Method, they have been keeping a long distance musical relationship alive for the better part of a decade, over the coarse of three albums and hundreds of gigs. With Frank (drums and vocals) hailing from the Blue Mountains and Bill (guitar and vocals) firmly ensconced in the Tweed hinterland, the miles between have not dampened their enthusiasm for making music together.
Times of their Life
Having released their album ‘Times Like These’ late last year, the music Bill Jacobi and Frank Corby make together has been described as an amalgamation of roots, folk, heartland rock and hillbilly funk; but to really get the picture there is nothing like seeing them live. Collectively know as Method, they have been keeping a long distance musical relationship alive for the better part of a decade, over the coarse of three albums and hundreds of gigs. With Frank (drums and vocals) hailing from the Blue Mountains and Bill (guitar and vocals) firmly ensconced in the Tweed hinterland, the miles between have not dampened their enthusiasm for making music together.
Both live and on record, Method’s music is firmly planted in the groove but one also senses a reverence for the story, with songs that reflect the joys and perils of everyday life set against the backdrop of the extra-ordinary times in which we live.
Martin Jones Rhythms Magazine January 2010
Those fortunate enough to reside in the Byron Bay area will most likely have seen the duo Method playing at one of their local venues. Drummer frank Corby and guitarist Bill Jacobi have developed quite a pub act, performing stripped down cover of great roots songs by the likes of Gillian Welch and Lucinda Williams. But they also write and record original music, this being their third album together.
That said, a couple of those covers have made their way onto Times Like These: ‘Sign Of Love’ by Shane Howard and ‘Another Girl Another Planet’ by The Only Ones. Corby’s two compositions, ‘Communion’ and ‘Moonya’ are a little darker and rhythmically heavier than Jacobi’s- they actually remind me of Hunters and Collectors for some reason.
Of the remaining Jacobi compositions, moody opening track ‘Wind In The Rushes’ and jaunty slide guitar rocker ‘No Invitation’ are highlights,
Byron Shire Echo July 21
They say long distance relationships never work, but that’s not always true. For Frank Corby and Bill Jacobi of Method, distance has made the music grow fonder in a partnership that has lasted over a decade. With Frank residing in the Blue Mountains, and Bill here on the North Coast, it’s a musical combination that doesn’t need hours of rehearsal, just careful planning. Frank and Bill are the proud parents of a brand new self titled album, a clearskin conceived between mountain and sea, and finally birthed here in Byron at Fracas, with Phil Pyne. It was a creative process that took its time, according to Bill who remarked ‘we had some fun and then we mixed it all at home – it gave us a lot of time to tweak things although it had been a long time between drinks. I started building a house, so we got to finish the album two years after we started recording! Building a house was the most stressful and rewarding thing I’ve ever done.’ Now Mr. Jacobi is sitting in his brand new Uki house listening to his brand new CD. It’s a beautifully mastered album, with the first track taking the listener to a more dreamlike place.
According to Bill, Wind in the Rushes is ‘a hypnotic, dark and moody piece, it’s a ‘insomniacal’ adventure, watching the shadows come into the room.’ Jacobi hails from the Blue Mountains, and uses it still as a source of inspiration for his song writing. ‘In a lot of the music I am trying to describe the various joys and perils of everyday life. ‘That Wind is about losing it in the mental stability stakes. The song was set in the Blue Mountains – where right on the edge, there’s a wind that blows for three or four days straight, even stable people start to lose it.’ So what is the glue that has held Method together in lieu of the tyranny of distance?
‘We have a lot of common ground and love collaborating. Frank is a songwriter and singer as well as being a drummer and he sings and plays from a writer’s point of view. To have someone who has that kind of input is great and he is a lot of fun to play with. I feel that my voice is a bit one dimensional and it does what it does, having Frank there really broadens out the sound.’
The recording process allowed this two piece the luxury of adding a few extra levels to their sound. ‘In the production, because we are a two piece we wanted to keep it pretty much to guitar and drums. But if you weren’t listening up close and personal then you kind of missed it a bit – so I had to put some bass on it.’ Method split their year between playing gigs here on the North Coast and in the Blue Mountains. It has afforded them a loyal following in two distinct centers.
‘Frank comes up here every two or three months and we do a string of dates and I get down there as often as I can. ‘We have our original following still, these are people who have moved on and had kids… our first album came out in 1996 and we had quite a big following then. I feel like I’ve been lucky to keep playing, I play bass with Floyd Vincent and have various other side projects, I just keep the balls in the air and keep them juggling.’
The boys launch their new album – Times Like These – in a string of gigs starting at the Court House on Friday, the Bangalow Hotel on Sunday and then the Beach Hotel on Thursday July 30 and Hotel Brunswick on Friday 31. For more information check www.myspace.com/ methodmusic2001 CDs will be available at gigs.
