• Height: 199cm
Away from the footy field, Charlie Comben rarely stands still. As co-host of the popular 200 Plus Podcast, he's become a familiar voice for footy fans, while his passion for photography showcases another creative side. But it's music that really caught our attention, and that's exactly what we're here to explore with Chom.
Growing Up
1. What are your earliest memories of music?
The first I remember is the day that X&Y by Coldplay
came out in 2005. I was only 4 but I distinctively remember Dad buying it for
Mum and all of us listening to it in the lounge room of our house in Sale. The
artwork (albeit simple) was something that stuck with me big time at that age.
Although not the most ‘fashionable’ choice, X&Y still remains one of my
favourite albums to this day. Would be remise not to mention Dad’s ‘Best Beer
Songs” CD as well, jeez that got a run by the old boy.
2. Can you recall what Artists were blaring in the Comben
household as a child?
Depends on who had control of the stereo! Mum was massive on
Enya, Deep Forest, Massive Attack, Mazzy Star, The Verve, REM and had a
peculiar soft stop for Lionel Richie. Smalltown Boy (Bronski Beat) and 99
Luftballoon (Nena) always got a run when it was party time. Dad was more into
your classic Aussie Rock; AC/DC, Ed Keupper and Australian Crawl were all
prominent. Along with some international gold in Eric Clapton, Supertramp, JJ
Cale and Deep Purple.
3. Was there a song that defined your childhood?
La Di Doh – Ed Kuepper. The didgeridoo at the start of this
track is magnificent. Great riff and terrific hook in the chorus melody from
The Saints guitarist.
4. Were you always interested in playing music. Or did that
come later?
Was always interested and tried to teach myself to play
guitar a few times before deciding it was all too hard. I moved in with George
Wardlaw 2 years ago and he was playing a lot of guitar with one of my current
band mates, Will. We got home one night from the pub and those two sat in our
front room jamming, I just wanted to play with them. Given my prior experience
with guitar, I thought I would give bass a whirl. I took a few bass lessons
(and eventually guitar too) to get going and watched a horrible amount of
YouTube. So, thanks George I guess?
Music & Football
5. What is your all time Football pump up song?
How Soon Is Now – The Smiths
6. How does music give you an escape from the
pressures of AFL?
Its brilliant in many regards. I love and look forward to
catching up with my band mates every week to rehearse, write and jam. Boys I
wouldn’t have met without playing music! Not only that, but music has been the
soundtrack to many stages of my life. Some of my favourite memories I cherish
have been at gigs with family and friends.
7. What's more nerve-racking: running out in front of a packed AFL crowd or
getting on stage with your band?
On stage – comfortably.
8. Tim Rogers from You Am I is a big North Nuffie,
have you and Tim jammed together yet?
Ahh Uncle Tim. Haven’t jammed yet no, however defiantly
on the bucket list. Tim’s been very good to George, Will (NPC) and I and has
even lent one of his Jazzmasters! What a man.
9. Which North Melbourne players are also big into music? Who would make the
best bandmate and why?
Nick Larkey is a very talented guitarist and has a great
taste in tracks. Have jammed with him many times, amazing the number of songs
he’s got memorised off that big scone of his. Would be a great stage presence
too!
10. Have any teammates surprised you with their music taste? Either good or
bad.
Obviously, taste is completely subjective. However, I
will never understand the ‘mumble rap’ obsession that is rife with the younger
boys at our club. I wouldn’t say I’m surprised though.
The Band
11. Tell us about the band. How did it all start?
Well I guess it started as George (housemate), Will (lead
vox, rythym) and I jamming on and writing music together in our spare time.
These ideas (of which were mostly Will and George) soon morphed into fully
fleshed out songs and we were keen to play them in a live setting. I got a call
from Will saying he had booked a solo gig at Parkside Wine in 2 weeks, asking
if I wanted to join him. I jumped at the opportunity and learnt about 12 tracks
in 2 weeks for my first gig! Will enlisted the help of our lead guitarist Sam,
we had a band! Sort of. We played a few more shows casually with our mate Beau
on the drum machine before deciding to have a real crack and find a drummer.
Interestingly, I had met a bloke from Melbourne 3 months prior, in the Hofbrau
tent, in Munich. I’m led to believe that this is where you find all good
drummers, as Cam has been a brilliant addition to our project! George has
stayed involved too, helping write and hanging out with the group from time to
time.
12. What role do you play in the group?
Primarily the bassist. However, also don the hat of quasi
band manager. I enjoy being organised.
13. How Did the band name come about? what other options were there?
This was a hard one. Nothing we ran with had really stuck
and we just couldn’t land on a name we all loved! NPC was thrown up one night
at dinner when we were talking about playing Skyrim when we were kids. Nerds.
It just felt right. Non Playable Character. Fairly memeable, able to be
shortened and was the first name we all thought was alright.
14. How did your first gig go?
As good as possible! We had a great turn out, great
weather and played pretty well. Admittedly, I completely forgot the chorus line
to Sarah by Alex G but in terms of first gig hiccups, I think that’s alright.
I’ve never been more nervous for anything in my life, being able to make out
the faces of the people in the crowd makes a big difference.
15. How difficult is it balancing AFL commitments with rehearsals and gigs?
I get asked this a lot! It does make in season gigging a
bit difficult considering we play on weekends. I’m praying for a few more
Friday night games this year, thanks Dills. In saying that, we make it work and
we have our fixture long in advance.
16. What's next for NPC?
Super excited about the next few months! We will play a
few times over summer but a lot of our time has been spent in our pre-record
process for our first EP. We’ve enlisted the help of Garage Sale’s Dan
Sullivan, who we all admire, to produce and give us a few pointers along the
way. We are aiming to release early next year so stay tuned! Also look out for
a show pre-Christmas…
Random
17. Is there a venue or festival that's on the bucket
list to attend?
Royal Albert Hall was always on there. Got to tick it off
thanks to Mr. Richard Ashcroft. But I think Glastonbury, right?
18. if you could only listen to one artist for the rest
of your life who would it be?
Cruel question. Radiohead, Bowie? Need some variety.
19. What’s your go to Karaoke song?
Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Extended Version) – Tears
For Fears. Shoutout to Singstar 80’s. If you have let the extended version
grace your ears, now is the time.
20. What’s your most controversial music opinion?
Andy Rourke adds just as much to The Smiths’ discography as
Marr and Morrisey.
Quick Fire
• Favourite artist
Right now? julie.
• Favourite Australian artist
Again, right now? Armlock.
• First Album you ever bought
Unknown Pleasures – Joy Division
• First Concert you ever
attended
Crowded House
• Favourite album
Hyperview – Title Fight/In
Rainbows - Radiohead
• Favourite song of all time
Empty and Silent (feat. King
Krule) – Mount Kimbie
Bonus
Have NPC played a Charlie Comben written song yet?
Yep! We play a track called Gloom. It will feature on our upcoming EP
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