Who is the best person in the world at getting to know interesting people quickly and with panache? Oprah. Which is why we're once again using her (should be) patented ice-breaker questions to interview a band that we like.Pete Baxter is the singer/guitarist in Smile, Melbourne’s resident nice guys. They’re playing our upcoming VICE Presents show at Ya Ya’s, so we thought we’d try our Oprah moves on him.Noisey: First up in the name of journalistic transparency I should tell you all these questions came from the Oprah website.
Pete: That’s ok.They’re from a post about tips for getting to know people. Do you think the Big O is an acceptable authority on breaking the ice?
I guess, it depends on how good she is at table tennis.Ok first question: what type of pets do you have?
I have a Blue Heeler named Chloe.What is the kindest thing anyone has done for you?
A lady in my Dads old church once bought me a ticket to Pensacola Florida when I was 14 for a revival conference. It ended up being two weeks of my parents fighting and demons getting exorcised from my body so it ended up being pretty horrible.What? Did you have demons inside you?
I guess, if you consider puberty a demon.That’s crazy.
Yeah I have a lot stories like that.You have a 10 minute speech to give at a high school, what is it about?
Whip bars and the places you can find them in the Melbourne inner suburbs.What’s a Whip bar?
You'll have to come to the talk to find out.That’s good business. If you were on an island, who would you want to be with?
1990s David Attenborough when he was fatherly but still agile. He would make the whole experience so beautiful and informative.Would you accept present day Attenborough?
Only if it didn't jeopardise his health in anyway, I don't want to be responsible for his passing.What is your mission?
To have a happy family and a shitload of excellent friends.What is your business goal this year?
Get this record pressed and tour it, record the next one.Well you’re halfway there. What is your favorite food?
Barolo.What’s with all the mysterious foods?
Barolo’s a dusty and delicious red wine from Italy.Technically that’s not a food but I’ll let it pass. Some of these are embarrassing to ask. What drives you every day?
A Holden VB wagon.What word describes you best?
Comfortable.Your answers are giving that impression. This next question I took from a post about getting your teenage daughter to open up to you. Is there anything bothering you?
This election being another case of the lesser of two evils. The amount of fear most people reside in. Also today I filled up my car then drove 100 metres and passed another petrol station 10 cents cheaper a litre, that bothered me.That question really works. Who was your favourite celebrity as a child?
Jesus.Seeing a theme here, is Jesus still on your celebrity list?
He got replaced by Sunni Hart.Smile is playing our Melbourne VICE Presents party on August 29. You can RSVP here.They’ll be launching Life Choices on October 19 at Boney in Melbourne. Out of town? Buy it here.
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Pete: That’s ok.They’re from a post about tips for getting to know people. Do you think the Big O is an acceptable authority on breaking the ice?
I guess, it depends on how good she is at table tennis.Ok first question: what type of pets do you have?
I have a Blue Heeler named Chloe.What is the kindest thing anyone has done for you?
A lady in my Dads old church once bought me a ticket to Pensacola Florida when I was 14 for a revival conference. It ended up being two weeks of my parents fighting and demons getting exorcised from my body so it ended up being pretty horrible.What? Did you have demons inside you?
I guess, if you consider puberty a demon.That’s crazy.
Yeah I have a lot stories like that.You have a 10 minute speech to give at a high school, what is it about?
Whip bars and the places you can find them in the Melbourne inner suburbs.What’s a Whip bar?
You'll have to come to the talk to find out.That’s good business. If you were on an island, who would you want to be with?
1990s David Attenborough when he was fatherly but still agile. He would make the whole experience so beautiful and informative.Would you accept present day Attenborough?
Only if it didn't jeopardise his health in anyway, I don't want to be responsible for his passing.What is your mission?
To have a happy family and a shitload of excellent friends.
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Get this record pressed and tour it, record the next one.Well you’re halfway there. What is your favorite food?
Barolo.What’s with all the mysterious foods?
Barolo’s a dusty and delicious red wine from Italy.Technically that’s not a food but I’ll let it pass. Some of these are embarrassing to ask. What drives you every day?
A Holden VB wagon.What word describes you best?
Comfortable.Your answers are giving that impression. This next question I took from a post about getting your teenage daughter to open up to you. Is there anything bothering you?
This election being another case of the lesser of two evils. The amount of fear most people reside in. Also today I filled up my car then drove 100 metres and passed another petrol station 10 cents cheaper a litre, that bothered me.That question really works. Who was your favourite celebrity as a child?
Jesus.Seeing a theme here, is Jesus still on your celebrity list?
He got replaced by Sunni Hart.Smile is playing our Melbourne VICE Presents party on August 29. You can RSVP here.They’ll be launching Life Choices on October 19 at Boney in Melbourne. Out of town? Buy it here.