There is an otherworldly air about Howard, younger brother of the iconic Rowland S. Howard, who famously played in The Birthday Party alongside Nick Cave and wrote the classic track Shivers.

But there’s an economic reality to art, especially when your product is as alternative as that produced by Howard and his band, the NDE, which features well-known, ARIA award-winning artist Dave Graney on bass.

And although Howard still regularly gigs with the NDE – in fact they’re Europe-bound in just a matter of weeks – he said he had long given up the hard-living rock n’ roll lifestyle in favour of a regular job and a healthier outlook.

His brother tragically passed away in late 2009 from liver failure.

“My health wouldn’t take it apart from anything,” he said of the lifestyle the Melbourne post-punk movement had sustained from the 1970s to 1990s.

“Most of the people I know have personally outgrown drugs long ago. You do outgrow them because they’ve got a limited value unless you become too severely addicted to escape them.

“To some extent, drugs might help people feel less self-conscious while they’re writing and look at music itself in a slightly different way...I don’t think drugs themselves are doing much art and I think people probably get that confused.”

Howard toured with The Birthday Party as a bassist and was also a key part of These Immortal Souls, a trio with Rowland and his then-partner Genevieve McGuckin, largely based in Berlin. He also played with Crime & the City Solution. It’s a musical CV few could claim, with Howard having played alongside some of the country’s most beloved alternative performers.

“When I look back on it all I feel very happy about it all. It’s nice to have been involved in things I still really like and I know were good. I’ve been lucky,” he said.

Harry Howard and the NDE will play at The Eastern on October 14 in their first-ever Ballarat performance. Tickets at premierartists.oztix.com.au/?Event=66693