On your bio, it mentions that the band started in your parents' dining room how involved have your parents been in supporting the band?
My Parents have always been incredible with their support. My Dad used to play drums, which is what got me into playing music originally before I started learning guitar. They come to all our hometown shows and they actually encourage us to practice more. Dad actually came on the Pumpkins tour with us to give us a hand with all the backline. My mum has really cool taste in music too. I often hear her humming Razorlight, The Kooks or The National while she's cooking.
You've been fortunate enough to 'check a lot of boxes' as far as a band goes including being able to play at SXSW - has there been a moment where you've been taken aback about how much you have achieved in such a short time?
We've always been a band that doesn't like to sit around and wait for things to come to us. We try to be as ambitious as we can. People sometime say I should take a breath and appreciate what we have done so far, especially as a completely independent and unsigned band, but the moment we 'check one box' we're already off after the next one.
Your bio also mentions that you wanted to 'put Adelaide back on the map' - how would you describe the music scene in Adelaide? Is it hard for a band to make a name for themselves there, compared to say Melbourne or Sydney?
Adelaide has a wealth of musical talent and resources. The government funding opportunities are amazing and there are a bunch of great bands. Unfortunately it seems the people in this town don't appreciate the bands and musical talent that we have on offer every weekend. It still seems people are more interested in watching sports or going to a night club then seeing a real band play live music. There is also a lack of musical comradery that is apparent in cities like Perth and especially Brisbane, and perhaps this united feeling of comradery within the music landscapes in Perth and Brisbane is why there are so many great bands coming out of those cities at the moment. This, combined with the general lack of 'industry' presence in Adelaide means it is very difficult to break out of Adelaide and why we don't spend a great deal of time at home.
You've worked with Bjorn Thorsrud - who has worked with the Smashing Pumpkins - what was that experience like? What influence did he have on you guys? What did you learn from him?
Working with Bjorn was an extremely full on and intense experience. He's a really interesting guy and we often had no idea what he was talking about, but he was so amazingly generous to us. He let the four of us stay in his little two bedroom apartment in downtown Chicago for three months. We worked and lived in each other's back pockets. By the end of the three months, I think he was excited to get his own space back. We were incredibly fortunate to get to work in the studio that we did for the amount of time we were given as well as have access to all the incredible gear that he was getting ready for Billy Corgan to use. Bjorn was very much into his big, lush and elaborate sounding production. He introduced us to an abundance of new sounds and recording approaches. He introduced us to his obsession with what some may consider 'over produced' records synonymous with the 80's and we spent hours and hours looking at drums sounds, triggers and vocal production within a mix. We also spent a lot of time looking at song arrangement and hooks and creating what he felt were strong songs that could not only be played by a band but could be performed alone on an acoustic guitar and still work. In the end, we actually ended up re-recording and re-mixing a lot of the Chicago recording with Woody Annison at his new studio in Melbourne. Working with Woody was a really relaxed and natural process and we were able to create a sound that we felt was a true representation of what we are as a band and a great representation of what we naturally sound like when we play live which was really important to us and we felt that this approach really helped the songs to come through and connect much better compared to the Chicago recordings.
You were also fortunate enough to be the supporting band for the Smashing Pumpkins during their last Australian tour - that must have been a pretty amazing experience?
It was a great experience and we learnt a great deal from it. On one hand it was a lot of fun, on the other hand it was like boot camp. We had toured a lot in the past, but had never seen anything like this. Just the logistics of all the backline and transport of staging alone was mind-boggling. As for the shows, it was actually really tough. Pumpkins fans don't take any shit, and to be honest, when you go to see a seminal band like the pumpkins you don't really give a shit who the support act is. It was a hard, grueling but amazing experience in how to win over a crowd. We had to work for every clap we got. By 3 or 4 songs in, when people began responding more and more, we knew that what we were doing was working which was a good feeling. We also had the chance to hang out with Billy where I had some of the most interesting and insightful conversations I have ever had, and at other times, the weirdest, and most intimidating and uncomfortable conversations and situations I have ever experienced. It was one hell of a trip and something we will never forget.
You've toured a fair bit throughout the US, as well as here in Australia - how do the crowds differ? Is the response to your music different in the US to here?
We had spent a fair bit of time in the US in the past 3 years or so. We were over there at the end of last year to play Filter magazine's 'Culture Collide' festival as well as the CMJ festival and support Boy and Bear. The US is always a lot of fun and the audience really love Australian music and there are always lots of venues to play. Plus, there is also nowhere else in the world where you can order eggs, bacon, tomatoes with a side of waffles, French toast and get a complementary stack of pancakes on the side and receive it all on the same plate. This year though is all about releasing new songs and touring in Australia. We had some really great opportunities overseas last year that we wanted to take advantage of, but this year and next, our focus is set firmly on Australia and playing here. We're really excited about releasing a bunch of new tunes as part of a new EP which comes out in October.
You have a record due for release sometime in the later part of the year - what can you tell us about it?
We'll be releasing an EP in October to get some more new tracks out before we release an album. We hadn't released anything for a while because we had been so busy touring all over the place, so we wanted to get some new tracks out there for people to hear. We had recorded a full length album in Chicago with Bjorn but we decided that we weren't really happy with it, so by the time we remixed and re-tracked the songs in between all the touring, in had been such a long time since we had released anything, so we just decided that we'd put out some of the tracks on an EP as part of the build up towards the album. The album will be a collection of some of the songs we recorded with Bjorn and Woody but the majority will be a bunch of new tracks we have written recently. The album will be out in early 2012.
If you had to describe the band to someone that had never heard of you before, what would you say?
We're four scruffy hair, long legged boys from Adelaide playing edgy, guitar driven, indie rock with big hooks.
What direction is the band heading in with the new album?
We're still writing some new tracks for the record at the moment. The specific direction changes all the time depending on what we're listening to at the time. We go from being inspired from listening to The Stone Roses, Smiths, Blur to sounding something like a Springsteen or Tom Petty song to The Cure. We've all got big soft spots for strong melodies and great grooves. As long as it's got those two elements as the foundation, then we just roll with it and see what happens.
You're playing BigSound 2011, what do you hope people take away from seeing your live set?
Our songs stuck in their heads.
