Over the past two years The Toot Toot Toots have entertained audiences up and down the east coast of Australia. On the eve of their tour, Meghan Player spoke to Dan Hawkins about influences, the Toot Toot Toots sound, and the Australian gold rush.
How did the band get together?
The Toots were a spur of the moment type of thing. We were at a bar one night and a friend of ours in Melbourne band Buried Horses asked Steve (Toots bass player) if we could open a show for them. Steve wasn't in a band at the time so just asked his friends who happened to be within a meter radius of him if they wanted to form a band and play a show in two weeks - kind of a silly challenge type of thing - so we did and had a lot of fun doing it. We then decided to keep it going.
What inspired the spaghetti western style in the Toot Toot Toots sound?
Ennio Morricone soundtracks probably. We didn't originally set out to make a 'spaghetti western' record, and whether it is, is probably debatable... I think when you play a blend of country and surf music and throw in a bunch of horn lines you're just left with that old western, Clint Eastwood type of sound.
Your songs are as much about telling a story as they are about the music - is that an important part of the songwriting in the band?
Yeah. Our last EP and our forthcoming album both follow a single narrative from the start of the record until the end. Giuls and I studied theatre together at Uni so I suppose that may explain why the albums are kind of like musicals, or could be turned into musicals if someone wrote some dialogue to go between the songs. I don't know how important it is to tell a coherent story in a song, but I think storytelling is one of the Toots strengths, so we play to that strength.
You're currently working on your new album - what can you tell us about it?
We finished it last week. It'll be called 'Outlaws' and we expect it'll be released sometime between late March and early April through Spooky Records. 12 brand new tracks which tell the story of a foreign man and his daughter settling in Australia during the Australian Gold rush... things go horribly wrong and a lot of blood is shed.
What inspired that idea?
Not sure where the idea originally stemmed from. We say it's set during the Australian gold rush but the setting, story and characters are all entirely fictional. We didn't want to get bogged down with trying to be historically accurate.
Are there any other concepts you would like to do in the future?
Not sure, we'll see how this one goes. It might be nice to write an album without limiting ourselves to one plot next time. With that said, the idea of writing a private eye/detective story appeals to me.
There are a lot of eclectic sounds in the Toot Toot Toots sound - did you experiment with new sounds/techniques with the new album?
Not really, I think the eclectic sound in the Toots comes from having five songwriters in the band. Each member has their own influences and can bring something unique to the table.
Will you be 'testing' the new tracks on this current tour?
Yes, we certainly will.
Do you have a favourite track on the new album? Why do you like it? What is it about?
Each member would have their own favourite, and mine always changes. At the moment i'm really liking a song called 'Fool's Gold' which is kind of a gospel Frankie Valli meets the Almighty Defenders track, it stands out like a sore thumb on the album and doesn't sound like anything we've done before... it's about cashing in on your morals.
What does the rest of 2012 look like for the band?
Very busy, we'll be touring a lot once the album is released. And in September we're going to head off to Europe for a month to play a bunch of dates, very excited.
