1. What Do You Look For In A Band?
Infectious groove, lingering melodies, incendiary guitar sounds and undeniable energy. They have to shake your very bones and give you their all onstage! In a word: chemistry. That’s the standard we set for ourselves too. No feel, no deal. We like a fan that resounds the above, and refuses to stop singing along even when they don’t know the words. They get bonus points for feeding us and having comfortable couches too!
2. Keeping Busy
We’ve been playing a non-stop residency at Ziggy Pop, at Spectrum on Oxford Street, every Tuesday night for the past nine months now. We’ve also been in the studio recording and made our first-ever music video with feature film director Tanzeal Rahim for our latest track, ‘Freakshow’, which MTV really supported. They put us on high rotation for all of November and it even peaked at number two on MTV Hits, which none of us expected. We’re also giving away the song for free download at thelockhearts.com.
It’s been a jam-packed year and we’re loving every minute of it. The residency is growing every week so we’re holding a Christmas Eve party at Spectrum to send the year off with a bang – then in the New Year we’ll be releasing our first single.
3. Best Gig Ever
We were lucky enough to play some unforgettable shows with the great Baby Animals earlier this year, such an incredible rush to play with such an iconic Australian band – but the best gig we’ve ever played was probably last week at Ziggy Pop. The crowd were out of control, singing every word and demanding encores; we had to break our guitar strings and trash the kit at the end just to get offstage without playing another song. Although jumping into/destroying the drum kit is starting to cost us in repairs…
4. Current Playlist
Right now I can’t stop listening to Rival Sons’ records Pressure & Time and Head Down. So much soul and groove, and Jay Buchanan’s voice gives me shivers every time. As for live shows, Brenton and I caught Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at The Hi-Fi recently and they tore the roof off the place. Mesmerising live show and one of my all-time favourite bands. You’ll also find The Bellrays on repeat during any band road trip.
5. Your Ultimate Rider
We don’t like to ask for anything ridiculous, just enough mutton to feed the sled dogs for the journey home.
The Lockhearts play Ziggy Pop Tuesdays at Spectrum on Tuesday December 10, 17 and 24.
