Melbourne punk rock staples Clowns are no strangers to local stages.
While the past year and a half has seen the band tour the US and Europe twice, not to mention numerous national support slots, the group’s upcoming east coast shows are its first headline appearances on our shores this year.
As a former member of the band – journalistic impartiality aside – it’s remarkable and honourable to witness the degree to which the group has continued to develop and expand from our local scene. I spoke with drummer, founding member and old mate Jake Laderman about the upcoming third full length, the approach to booking the perfect lineup, and how to keep a band motivated after years of relentless workmanship.
It’s been over a year and half since the release of 2015’s Bad Blood. Now the dust has settled, how do you feel the album has been received by the new and old fans? And how has touring it for so long shaped your vision of what’s to come?
We’ve absolutely taken that album for as long of a ride as we could have. I’m really stoked with how everything has gone with that record and touring it. It was a really hard album to write, as you would know playing guitar on it, but it’s been amazing to see all the opportunities we’ve been given and the places we’ve been able to go since it came out. I think it definitely has a good shelf life in it as a good Aussie punk rock record. I wouldn’t change a thing on it.
You’ve already released the new single ‘Destroy The Evidence’. Is this a good insight into the sound of the new record?
The record definitely won’t all sound like that; it’ll definitely be mixed up. I think a good record consists of a lot of dynamics and as much as I’d love to write a record of three-minute pop punk songs, it’s not really what our band has ever been about. There’s definitely going to be a few surprises on the new album. That’s the plan anyway.
Despite being known as staples of the Melbourne live scene, in the last year or so you’ve played relatively few headline shows in Melbourne. How does it feel to be headlining your own show at home after so long?
I’m absolutely ready for it. This year the plan was to not play that many shows, just to dedicate time to writing and recording a new record and putting it out when it was ready. Just take care of that and take the necessary steps from there. But we got offers for tours that you can’t say no to. Eventually we had to give ourselves the ultimatum of saying no to shows and tours that we otherwise would have loved to do, otherwise we’d never have had time to start working on a record. Obviously things are a bit different from the old days when we had to play in Melbourne every week, but these days we can afford to spread it out. This tour that we’re doing was definitely well needed, since we’ve got new songs we’re keen to play to everyone back home. It’s really exciting to be able to finally have our own headline show here.
It’s rare to see bands these days, especially in the hardcore/punk rock side of things, make a point of booking mixed bills with highly versatile and varied styles of music. What motivates you to play and tour with such diverse bands?
There’s a few things involved in that. I love nothing more than going to a show and seeing four completely different bands do a different kind of set. I’ve only seen No Anchor once, in 2014, and since then had become friends with Alex [Gillies]. I ended up planting the idea with them about how awesome it would be if they reformed and played some shows with us. With Don Bosco, who I think musically are unreal, I just have a big desire to include people I consider my mates at the shows we play. We know so many people around the country that are our friends that we love hanging out with. It sounds obvious, but if we’re travelling around the country and playing in a new city every night, we want to be having a good time with our mates.
You’ve been a band for almost seven years. The musical style has evolved and members have come and gone, but what do you think is the main motivating factor that has kept the band constantly moving forward?
To me and our singer Stevie, who I’ve played with in Clowns since we were 18, we’ve seen a lot of small milestones of success happen over time. From simply playing some good shows, putting out a single, selling some shirts, playing a show interstate, everything like that has served as a reminder of how being in this band is something that we can actually do. Most importantly it’s just really fun. Over time it’s become such an important part of our lives and all of these milestones have reinforced that and motivated us to keep moving forward. Just like Descendents, it’s all about going for all.
Clowns appear at Blackwire Records Saturday October 15 and Sunday October 16, with No Anchor. Get your tickets here.
