Five Things With Jed Holmes From Hobo Bordeaux

1.Growing Up

The first music that really had an impact on me was ‘The Message’ by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five. I was in primary school and already very into music (my earliest memory is of watching Rage) but that was the first song that made me genuinely curious about it.

2.Inspirations

I like a metric tonne of music but the major musical influences on the birth of Hobos were Tom Waits and his frequent collaborator, Marc Ribot. There’s now all manner of influences from soul, surf, swing, spaghetti western and good ol’ rock’n’roll but Tom and Marc were the start. That gnarly, clunky guitar tone under a soulful derelict’s yammering made the most beautiful nightmare ever.

3.Your Band

Hobo Bordeaux is Evan Jones, James Shine, Matt Williams and yours truly. The deal is four dudes with tremolo and soul, belting it out because we have to. We met because we had to to make this, and we keep going because we have to to stay sane. What more could you want?

4.The Music You Make

We have a ridiculously long genre name on the interwebs but for the most part it’s an ol’ timey, swanky rock’n’roll band. The short version is if you like Quentin Tarantino film music then you’re in our ballpark. We’ve got a couple of EPs available online that we recorded with Gusto from Hermitude and Michael Silk from La Tarantella. They are available for free but honestly the best experience of us is live (as with most bands I guess). We like to holla, make a ruckus, and crown the occasional prom king!

5.Music, Right Here, Right Now

I think Sydney has a fantastic collection of musicians who are desperately praying for a rain of venues. It really is the major obstacle at this level, just needing places to play. But it’s certainly not the talent that’s the problem. Gay Paris gave me goddamn vertigo last time I saw them (seriously).