Growing Up
I have this horrid memory of when I was about 11. I had written a song about a girl and she was invited to my party. I tried to play this song in front of this girl as well as my friends and they all left within the first 30 seconds. My parents were both very musical and I’m honestly not sure if I would be doing music if it wasn’t for them.
Inspirations
I loved Fall Out Boy, Senses Fail and Darkest Hour growing up. They always made me feel things compared to most other music. Senses Fail, especially, as their Still Searching record was very melancholic and I loved that vibe. I started listening to most of these bands around 2006-2008, and before that I think I was mostly listening to radio stuff like Rihanna and Coldplay.
Your Band
My band Belle Haven consists of my brother David, long-time friends Thomas Mitchell and Daniel ‘Mara’ Marinakis and somewhat newer friend Jake Zammit. Tom was a mutual friend of our old guitarist Mitchell; Mara was one of Belle Haven’s original hardcore fans that became one of my best friends because of that. Jake is also a long-time fan that backed us passionately. Right now, there is this big difference in taste regarding Paramore’s new record After Laughter. Jake and I are #TeamHardPass and the rest are #TeamHardTimes.
The Music You Make
The style of Belle Haven’s sophomore record You, Me And Everything In Between is basically just 2000s post-hardcore with modern production. Our last record was a bit more chaotic and experimental as there was this weird divide about what sound direction we wanted to go in, so we just did a bit of everything. I much prefer our new release, which we recorded with our dear friend Matthew Goldman in Atlanta, GA.
Music, Right Here, Right Now
I’m kind of weird on the concept of ‘music scene’. While there is obviously a local music scene, I prefer to just like artists because I like them and go to their shows because I want to go. I would hope people don’t come to Belle Haven shows if they don’t like us just because they think they owe it to us because of the ‘scene’ or something weird. My favourite Melbourne bands right now are Stuck Out, Set The Score and Aburden.
Belle Haven play the Factory Floor with Ambleside and Deadlights on Saturday June 10. You, Me And Everything In Betweeen is out Friday June 16 through Greyscale.
