STREET PIECES

 

How does it feel to have such influential people in the music industry say such positive comments about your music? Is it intimidating to know that they're listening and watching you?  How was it working with Aria Award winning producer Magoo?

 

A: It’s excellent! It really shows us that the work we do writing and rehearsing is paying off. We’re really lucky to have had the chance to work with both of them in the studio. It’s not intimidating - it motivates us.

 

You say you're on a mission to bring back "sexy rock music" back to the Brisbane music scene, do you think that the Brisbane audience have moved from rock music to more of the indie pop genre? If so does that make it easier for your music to be heard and recognised?  Or is there a niche audience in Brisbane that are avid rock lovers?

 

A: There are avid communities in Brisbane for both live rock music, and indie pop, and so much more, which is great! I don’t think there are many people who will only go to rock gigs, or indie gigs, or whatever. You can see the same people going to dramatically different gigs on different nights of the week here. The radio, on the other hand, does seem to be currently favouring indie pop/rock, and that can make things hard for us, but that’s not always a bad thing! It just means we need to keep working and make our music good enough that people are still going to give it a listen and really enjoy it. We’re not a band that’s going to chase the current musical trend, we want to become it!

 

Who is the main writer of the band? Or is it a total collaboration between all of you? Do you draw from your own personal experiences? What are your favourite songs from the EP?

 

A: The band! We try to write together as much as we can, all our best work comes from us getting together and jamming over a song for a while and seeing what we end up with. Ben is the main lyricist but we have all written lyrics which are used by the band. On our 4 track ep we have lyrics by 3 members! Run is probably our favourite song, and it was the most collaboratively written song on the EP – Ben came up with a vocal, Alex stole that for guitar, and who knows where the rest came from. Run is also our most successful song, it was Run that won us a spot with Wolfmother.

 

Which artist do you dream of opening for?  Or was opening for Wolfmother the best thing yet? Did Wolfmother give you any advice?

 

A: I’m sure we would all have different answers! Led Zeppelin! Deftones, Mutemath, Rival Sons, The Angels. We all have such diverse backgrounds musically, it would be hard enough for any of us to pick just one band to play with.
Opening for Wolfmother was awesome! We had at least 500 people responding really positively to our music and that was great to see.
We didn’t get a chance to meet up with them at the gig, but we ran into Stockdale later who told us to ‘just play everywhere’

 

How did you all come together as a band?

 

A: We all met together at uni, where we teamed up to make music. We received a lot of positive words and reactions so we knew we were onto something. 

 

On your YouTube Channel you have a fantastic cover of INXS - Never Tear Us Apart - are they a big influence to your music? Ben's voice has an amazing resemblance to Michael, do you get that comment often?

 

A: Michael Hutchence has been a big influence on Ben. We’ve actually been asked to form an INXS tribute band and run away with the money, but we’re not there just yet…

 

What would be your dream festival to perform at? Is a festival performance on the cards for Street Pieces in the future?

 

A: Crossroads would be amazing (for Alex)! We’re not too choosy, we’d love to play Blues Fest, Big Day out,

 

You were chosen to be a part of the Indie 100 project in 2014, how was that experience?

 

A: The Indie 100 is great fun! Alex has been a part of that event for the last couple years on the other side of the glass as well. It always a very hectic week, made of up very hectic 4 hour slots. In 2013 we were there as well, with Mike Howlett, where we recorded 6 songs and then ran to the powerhouse to play a gig that night!

 

Is performing in Street Pieces the only career option for all of you?

 

A: This is absolutely our passion, it might not be the only option, or even the best option financially, but it’s something that we’re all in for the long haul, and we can’t wait to see where this journey takes us.

 

"Let me kiss you on the lips, I want to take you to the danger zone" - Anonymous, to Ben Tilney" Do you get a lot of anonymous love letters? Are they all this intense?!

 

A: This wasn’t a love letter so much as a proposition, it comes in waves, when we play well we get funny things happening, guitars licked, funny propositions made...

 

Your debut EP "The Other Side" is quite upbeat, do you have any exciting plans for the next album? If so is there anything you are going to surprise fans with? Or are you just focusing on promoting this EP at this moment in time? If so, what are some upcoming  gigs, shows etc that we should all know about?!

 

A: This is the first time telling anyone this but we are going to be releasing a new single soon so keep your ears peeled! A lot of the songs we’ve been really vibing on have been perhaps more intense than our last offering. This should give everyone an idea of where our music is headed for our next album!

 

And yes we have some shows coming up! In March and April we have a residency at Hotel LA on every other Thursday, and we’ll be having some great bands along to help us out.

And we have a great show coming up this Sunday with Bellusira at Crowbar. These guys got some attention in the US and are going great over there, but have come back to play a “We’ve Missed You Tour”. We’re selling pre-sale tickets for cheap so get in touch with us through Facebook, we’re sure it’s going to be a great night!