Anyone who’s nervous about starting a band should take heed of this sweetly styling Melbourne ex-Perth duo. Four years ago Amy Franz and Hayley McKee could barely play a note on their instruments nor plug their mics in. Fast forward to their debut album Fifteen, turned out under the deft production talents of Eddy Current Suppression Ring’s Mikey Young as well as his Aaghrt! record label, and the killer prospect of hitting several American festivals following their Australian tour.
Their live shows have attracted a growing bevy of boggle-eyed fans as the pair alternate drumming and guitar duties, punching out pared back two minute bursts of post-punk pop with ragged, catchy guitar riffs and shouting harmonized vocals. Franz and McKee sat down with Annika Priest to chat about nasty nerves, the joys of vinyl and the tedious "girl band" tag over several glasses of vino and a steaming plate of gnocchi.
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How long ago did you move over to Melbourne from Perth?
Amy: I moved over in 2001.
Hayley: And I’ve lived here for nearly 4 years.
And how long have you known each other?
A: We became buddies at around 15 (hence the album title). You know when you start doing all the fun stuff, getting up to mischief. We used to catch a lot of buses, go down to the city. You know, mess around.
Is that where the song 'Mess Around' came from?
A: No, 'Mess Around' came from when we were really mad at one of our boyfriends and we were talking about what would happen if we went to the Caribbean and flew away.
So you were writing stuff before the band?
A: We were writing stuff when we were 15. We used to write songs to make each other laugh and that was pretty much how it started with the band as well.
H: When we got together it was the summer. It was hot, I’d just moved over, we were really excited to see each other again, and we said 'what are you doing Sunday?' It felt like we were doing something naughty, writing songs.
H: Then we realised we were brilliant songwriters [both laugh].
And do you both like similar bands as well?
H: We vary a lot. We love DJing together because we can both show our records to each other. We both buy a lot of music.
A: Hayley’s been on an obscure American garage band bent and I’ve been on a total '70s psychedelic African thing, off the richter, so it’s really funny when we get together.
How long have you been playing your instruments?
H: I’d never played guitar or keyboards before. I had a drum kit maybe 3 weeks before I moved over to Melbourne and then I sold my drum kit for my ticket over here. I would sit there listening to early Cure stuff and try and drum along to it but that was the extent of my drum playing. I played saxophone in school.
A: So we wrote these songs and we started playing in our lounge room and then my boyfriend booked us a gig and wouldn’t let us get out of it. At Bar Open (in Melbourne). So we got thrown in the deep end.
H: Yeah totally. We had maybe 3 songs we had recorded on a little i-River, so we actually had to write a whole lot of songs for the gig in a couple of days. And then the day we played, I claimed to have, I think, food poisoning, and Amy was really sick too. But I think looking back on it we were just so nervous.
A: We went and had a coffee down the road, and we both just looked at each other and started sweating and couldn’t talk to each other. And then when we played the gig it was just to 12 of our friends on a Sunday afternoon! But I’m kind of glad we were pushed into it because maybe otherwise we would never have started.
So obviously something felt right and you kept going?
H: It’s so much fun, I don’t know why everyone doesn’t play in a band!
A: And it is a great feeling, especially once you’ve started pushing through those nerves and you can really feel yourself improving after playing gigs. At a really quick rate, because you’re terrified of stuffing up. And it feels great to get on stage and go 'we only made 2 mistakes tonight!'.
H: And it was great to be on the other side of it as well, having gone to watch gigs. It’s pretty amazing.
And how do you guys deal with all the male attention?
A: We don’t actually notice any...
H: Even on a personal level, I would have to ask Amy, ‘Did that guy just ask me out?’ I’m totally oblivious to it.
A; No one chats us up after the show, no one approaches us. So we’ve not really felt that.
But you obviously get wolf whistles on stage...
A: I don’t think we do.
H: I don’t know, I think we’re concentrating so much on playing, if we do we don’t notice it. And I think when people hear our music, they’re not sure who’s playing what. So when they come to see us they like the fact they get to know, 'ok, Amy’s on drums on that song'. I think we’re more focused on playing well than what’s happening while we’re playing.
Do you ever disagree over who gets to play drums or guitar on each song?
H: No because usually the songs are half written [by the time we] come in, with either a drum idea or lyrics and guitar. [Then we] put it together.
A: It works out quite well, we seem to write like one for one in each configuration.
And what do you do for a crust?
H: I’m doing some temping work at the moment. I’m trying to make my own cake making business, but I need to slow it down because were going away. But when we get back its all about the cakes.
A: I originally moved to Melbourne to study Silversmithing at RMIT. I got halfway through and dropped out because I was always broke and having a really good time here, which I kind of regret because it was a great course. When I left RMIT I was doing work for Mimco then after that i started my own label which I had [for] a couple of years. [I've] stopped that now and I’m just working for an importing business.
Work must be an annoying distraction at the moment with all the album stuff going on?
A: yeah, It’d be really nice to not have a job at the moment and dedicate all our time to it because there’s so much stuff happening.
Is there kudos in getting a story in Rolling Stone?
H: It’s ridiculous. We’re going to be in Rolling Stone, how ridiculous is that?
A: Ridiculous! Someone will be reading about us on the toilet!
H: Ewww don’t say that!
So what did you think of your review? [Rolling Stone is produced, the girls yelp].
H: Oh my god I didn’t know it was out yet!
A: Are we going to be depressed? Do you want me to read it to you?
H: No, you read it on your own.
A: Oh we’re in the first column. I feel sick! [Reads review].
So what do you think of the review and not being able to avoid the "girl band" tag?
A; I don’t think I want to talk about that. Can we avoid talking about it by not talking about it in this interview?
But it is an issue. I think it’s unfair that they say that your looks are a "handicap".
A: I think it’s only an issue because it seems to be a recurring conversation, but I don’t think either of us really understand why it keeps recurring.
But you do get more attention because you’re girls.
H: I think we get more negative attention because we’re girls. But its ridiculous, because we’re not a girl band, we just happen to be female. Its not like we went 'oh my god, let’s be in a girl band'.
A: I don’t know why it keeps getting brought up. And maybe people wouldn’t ask about it but because it's been in interviews in the past it keeps getting brought up. But for us it's definitely not any kind of marketing tool. We cant really help the way the band happened. We happened to become a two piece and we happen to be girls and that’s kind of all there is to it.
Did you ever consider getting a third member, because I know you play keyboards as well as Hayley?
A: When we first started playing we had a couple of friends who played in bands, but it felt really good just the two of us.
H: And I think we were on exactly the same level. Like this is our first band. And we’re not young, we’re almost 30. I’m 29. But everyone else had been in a couple of bands or they’d played their guitar for years in their bedroom and we were just so new. We were exactly the same.
A: When we started rehearsing, we had absolutely no idea what we were doing. We didn’t really know what to do with our amps to get the sound. We had no idea how to set up the mic and stuff. So we’d either have to pretend that there was something wrong to get someone to help us, or we’d just end up practicing with no vocal mikes on. Because we just hadn’t figured any of it out. It was kind of just nice being able to do it together because we didn’t have to feel embarrassed.
H: So then I guess from that it was exciting when we got to that stage when we first started understanding what we were doing. 'Oh my god we know where to put this!'.
A: It really felt like we were kicking goals!
So to have the album doing so well must be nice?
A: Being Triple R 'Album of the Week' was really great.
H: And it’s been nice getting a positive response from radio, and I think after our gig on Triple R we had a really good response. Everyone’s embracing that more pop sound we’ve got. I think this record has a cleaner sound to it so it’s nice to hear people saying they like it. Because we literally got the CDs two weeks ago. It’s at that level where our friends are telling us they like it and I think that’s the most exciting thing right now, friends saying they like the record or they’ve been playing it or they’ve had it in their head. There are certain friends that you believe would tell you what they [really] think, and its really nice to get their opinion.
A: We recorded it such a long time ago, I was saying to Hayley that when we got them I felt like maybe it would be old now. We recorded it 6 months ago, but to get it back it was so exciting to put it on and I was just really proud with the way it sounded. We were really happy.
I think what works is its simplicity. And it’s got a very cute, old-school '60s girl band sound. Was that something you were going for?
A: I think we both have an appreciation for it, I don’t think we were particularly saying we had to have that sound. But we just liked to record on [tape], and owning old equipment between us, I think it's just something we really like. I think when you listen to an old recordings or analogue recordings they’ve got such a warmth to them that’s really beautiful. You know when you put on a record and you hear that shshshhs sound coming out. I really prefer that. Compared to digital Pro Tools [recordings].
A: And Mikey (Young), that’s the way he records as well.
How do you know Mikey?
H: He recorded our EP as well, so we’ve known those dudes for a couple of years. We sort of knew them a bit before but when (Young's label) Aaaghrt put out the EP, that’s sort of when we really started to get to know them a bit better.
Do you consider yourselves part of a wave of Melbourne bands - like the Eddy Current guys - recording on analogue equipment in a short amount of time?
A: I guess we recorded it quickly because we didn’t have to do any overdubbing or lots of stuff to it, so it just sort of happened that we recorded 2 or 3 takes of each song. So it was a pretty quick process.
H: And all our songs are so short anyway.
Do you prefer to write short songs or do they just come out that way?
H: I think we just write them and they just logically end when they do. Sometimes we try to push them longer but it just doesn’t really make sense. We just end up singing ooh and aah a lot! And we actively avoid drum solos or guitar solos, that immediately shortens things.
And you’re heading off to America soon?
A: In the middle of September we go away. It’s really exciting.
H: Gonerfest is a garage rock festival in Memphis, and we’re playing another festival in Sacramento called Maximum Freedom Festival.
And are there any plans to make the band a full time thing?
H: We’re just saying yes to things that we want to do and that’s as much planning as we do. The album's coming out in America as well on a label called Hozac.
A: I’ve never been to the States, I can’t wait.
And I noticed you’re not going back to Perth (to launch the record). Is that a financial thing?
H: We just can’t really afford it, it’s too much money. Plus we were there in February. We played Amplifier on the Eddy Current support. We also played at this new place called Bird which is this new joint next to Kakulas Brothers in Northbridge. It was just a bit hard to go back, plus we’ve only got four weeks before we go away.
You’ve had some pretty good supports, what’s your favourite been? You supported You Am I?
H: That was fun, I used to love that band, so that was an exciting email to get. But touring with Eddy Current was awesome fun. They are such lovely guys. And it was nice to go to Perth with them and to show them our home town. We went down to Margaret River and had a road trip. That was really fun.
H; We’ve been really lucky in [the] sense we've met nice people. I think a lot of bands in Melbourne don’t have plans to be big, and I think that’s what works. They genuinely love what they’re doing and they’re doing it with a bunch of their friends and all these bands support each other. It takes the pressure off when you’re not trying to achieve anything, you’re writing for your own enjoyment. And we write songs to make each other laugh.
So how exciting was it playing at the Golden Plains Festival (earlier this year) after going as punters?
H: That’s still our most exciting phone call, without a doubt. It was really great.
How did you deal with going on so early (10am)?
H: We went to bed pretty early but we were sleeping in the back of the van. We put the mattress in like a concave thing, but we kept waking up and going 'oh my god we’re playing!' But then there was a real peaceful period where we got up, and they’ve got beautiful showers that look over the whole landscape. And from that point onwards, everything was ok. We got a coffee. And we got a little dressing room that had all Pavement’s gear in it so we kept touching that.
A: Realistically we were only ok because we were drunk. Thank god for alcohol.
You only put the EP out on vinyl, so why are you putting the album out on CD now?
A: Because a lot of people said 'I wish we had the tour EP on CD', so we said 'ok, not everyone has working record players'. I think vinyl is making a real comeback.
H: I think it’s also great for small bands like us because the whole idea of records - we’re only doing 300 in Australia. You feel like it’s something special to keep, as opposed to everyone’s got CDs. There’s something beautiful about vinyl. The covers are all being screen printed, and we’ve drawing on every single one. For the artwork we got all our friends who are in bands to draw doodles on the cover. Not actual doodles! But pictures. And it's white vinyl. We only got them yesterday.
A: I just want it to be finished. We got the records but the covers haven’t been done yet. So I just can’t wait for that moment we pull it out.
H: I cant wait for our launch. There are so many good bands playing: Total Control, Mikey from Eddy Current’s band. I think they’ve only done two shows ever. And Boomgates which is Brendan Suppression’s band with Stephanie from Dick Diver.
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Fifteen is released July 23 on Aaghrt/Shock. You can currently hear the album in its entirety on our Vine Radio Player (over in the column at the side there).
Super Wild Horses play the Swanston Room at Victoria Hotel, Little Collins St on July 31. Doors open 7.30pm. Tix $12 at the door.