Canberra band Hancock Basement are ready to take Australia by storm with their catchy tunes and infectious energy. I caught up with the multi-talented Nick Beresford-Wylie (he sings, and plays guitar, keyboards, and saxophone!) to hear about the Canberra music scene, his love of vinyl, and the band’s upcoming Sydney shows.
You won the Triple J Trackside Unearthed competition last year. How many doors has that title opened for the band?
Winning the Trackside Unearthed competition has certainly been a great help as it earned us national exposure and radio airplay, which in turn have helped us in booking shows and reaching a wider audience. It’s also great to be able to say we’re a Triple J Unearthed band.
What was it like to play for the crowds at the Trackside festival?
Playing Trackside was a pretty great but slightly bizarre experience. Although we were on early we played to a pretty huge crowd of all ages, which was a lot of fun. However, halfway through our set the wind began howling and it started to pour with rain. Then the stage power cut out and our drummer Tom had to launch into an ad lib solo and our singer Craven did some crowd interaction dance moves. After a few nerve-wracking minutes the power came back and we were able to finish our set. The crowd wasn’t phased though and the soloing/dancing received some pretty loud cheers.
You’re from Canberra. What can you tell me about it the music scene there?
Canberra has a lot of talent at the moment although, sadly, this is let down by the lack of live music venues. We were very sad to see the Greenroom close last year (one of Canberra’s long standing dedicated live music venues). It makes it more difficult for local bands to get the chances they deserve. However, Transit Bar, the ANU Bar, The Basement and the Phoenix Bar are still great places to see local rock and indie music.
You’ve supported so many amazing acts, from The Presets to Cut Off Your Hands. What have you learnt from touring around with more established artists?
I guess we’ve learnt that while playing music is about having fun, it’s also about entertaining your audience. Bands are performers, and if you want people to remember you and keep coming to your shows you really need to put time and effort into your performance and making it something special that people will remember. Kim from the Presets also tuned our drum kit and it’s never sounded better, so I guess we learned how to get phat drum sounds from him.
Do you have any favourite tours?
Probably our first “tour”, which saw us playing in Canberra, Sydney and two gigs in Melbourne on consecutive nights. We’d managed to borrow a small van and cram our instruments and sleeping bags in. We had minimal sleep and a lot of driving and our interstate shows didn’t draw much of a crowd at that point. Despite all this we had a pretty great time.
If you could play on a bill with anyone, who would it be?
Prince or maybe The Clash. Perhaps a super bill with both.
I hear you released an old-school 7” vinyl earlier this year. What made you decide to release on vinyl instead of the more modern formats?
Many of our musical heroes made their names through 7-inch singles and there’s a bit of a mystique surrounding those records, many of which have become collector’s items. In the age of instant computer downloads and mp3s , CD singles have become a bit disposable and we wanted to do something different. A record is more tangible and a bit more special than a CD.
Your bass player Todd is a fairly recent addition to the band. What has he brought to your sound?
Todd has been a great addition to the band. After several years of having only two guitars and drums we finally gave in and got a bass player and we haven’t looked back. Having a bass has really rounded out our sound. It strengthened our older songs and has opened the door to a lot more writing possibilities.
You’re playing some Sydney shows soon. What can music lovers expect from your performances?
A tight and energetic performance of some original indie pop, with a few classic rock moves thrown in for kicks.
And finally, what should we know about Hancock Basement?
We’re playing Oxford Art Factory on 17 July and we’re recording a new single at the end of July that should be out by early September, so keep your ears peeled!
Hancock Basement are playing with The Decorated Generals on 17th July at Oxford Art Factory & MUM, World Bar on 21st August in Sydney. Check them out at their MySpace page!
Image used with permission from Peer Group Media