Adelaide 5-piece It's A Hoax are a band driven by a love for creating something out of nothing. Their left-field indie rock is born out of constant improvisation and inspired by everything from math rock to NYC jazz.
Tell us about your music. How did you develop your sound?
It didn’t really take that long for us to settle into our sound, mainly because we all had such a similar set of influences; the whole 90s Alternative thing, NYC-scene Jazz and experimental music, Math-Rock and the Garage-Rock stuff that’s getting popular at the moment. This has meant that we do 100% of our writing through jamming and improvising, knowing that we can trust that the choices that each of us make are going to be right for the music. No one has ever had to tell anyone else what to do or play, it’s all just sort of happened in a very natural way.
What’s your greatest source of inspiration for making music?
I’d like to say something like “we channel The Eternal One, who informs and inspires everything we do"... but really we just get a kick out of making music as a group, making something out of nothing with your buddies. There’s not much need for any other inspiration other than that.
What can punters expect from the It’s a Hoax live show?
We take a lot of liberties with our music: we change and extend sections, reharmonise things, improvise a lot. That means an It’s a Hoax live show is a one-off experience and the songs won’t be played in quite the same way again. Hopefully those listening can feel like they were part of that with us in some way.
What’s the best advice you’ve been given and who was it from?
Make sure you brush AND floss. A number of people have said it to us and it’s paid off big time. All the money we save on dental work, fillings etc, goes straight into the band. We’ve seen too many great bands fall by the wayside because the consistent dental fees were too much of a burden.
What Australian track would you play to cheer up someone who was crying?
'Girl' by
The Honey Pies. I’m not sure there’s been a more hopeful sounding song ever written... the fact they’re from Adelaide is an added bonus!
What Australian track would you play to someone to make them cry?
There’s a couple of good ones: 'Blood' by The Middle East... but you’ve got to watch the
video clip with it... or '
Slow Train' by Alex Lloyd and The Pigram Brothers, but it helps if you’ve seen the movie Mad Bastards first.
You’re the DJ at a party. The dance floor is pumping. What Australian track do you put on next?
What was the last local gig you went to? How was it?
It was West Thebarton Brothel Party and God God Dammit Dammit at the Producers Bar, if you know those two bands you can imagine what kind of chaos ensued. I had met a Dutch backpacker and brought him along to the show. The floor was as a slippery as an SPC grape and the crowd was going crazy. The night was filled with crowd surfing from both bands and there were multiple beer lay-backs. Good wholesome fun.
Tell us about the bands or people in the Adelaide music community that inspire you.
There’s so many great bands in Adelaide right now, we’ll just give you who we’re really digging at the moment: St Morris Sinners, Battlehounds, The Rocketeers and Yeahyeahabsolutelynoway. But really that’s just a snapshot.
What are your plans for the rest 2014?
We're recording again right away, hoping for a release before the end of the year or early 2015. We're really happy with our new material and the direction that we're heading. In terms of shows, the one we're really excited about is the Hillside Festival 4.0 which is going to feature a ton of bands from the Adelaide scene such as Horror My Friend, Bad/Dreems, West Thebarton Brothel Party, Battlehounds, The Dunes, Archers and so many more. That's November 29th, grab a ticket if there are still any left!
View Profile
Hide Interview
