Procrastination is a hell of a drug.
Bloods wanted to record their EP, Golden Fang. No, really, they actually did want to record it. The trouble was, so Dirk tells me, that the trio were just so incredibly busy. There were so many beverages, he says, and they weren't just going to drink themselves. Yet somehow between the foggy haze of drinking and hanging out Bloods remembered they still hadn't recorded their EP. This troubled them. Something had to be done. The three of them cracked open a beer to figure it all out.
"We went to the Hunter Valley and hired this house in the middle of nowhere. It had no internet or phone, so we were totally dedicated to working on this stuff! When we got there there wasn't even a landline, so even if anything went wrong we couldn't call anyone. I think we just wanted to get away from all our partners and all the distractions. We needed to force ourselves to actually do the work! But we had so much fun just drinking and hanging out that we only got about two songs down, and this was over a couple of days."
Even Bloods know that two songs does not constitute an EP, but luckily the trio had the sense to book some extra studio time and actually do some work. By some miracle, Golden Fang has made it to completion.
"It's just so great having it out there and having people able to hear it," Dirk assures me. Apparently it's a great EP to just drink and hang out to. The irony is that if Bloods took their craft more seriously they'd likely cease to exist. Professionalism goes against the DIY ethos inherent within the bloodied, beating heart of Australian garage punk. Musical ability? Optional. Accurate release dates? Unlikely. The result is, of course, excellent.
"It seems like a real movement happening at the moment. Having Royal Headache is a big part of it, their royal assent to popularity, I think, has led to a lot of people picking up guitars and, you know, doing it. I mean, it shows you that you can do it yourself, you can start out and not even... like, with Bloods, when we started none of us played the instruments that we're playing in the band."
Silly me. I assumed that, given those drumsticks he's holding, Dirk must be a drummer. Wrong — he's a guitarist, one that just happens to be playing drums.
"We were all playing in another band before and we picked up other instruments and thought ‘Yeah, let's just swap it around’. In the old band MC was just singing with no guitar, but she could play guitar. Sweetie has been playing violin since she was three years old, so she thought, ‘Oh, bass could be good because it's also got four strings!’ For me I've always loved drums. I'd played them on and off but I'd never owned a kit. In the past when I was playing guitar in any break I'd get on the kit and have a go. It was probably really annoying for the actual drummer."
Dirk assures me that learning to play drums is very, very tough. One has to partake in a strict regimen of only light-to-moderate pre-show drunkenness. It's a level of self-discipline that requires concentration, deep-breathing, and the repetition of a mantra over a burning stick of incense. Oh, and there's other stuff as well. Like actual drumming. Right. That's hard as well, maybe.
"I'd always tapped along on a desk at school listening to my Walkman. But actually starting this band and recording really early on... it was harder than I thought. Just trying to keep time! You can't get drunk or anything, if you do you totally blow the whole show! Over time I've gotten way more confident with it, but it was just stressful at first."
Dirk and I blow the rest of the interview time reminiscing about the qualities of our respective Walkmans. In a vain attempt to bring substance back to the dialogue I pull the cheap shot of asking who the band will be voting for this election. This is assuming, of course, that any of them actually manage to pull themselves away from drinking and hanging out to vote at all. It could happen, sure.
"Whatever happens, I think I speak for all of us that as long as Tony Abbott doesn't get anywhere near power ... We've already decided we're moving to New Zealand [if he gets in]. It's great over there. A couple of radio stations have picked up the single, so it's perfect!"
Written by James Pearson
Bloods play the following shows:
Fri Aug 30 — Workers Club (Melbourne) (w/ Major Leagues, Richie1250, The Brides Of Christ)Wed Sep 11 — BIGSOUND @ Electric Playground
Sat Sep 14 — The Loft (Gold Coast) (w/ Teen Sensations, The Good Sports)
