Brisbane alt. country act, The Long Johns are setting off on an east-coast tour following the recent release of their new single 'Hound Dog'.
Since their formation in 2016, The Long Johns have played a string of festivals including Woodford Folk Festival, Nimbin Roots Festival and Moomba Festival. The group were also nominated for 'Best Country Act' at this year's Queensland Music Awards.
'Hound Dog' will be a follow-up release to their 2017 debut EP 'Last Man Standing'. “This single is an extension of [our previous EP],” says the band's sousaphonist player, Stevie Buchanan.
“It's upbeat, alternative country, bluegrass [music]. It's a bit hillbilly roots as we often describe it. We do cross genres a little bit, but it's definitely in the theme of what we do.”
Stevie explains the song came together due to a situation that arose at Richard Needham's (band's drummer) house, involving a big dog and an uncooperative rooster. “[Richard has] this massive Great Dane-English Mastiff dog called Ford.
"It looks after the chickens and protects them. One of the roosters got out and Ford tried to herd it back into the chicken coup, but then it got up on the fence, started wandering a lot and then [Ford] ended up eating the rooster.
“That's actually what the track's about. It was just about eating the rooster, but then it turned into a whole [song].
“[We're] really stoked [with 'Hound Dog']. It sounds really good. This is the first single for an upcoming album that we're looking at releasing [early] next year. We've already done a lot of the tracks, so we're excited for the album and to see what can come from it.”
To support the release of 'Hound Dog', The Long Johns will hit the road for an east-coast tour with shows in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sunshine Coast. The tour will also include a performance at Caloundra Music Festival.
“Since the EP [was released], this will be the first structured tour [we've done]. [We're] really excited for it.
“We're looking forward to Caloundra Music Festival. Also, the Brisbane show because that's our home turf [as well as] our Melbourne show. We always love The Scrims [support act]. They're an awesome band and we're keen to do a show with them in-front of a great crowd.”
Punters looking forward to The Long Johns' live shows can expect an energetic performance with plenty of unique instruments being played. “We always have a great time. It feels good to be onstage with people you love and doing things you love.
“[We love] watching the audience's reaction, them enjoying the show and getting people to have a dance. There lots of banjo, [although] there's a few downtempo tracks as well. It's a bit of a spectrum. You've got everyone on the dancefloor to everyone just listening to Sian Evan's amazing voice.”
The Long Johns Tour Dates
Fri 7 Sep - Sooki Lounge (Melbourne)Sat 8 Sep - Bar Open (Melbourne)
Sat 22 Sep - The Bearded Lady (Brisbane)
Fri 28 Sep - Caloundra Music Festival (Sunshine Coast)
Sat 13 Oct - Rush Festival (Sunshine Coast)
Sun 4 Nov - Kingscliff Beach Hotel
