High school pop-punks Cheesy Crust will unveil their debut song in July; and the Brisbane teenagers are ready to party.
Ok guys, with the band name what are you favourite types of pizza? Any thin crust fans in the band?
[Alex] Callen and I don’t really care what type of pizza it is as long as it’s not Eagle Boys. Even though we obviously all love pizza, Matt and his Double Cheeseburger pizzas are inseparable. With regards to the crust preferences, we are all fans of Cheesy Crust obviously, but Matthew is on a whole new level. We were ordering pizza after our third jam when we decided to become a band and came to the realisation that we need to be called Cheesy Crust. Band tradition is to order at least one pizza with Cheesy Crust when ordering pizza.
The band's about six months old; who asked who out?
Matthew and I used to play together in an acoustic project a year ago covering metal bands and Ed Sheeran. After experimenting with other musical ideas we decided that we should start a band, but that never went anywhere. I was scrolling through drum covers on YouTube one afternoon before stumbling across Callen’s old YouTube channel. His drumming was great and said he was looking for a band. It just so happened he didn’t live to far away and we ended up playing together.
Still being in high school, how much time do you dedicate to the band? Are most weekends spent jamming?With Callen and me both undertaking Grade 11 OP subjects like physics, school can get in the way of the band sometimes, but that’s the way it should be. We can’t complain though. We still manage to jam whenever we get a chance, but we spend a lot of time working on ideas individually or just as Matthew and I. There is a lot of other work we have to do with the band rather than just jamming and gigging that we do as well.
The group's debut single is ready for launch in July, 'Renovate This Town'. What's the song about?
'Renovate This Town' discusses the music scene in Australia especially with regards to parties. There are hardly any parties anymore that will hire live bands and a decent PA system, but rather just blast some beats on their stereo: it's where we got the line: ‘Jumping up and down to the stereo' from. But all in all, 'Renovate This Town' is meant to connect with the Australian youth who are fans of live or heavy music to be a part of the scene and support not just big artists on the mainstream media, whether that be Facebook or TV, but also their mates who might be in the local scene.
The single launch is happening at the Mt Gravatt PCYC; what type of party do you have planned?
We have been planning it for some time; we’re keen to finally release the single. After playing a dozen shows and really working hard on our act, we are happy to have a bigger position on the line-up and more time so we can really showcase our best material and get everyone pumped up. With regards to how it will go down, the way numbers are looking it should be a packed hall and with some great other bands on stage such Eliza and the Delusionals, why wouldn’t it. The show should be a blast. My sister Olivia, from REIZEI Music is opening the night, so I guess you could say its family friendly.
You guys dress in colourful ties and suspenders… what inspired this look?
The suspenders haha…we always get asked about them. After a couple of shows we were starting to find what worked for us. After thinking about it for a while I came to the realisation that most of the successful bands had a costume to go with their act. The obvious one is KISS, but even the Queensland Symphony Orchestra wears a uniform. It started out as something that just needed to be clean and recognisable. After brain-storming a heap of ideas we ended up ordering suspenders and ties and it just worked.
You recorded at Tall Poppy Productions; what was the experience like?
Matthew and I set-up and run the little recording studio at Beenleigh High; we have always had an interest in recording. After attending the Band-Aid workshop at Tall Poppy Productions late last year, we all felt inspired to record some music and find a way to share it with other people quickly. Being able to work with a wonderful producer like Nathan Woodrow and some awesome people like Michael Gill and Gareth David, we began to realise what it really took to get your music recorded and seen. We didn’t really feel intimidated but more so inspired.
Will you be looking to record more song?
We are currently in the process of planning and recording our first EP which is due for February next year. The hardest part about writing an EP is choosing what songs to put on it.
Who are some of you pop-punk heros?
With regards to pop-punk inspirations, there are the obvious ones like Blink-182 and Green Day, but they give us very little inspiration. As a band our biggest inspirations are: State Champs, Knuckle Puck, Neck Deep, The Story So Far and The Offspring. But I wouldn’t say that we sound like any of them. As a band, we each personally take a lot of inspiration from other types of music. Matthew is a massive Ed Sheeran fan and I am a massive fan of heavy music, progressive music and classical music. When it comes to pop-punk, Callen is your go-to guy.
What's the ultimate support slot for the band?
If we could have any support slot, it would either be State Champs or Knuckle Puck. But we wouldn’t mind playing for 5 Seconds Of Summer or even something slightly heavier like A Day To Remember.
The next next 12 months for Cheesy Crust; what is the plan?
The release of ‘Renovate This Town’ and maybe something more… like the EP, lots of gigging, pizza and school. Matthew can hopefully graduate Grade 12 and Callen and I can do some more homework.
Cheesy Crust play the Mt Gravatt PCYC 16 July. Eliza & The Delusionals join the line-up.
