Zach Stephenson, vocalist-guitarist for Hockey Dad, is looking forward to the surf-rock duo's upcoming run of shows as part of the inaugural Fresh Produce festival (kicking off in Townsville this August before wrapping up its eight-town regional run in Adelaide in October).
Zach says these types of performances are always "fun little shows", and being away from major cities allows for a different kind of a good time. "I think it's great for bands who live in those kinds of [regional] areas," Zach says."A lot of big bands in Australia come from those rural areas, and without big bands going through there it's hard for people to know what's happening and get good role models, so it's nice to get out and play there."
Not exactly from a regional town, hailing from Windang (a suburb of Wollongong), Hockey Dad still retain a down-to-earth appreciation for regional locations.
"The town we grew up in was a 2,000 population small town, so I guess we're not really city boys but we're not completely country boys. We do like to be in places where there aren't many people, though."
Fresh Produce is a concept that comes from the creators of Groovin The Moo – a festival of which Hockey Dad have only played once, at the Canberra edition back in 2013 as young rock fledglings.
That experience has given the pair confidence, Zach says, in the Fresh Produce event, that also boasts the likes of G Flip, Lime Cordiale, and Mallrat plus a stack of local acts per event.
"Friends of ours who play in bands say that touring Groovin The Moo, bands get well looked after.
"I imagine it's going to be a tight ship [Fresh Produce] but really enjoyable, because [the organisers] know what they're doing when it comes to putting on a festival."
For Hockey Dad, particularly given the restrictions this last year has provided, an event like Fresh Produce provides them and other performers a revitalising opportunity. "It's a great way to get back into the saddle and into our craft," Zach says.
"It's a really good confidence booster for everybody who wants to play, just to get that opportunity to play a real festival setting again. It's good for everybody's mental health to get back to work.
"[Plus] it's a really good opportunity for smaller, regional bands to experience a festival set that they may never have experienced before, as we got at the Canberra Groovin The Moo. A great opportunity for young bands to jump on."
You might even say it's good for everyone's 'Brain Candy'. Laughing unironically at the bad pun referring to Hockey Dad's 2020 album, Zach says: "That's it! A big jar of brain candy!"
Thanks to COVID, Hockey Dad never had the opportunity to tour the bangers featured in their third studio album.
"We only started doing an album tour a couple of weeks ago, so we still haven't played any songs off of 'Brain Candy', so we're still trying to get that into the set and play those songs and enjoy that album before we debut anything new – not to say we haven't been working on anything new, but I don't think we'll play it just yet."
Fresh Produce 2021 Tour Dates
13-14 Aug - Murray Sports Complex (Townsville)20-21 Aug - Hay Park (Bunbury)
27-28 Aug - Maitland Showground
3-4 Sep - Toowoomba Showgrounds
10-11 Sep - Hobart Showground
17-18 Sep - Exhibition Park In Canberra
24-25 Sep - Prince of Wales Showground (Bendigo)
1-2 Oct - Adelaide Showground
Fresh Produce 2021 Line-up
G FlipLime Cordiale
Cosmo's Midnight
Mallrat
Hockey Dad
Hooligan Hefs
TOWNSVILLE
Jack Gray
Jelly Oshen
Miiesha
Dizzy Doolan
Hood Rich
Will Blume
Ender
Very Casual DJs
It’s Not A Wig
BUNBURY
Death By Denim
Great Gable
Flewnt
Your Girl Pho
Smol Fish
Mali Jo$e
Casual Connection
Ugly DJ Co
Zolly
Wheresholly
MAITLAND
Vacations
Masked Wolf
Ninajirachi
Kinder
Barkaa
Dave The Band
Lex Deluxe
Seiren
Tise Jones
Eclipse
TOOWOOMBA
JK-47
Jaguar Jonze
Hope D
Swish Music
Lavanda
Cloe Terare
Jacknife
Reggie Gray
Rave Radio
Ya Girl Party B
GLENORCHY
Emily Wurramara
Slaughterhäus Surf Cult
M E R E S
Maddy Jane
Slag Queens
Denni
Hugo Bladel (DJ Set)
Miele
Max Best
Rowdy Boi
CANBERRA
Hands Like Houses
Moaning Lisa
Sputnik Sweetheart
Aodhan
Philly
Aya Yves
Jack Burton
FISHGIRL
Brittany De Marco
Moneybag$ Mason
BENDIGO
Mia Wray
Alice Skye
Yergurl
Gangz
Vince The Kid
Oetha
Jade Zoe
Cliterally
Soju Gang
Tonky
WAYVILLE
Teenage Joans
J-Milla
Stellie
George Alice
East Av3
Tilly Tjala Thomas
Mell Hall
Acey
Happiness Is Wealth
Late Nite Lew
