A mutual love of hard rock music drew Release The Hounds together in 2010. Five years on and they are on the road touring their expert live show along Australia’s east coast.
Starting in Shepparton, Victoria, to an enthusiastic crowd – “It was a really good night; a really good gig,” says Ben Jacobs, the band’s lead singer – Release The Hounds have been having an excellent time showing off their skills and winning over new fans, as well as being won over by the towns they have played so far.
Release The Hounds are now nearing the last leg of their tour before they break to head to the studio, where they will be recording their first album, to be released at the start of 2016. YouTube is how they like to advertise themselves to those who are yet to have seen them live; the website offering videos of their energetic live performances. “We consider ourselves a live band, so if you are interested in a hard rock band, carry on like pork chops, and play good music than we are that band.”
The Prince Of Wales is shaping up to be an sensational night of their tour, “the ‘Whole Lotta Rosie’ cover at the end of our set is not to be missed” says Jacobs. With five bands on the bill including glam band Snake Bite Whiskey, Gold Coast’s Kobrakai and The Pretty Fingers who will be dropping their new EP, the audience is in for a night of rock & roll. Locus are another band performing on the night, a band that Release The Hounds have been listening to a lot in the lead up to the gig.
When asked how he and his band mates first developed their interest in hard-rock music, Jacobs says that their guitarist Brett Tyrrell “went to his first AC/DC concert when he was three years old, he sat on his old man’s shoulders.
“When you are a kid you listen to what your parents do a lot of the time, until you are old enough to form your own opinions, and my dad was a big Beatles guy... You find out Mötley Crew covering Beatles songs and the influence that these guys have over so many hard rock bands.”
A hard rock band must play a thrilling live show, “The way we earn money is by getting off our arses and playing.” Luckily Release The Hounds love performing live, especially when it takes them on the road. “If you stay within Sydney, yeah there is a scene and you get to know everyone, what is great about this is that you get to travel to all these different towns, meet all these different people, listen to all these different bands. I just get a bit excited and immersed into the different scenes and meeting all these people along the way because everyone has a story to tell and you don’t see too many bad bands when you are touring.”
Release The Hounds play so that they may create fun and enjoyment – they see it as the only way to live. It is unsurprising that with their rockin' attitude and loud guitars that they are winning over new fans in every town they play.
Release The Hounds play Sydney’s The Landsdowne 12 June, and The Roxbury 13 June and Brisbane’s Prince Of Wales Hotel 19 June.
