It’s always great to see a little Aussie band make it big overseas, and Middle Kids have been doing us all proud as they rub shoulders with the television elite in La-La Land.
With their mini-album ‘New Songs For Old Problems’ as their passport, Middle Kids have been granted access to the US market with recent performances on ‘Conan’, ‘Jimmy Kimmel’ and ‘The Late Late Show With James Corden’.
“It is pretty intense, and it was funny; our first TV show we did was on our first official American tour, we were so fricking fresh,” frontwoman Hannah Joy laughs when asked about their US TV experiences.
“It was actually good for us though because it demands a lot from you because you’ve got to get it in one go, and I think as a young band we were like ‘oh my gosh’ but it set an expectation for us when we go out and perform we have to nail it. We take that mentality into every single show now, whether it’s a club show or whatever.
“I think part of it was because early in our career we somehow got these TV [appearances] and festivals over in America, so it really scrubbed us up intensely. Now we’ve done a few of them, they’re super-fun, but it’s a totally bizarre experience. American television – we just don’t have anything like it.”
So, what’s it like to come face-to-face with the Conans, Kimmels and Cordens of the world, personalities rarely seen outside the confines of a screen by the likes of mere mortals such as you and I reader, valued reader? “We were so blown away because you know, Australians can be a bit suss like, ‘who are you really?’,” Hannah laughs.
“But honestly, everyone has taken the time to come chat to us in the green room and they’re all so kind. You can just tell they’re so intelligent and always way ahead of you in the conversation. They have that platform for a reason – they’ve got brilliant minds and they’re intensely hilarious.”
It’s not just Middle Kids that’s rubbing off on America; a little bit of that can-do American grit and independent spirit has also rubbed off on the band as they’ve spent time in Los Angeles, a place Hannah also says is becoming a second home.
“It’s such a privilege to be around those people, and that’s part of American culture too – seeing what you can make, and that’s a very LA thing,” she says. “That’s been a good thing for our band. There’s so many people going, ‘what can you make? What can you bring? Take the risk – you might fail but do it.’”
Enough about America though, as Middle Kids prepare for their biggest Australian tour to date in November. If that weren’t big enough news, Hannah is also expecting her and husband Tim Fitz’s [Middle Kids bandmate] first child in January, who’s been dubbed ‘the first Middle Kids kid’.
“I’m already big, and the tour’s not till November, so I don’t know what we’re going to do – I may have to be dangled from a trapeze or something,” Hannah laughs.
“This is the thing: it’s exciting when you’re creating your own thing – when you’re a band and now having a baby, you’re just seeing what’s possible and what can you make work. It’s amazing to see your capacity for what you can really do.”
Middle Kids 2019 Tour Dates
Thu 7 Nov - Astor Theatre (Perth)Sat 9 Nov - This That (Newcastle)
Thu 14 Nov - Enmore Theatre (Sydney)
Sun 17 Nov - Forum Melbourne
Thu 21 Nov - The Tivoli Theatre (Brisbane)
Sat 23 Nov - Spilt Milk (Canberra)
Thu 28 Nov - HQ Complex (Adelaide)
