Mood Swing (David 'Dizzy' McEvoy) and Chevy Bass (Nick Economidis) have one of the most wholesome backstories of any musical ensemble.
The lads went to high school together, and as Nick explains were drawn to performing right from the start. "My first passion was acting and theatre. Now that I look back on it, it wasn't specifically acting but just performing in front of an audience that I was addicted to."Though the seeds of creativity were there in those early days, Mood Swing & Chevy Bass was around 15 years in the making.
"We're music and festival lovers, so before we were playing at these big festivals, we were attending them as punters," Nick says.
During that time, the lads consumed mass quantities of live music in every genre they could find. Every show they attended added another drop of inspiration to the growing pool that would one day spill over into Mood Swing & Chevy Bass.
"When we finally decided to do what we do, we tried to put everything we like as punters into one show.
"So for us, it was a mix of live music and electronic plus all the other things we'd always remember as punters – the theatrics and the costumes, the props and interaction – all the things that are entertaining, but that aren’t music."
This approach of giving people everything they love has made Mood Swing & Chevy Bass a crowd favourite at festivals all over the world.
From Burning Man in the US to Boomtown Fair in the UK and Elements Festival locally, Nick has become infamous for his unique take on the not-so-subtle art of crowd surfing.
"This is the stuff that keeps me up at night – what can I crowd surf on? What contraption is going to not only look good and feel good, but also be stable?"
Of the many devices he's used over the years, there's one that still gives him chills. "I don't think we've talked about this on the record before, but the Zorb ball adventure at Rabbits Eat Lettuce was the most terrifying thing I've ever done in my life."
The idea came from a Flaming Lips show around ten years ago when Nick saw lead singer Wayne Coyne launch himself into the crowd inside a Zorb ball. "I don't remember much else from that festival, but I do remember that moment, so I knew that one day I had to try it."
Ten years later, the lads finally invested in their own Zorb ball. As they eagerly dug into the packaging, they found this stark warning: 'You only have ten minutes of oxygen.'
This wasn't even the most unsettling aspect, as Nick explains. "You can't get yourself out from the inside. You have to be unzipped from the outside. So, from the get-go, I had this fear that if I got lost in the crowd I could genuinely suffocate."
Of course, this wasn't going to stop Nick from achieving his Zorb ball dream. "I got pushed out, and within ten seconds, I realised I had no control over where I was going. I was getting thrown around like a rag doll. . . it was horrible.
"The ball started to deflate, so as people pushed up, I was losing air. There was also a hill at the back of the stage, so if I'd been pushed all the way back and started rolling, it would have been chaos.
"It felt like I was out there for an hour and a half but it was probably less than a minute and a half."
His main takeaway from this anxiety-inducing expedition? "It was genuinely f...ing terrifying, but I'm still going to do it again."
Whether you saw the moment on social media or were lucky enough to be there in person, you'd have no idea Nick was even the slightest bit scared. After making it back to the stage, he burst out of the ball in perfect timing with the music, looking relaxed and adorably triumphant.
"Oh that's all part of the show," he laughs. "If there was a close-up of me in that ball, you would have seen the fear in my eyes."
This 'anything for the show' mentality is a huge part of what fuels Nick and Dizzy's creativity. "We feel a need to make our shows better every time. We want to make each and every show bigger and better, and different from the last."
While Nick says they're highly competitive with themselves, a big part of this drive comes down, once again, to their personal understanding of the experiences of the audience.
When the festival scene is in full swing, it's not unusual for people to see Mood Swing & Chevy Bass at multiple events. The last thing they want is for their shows to get repetitive.
"Each show has to be different, each show has to be interesting. People come with an expectation that they're going to see something f...ing ridiculous, so we deliver something uniquely ridiculous each time."
This ethos of taking everything you love as a punter and amplifying it in your own creations is shared by the crew who present Elements Festival.
Nick says they immediately noticed this resonance. "We played the first-ever Elements, and size-wise it was a tenth of what they do now, but it was one of the most amazing first parties we've seen anyone put on.
"We knew they were going to continue on to do great things."
It's no accident that we bring up Elements Festival. Thanks to the change of dates from October to December, Mood Swing & Chevy Bass have some rather thrilling news.
"We are excited to confirm that we're back on the line-up for the upcoming Elements Festival. It wasn't possible when it was going to be in October because we were booked every weekend. But when it was moved to December, we were stoked to jump back onboard."
As they did last year, the lads will be opening the main stage – Tribal Council – on the Friday night. Anyone who was there will remember how monumental this moment was.
"It was the first festival back after almost a year of nothing, so everyone was chomping at the bit to just release energy. And the production at Elements is next-level.
"There were flame-throwers and fireworks and confetti cannons. We were unaware of all those things, so it was surprising us as much as the crowd. And the energy release at that gig made it one of our most memorable sets ever."
While fans know they can look forward to fresh shenanigans at every Mood Swing & Chevy Bass show, there's even more instore for Elements attendees.
"We'll be playing with the five-piece band, and we've just put together a set of all-new tunes. So Elements will be the debut of the new live band show."
If you're keen for a preview of what you can expect, keep an eye out for the next release from the Box of Cats label. 'Various Artists - Litterbox 11' will be released 10 December, featuring a new single from Mood Swing & Chevy Bass.
If you want to catch them live and in full force, Elements Festival is the ticket. "We are pumped to play Elements again. Production-wise it's got to be the most exciting festival in Australia, so we're keen to get back out there."
Mood Swing & Chevy Bass return to the stage at Elements Festival at Landcruiser Mountain Park (Sunshine Coast) 16-19 December.
