Take two Sydney musicians, add some artistic chemistry with just a dash of Polish heritage and what do you get? Polish Club.
David Novak and John-Henry Pajak are two men who saw an opportunity to create something pretty damn cool and went for it, even if it was out of slight desperation as David suggests. “John was in a lot of bands when we were younger and full of naivety; they weren't quite pushing his buttons.
“I was in a high-school band that wasn't going anywhere and one day I got John to drum for us; he had the genius idea of us two trying a thing together because we seemed to be on the same page.
“We booked a room and all of a sudden the three bullsh.t songs we messed around with got demoed and one of them ended up on triple j. That’s when things started to happen.
“It kind of was an effortless thing, which was great. Now we're at the point where we are overthinking everything because we know it is fully what it is and can be. But back then, we were like 'Oh we can do this, this is great'; we didn’t really over think it,” Novak says.
After a stellar year in 2018 with sold-out national tours, a triple j Hottest 100 berth ('Clarity' at #76) and a blossoming European fan base, Polish Club endeavour to out-do themselves this year, starting with the release of their second album, ‘Iguana’, in June.
'Iguana' is named partially after one of their favourite bars in Kings Cross and partially “'cause iguanas are rad”.
The making of ‘Iguana’ has been a year and a half in the works and was a struggle at times as the boys tried to find the right balance.
“It’s not like a real proper day job, like where you come in and there’s a beginning and you meet your KPIs and there’s an end. “With this [creative process] I don’t know when we are finished, I don’t know what people want, we’ve gotten this far by doing stuff that is fun to us, so I guess the only rule is trying to chase whatever is satisfying and fun.
“Which is a nice place to be in, but often at times it’s a selfish endeavour, like you’re not trying hard enough or not doing as well as you could be doing, but there’s no knowing definitively what that is.
“So I kind of think that it’s a constant exercise in switching your brain off and playing to your strengths, while also trying to be different. I mean it’s all a giant oxymoron, but it's fun, always fun,” Novak says.
Polish Club have also revealed dates for a headline tour: ‘Meet Me At The Iguana’. However, it won’t just be the two of them onstage. They're bringing their long-time producer, bass player and honorary third Polish Club member, Wade Keighran.
Having been in various bands over their life time, the lads have a well developed pre-show process. “We used to just wing it, have a few drinks to get a little buzz on and feel relaxed, then walk on stage.
"Now we properly make sure that we’re not exhausted. I’ve gotta make sure my voice is OK. It’s a very calm and low-key thing, because we gotta save all that energy that we don’t have during the day for that 70 minutes on stage.
“So for me, it's a lot of silence. It's basically a mini hibernation and then an explosion on stage because if I didn’t do that I’d pass out. I’m not 18 anymore, I can’t go nuts back stage and jump around and then get on stage and continue that,” Novak laughs.
Polish Club have performed at all kinds of venues, from pubs and bars to the Metro Theatre in Sydney, which is Novak’s career highlight to date.
“I think playing a sold-out Metro Theatre; I used to think 'Wow I’m going to see this band that I love at the Metro, they’re like the biggest band in the world to me, I love it and them'… now I’ve done it myself,” Novak says.
It’s undeniable that the guys have been kicking goals left, right and centre, and will continue to do so. However, they are big believers in keeping it real. “It’s [about taking] baby steps; you can’t get too far ahead of yourself.
"Things are changing so fast in music; you can’t predict how people will consume our stuff and how people will react to what we do. So we have to be really pragmatic about it and make sure the next step puts us in a space that we can grow. It’s not romantic and it's very business-minded,” Novak says.
Polish Club are excited for their next chapter, and are proud of their new album despite the tediousness of the creative process. “I'm happy to have this whole period over with,” David says.
“It was a year and a half of writing and recording and throwing sh.t at the wall and seeing if it sticks, and that was not the most fun. It was not the most productive [method], but it led us to an album that we would not have otherwise had, so I’m very happy with the result.
“To be able to learn the songs and try to work them out live and have a whole new set to play to people, it’s the most exciting part of it to us. It’s a very relaxing thing going on tour, it can be very stressful and exhausting.
"But in terms of the music side of it and the creativity side of it, it's the part where you can switch that off and just be like 'let's have fun with it and make sure everybody else is having fun', so it’s gonna be super fun [to tour]. I can’t wait,” he says.
'Iguana' is released 7 June.
Polish Club Tour Dates
Sat 8 Jun - Entrance Leagues Club (Bateau Bay, NSW)Wed 12 Jun - The Cambridge Hotel (Newcastle)
Thu 13 Jun - UOW Unibar (Wollongong)
Fri 14 Jun - UC Hub (Canberra)
Sat 15 Jun - Manning Bar (Sydney)
Fri 21 Jun - Mojo’s (Fremantle)
Sat 22 Jun - Badlands (Perth)
Sun 23 Jun - Prince of Wales (Bunbury)
Fri 28 Jun - 170 Russell (Melbourne)
Sat 29 Jun - Barwon Club (Geelong)
Sun 30 Jun - Karova Lounge (Ballarat)
Thu 4 Jul - Lion Arts Factory (Adelaide)
Fri 5 Jul - The Brisbane Hotel (Hobart)
Wed 10 Jul - The Northern (Byron Bay)
Thu 11 Jul - Studio 56 @ Miami Marketta (Gold Coast)
Fri 12 Jul - The Triffid (Brisbane)
Sat 13 Jul - The Spotted Cow (Toowoomba)
Sun 14 Jul - Solbar (Sunshine Coast)
