A night out with Sticky Fingers will serve up a melting pot of styles featuring reggae, rock, psych and pop.
With a second album recently released, ‘Land Of Pleasure’, the Sydney lads affectionately known as STIFI , continue to prowl the Australian countryside in search of new subscribers. Keys man Freddy Crabbs jotted down the following answers to scenestr’s questions.
Life right now for Sticky Fingers; is it enjoyable?
Life is great. We've been smashing out jams and livin’ it up ever since the album dropped. The last two months have been our only time to relax before we head out on the road for three months ‘round Oz and then to Europe. Life is only getting better.
It’s the object of the majority of bands to work toward the level of success you guys are now beginning to enjoy; are you able to appreciate what’s happening?
We're still young, but believe it or not we've been around for over half a decade. I remember starting out driving up to Byron [Bay] to play a show at the Great Northern. Our first few times we played there it was to 'bout 15 or so cats. Now we're selling out two shows. There's not one day where we take what we have for granted, that's why we're livin’ it large.
2013 for STIFI... what was the most outrageous accomplishment/ show/ day the band enjoyed?
I'd say the most outrageous show of 2013 was Rottofest in Rottnest Island, WA. We played on this little makeshift stage and Diz decided to climb the flimsy tarpaulin during ‘Australia Street’. He ended up jumping down into the crowd before being kicked out by security and police for supposedly endangering fans. Our sound got cut off so I had a go at crowd surfing, but ended up just kneeing some cat in the head. It was a fun day.
With all that has gone before, have you needed to give yourselves self-checks in the mirror? Or is the relaxed, good natured vibe of the band indestructible?
We're just like little kindy bruddas you know. We fight and get over it quick, but always look after each other first. That's how you play it.
Did the past year bring the group closer together?
We've always been close and pretty much always together. 2013 was a big year for us and they're getting bigger and better every year as is the band.
The new album has been released; are you pleased with the results?
[We're] really stoked. Not taking anything away from ‘Caress Your Soul’, but it's collectively our best work yet. Our interests and inspirations are ever changing and so is our music, so we can never be tied down by one style. We've allowed for more anthemic songs in ‘Land Of Pleasure’, but still held onto our reggae and chilled flavours. I just think it all sounds massive and it's only gonna pump live.
Did you approach the creation, recording of ‘Land Of Pleasure’ any differently to ‘Caress Your Soul’?
Slightly. ‘Caress Your Soul’ was made up of a collection of tracks written well before the recording process and made up of a lot of in-house jams. With ‘Land Of Pleasure’ we started experimenting with Logic, messin’ with new effects sounds and just general weird shit. We combined that with some jams in the car hole and I think that's why the record is particularly special.
Recording at Rocking Horse Studios — did you see much of the Byron Bay bush surrounds?
Yeah a little bit. We were mostly in the studio, but when we had time we went for a few walks. We were surrounded by bush and farmland, so it was ripe with penny buns. The surroundings were definitely keeping everyone at ease.
At this stage of an album's release cycle, do you guys still listen to the songs it contains – as strange as that may sound?
Sometimes, cos I'm still hearing things I haven't heard on the first few times round. Our producer Dann Hume is a real wizard and he added so much to this record making it super fat. If you have a listen and focus on certain layers you can hear what he's done and with that knowledge you can appreciate the record that much more.
The album’s artwork; the kitten, is it the group’s new mascot?
Nah. We don't have any mascots, but we did a photo shoot recently with a bunch of little kitties. The good people at Maggie's Rescue in Newtown let us use their cats for that one, so maybe you'll see ‘em round in the future.
You recently played Splendour... did any other acts catch your attention?
I was blown away by Outkast. They just put on a flawless show and were so entertaining. I got dope respect for Andre 3000, who was just such a funny kent on stage. I think the Violent Soho boys were also a real highlight — they killed it. I wish I could say I saw more, but I ended up spending most of my time at the Gold Bar. We ended up having a massive confetti blast for our set. It was dope, but it didn't quite go to plan. Our tour manager Jimmy Young was going to press the button to trigger the blast but ended up getting impeded by security. "Mate who the hell are you?" said the seccy. Jim was bare chested, covered in a furry pimp coat with a beer hand as he exclaimed: "I'm the bloody Sticky Fingers tour manager and I've gotta blast some confetti so get outta meh way!" He ended up pressing the button, during the guitar solo of ‘Australia Street’ and it lingered around as we walked off stage, so it couldn't have gone any better really!”
So many bands self-label as ‘the hardest working band’ — why does Sticky Fingers deserve the champion's belt?
I dunno if there's a champion's belt at hand, but we definitely don't fuck around. This is what we put our time and effort into so we get as much as we can done with the time we've got. As Wynton Marsalis' old man told him: "If ya got a fall back plan then you'll fall back."
2015 for the band — is that too far ahead to start planning the next adventure?
No way. I think a break is due at some point, but if we break for too long we only ever get hungry for more. Expect to see us makin’ more tunes, hittin’ some festivals round Oz and hopefully makin’ some moves in the US.
What celebrity/ famous person would you love to be spokesperson of the band?
We wouldn't have one. The only people that can speak for us is ourselves and it shouldn't be any other way.
What's the one chore you dislike the most?
Getting jipped into washing the dishes, especially when Paddy burns the back outta the frying pan. Haven't had to cook too much recently though, so life is good.
‘Land Of Pleasure’ is available now.
