Bastard Squad

For the last couple of years a pall has been cast over the land in regards to old-time instrumentation such as banjos, fiddles and mandolins, with a perception having been ushered in by bands like Mumford & Sons and The Lumineers that these are solely instruments of the devil and responsible for producing nothing but commercial dross. But something's been brewing in the suburbs of Sydney's Inner West to fight this unfair indictment, a concoction which throws together bluegrass instruments, the spirit of rock'n'roll and a healthy dose of raucous tomfoolery – the product being a seven-headed beast known collectively as Little Bastard.

Their reputation for ferocious and fun live shows has preceded them for years, but now they've added to their rapidly growing legend with the release of their eponymous debut long-player. What makes Little Bastard such a powerful opening gambit is substance rather than style – it matters not what genre these tunes belong in, because at the end of the day it's just a collection of really well crafted songs. And, as is so often the case, it all started with completely humble aspirations.

“Johnny [Took – vocals/guitar] – who's the main singer-songwriter – and I, we'd been in different bands around Sydney,” explains Ross Tipper (vocals/percussion/harmonica). “I remember us chatting in a pub in Newtown and saying that we really wanted to be in a band where we all want to tour... Soon Eddie [Rowe] – our fiddle player who went to school with Johnny – came onboard and we all started jamming, then it just seemed to happen and suddenly we had seven people, then almost eight and then almost ten: we ended up having to cull it at seven. Our mandolin player Trev [Davies] met our drummer Liam [Hoskins] for the first time on stage during a show – we were playing at The Annandale, then after a song it was, like, 'Oh shit, hey man I'm Trev, nice to meet ya. Next song!'”

As the band started to coalesce so too did a vision of how they wanted Little Bastard to stand apart from their contemporaries. “From the outset we were a little bit fed up with the way that country music is done in Australia,” Tipper continues. “It really seemed reserved for an older generation, and we weren't seeing any relatively young, energetic, passionate players doing country and bluegrass stuff. We really wanted to try it, and now so many people come to our shows and say, 'I don't really like country music but you guys are alright' kinda thing. And we're, like, 'Yeah, well you should probably try and suss out some more country music then!'

“We're not really a bluegrass band at all though, because I think a traditional bluegrass band would probably laugh at us. We all grew up playing in rock bands too, so it's ultimately this kind of punk-bluegrass craziness. We just wanted to play fun country bluegrass-punk and not be bogged down by any CMC [Country Music Channel], adult contemporary country music label. We just wanted to keep it real. We'd rather play with just rock bands – anyone who's doing something that's energetic and just a bit more out there. A lot of bluegrass bands I've seen in the last few years – everywhere, not just in Sydney – it's really technical and everyone's just standing there looking at their shoes. They have great chops, but we really prefer playing with anyone who's just going to thrash it out and have a good time, while keeping the musicianship intact obviously. Everyone should thrash it out a bit more and just party – it's not a recital.”

And they've even reconfigured their line-up as they hit the road to introduce Little Bastard to the rest of the country.

“This is the first tour where we're going to have a drum kit and an electric guitar and stuff like that – we want to beef it up and make it more like it sounds on the record, rather than our usual touring line-up which is pretty much all acoustic with a horn instead of a drum kit,” Tipper tells. “The live show needs to be rocking. I don't think we ever want to get bogged down in doing one thing – I think it will be constantly changing and evolving.”