Jesse Coulter Of Grenadiers On The Rise Of Boutique Festivals Like Hot Freaks

He's back on home turf in Adelaide at the time of our chat, but Grenadiers frontman Jesse Coulter says he was in Melbourne yesterday. "I've got a couple of little projects on the go that I'm kinda doing with people based over there," he explains, specifying that the purpose of his trip was "to jam with them and just see some mates".

Grenadiers released a cranking new single Live Fast, Diabetes "at the start of the year", which they've been including in their live sets "for a while" now (together with "another one that's gonna end up on the album"). So when can we expect Grenadiers' "next album" to drop? Coulter reveals they've "finished tracking" before admitting, "We've had some setbacks in the mixing process, so I'm not sure exactly when we're gonna get it out... We wanna make sure that it's done right". "I think it's gonna be a really good album. It still sounds like us, but it's different enough that I think some people are gonna be a bit confused by it [laughs] - hopefully in a good way."

In 2010 ("many moons ago") and shortly after Grenadiers released their debut album Songs The Devil Taught Us, the band won a triple j Unearthed competition and were flown to Perth to play at One Movement. "We played the Big Day Out not long after that as well," Coulter shares, before listing some of the other festivals his band have performed at in recent times: "Groovin The Moo this year and The Hills Are Alive." On gracing festival stages, Coulter opines, "It's a massive challenge. Like, when you play to a captive audience of, you know, 120 people who have paid to come and see you... there's a certain understanding that people there are gonna get into what you're doing. Whereas in the open air, on a massive stage with a barrier - like, both metaphorical and physical - between you and the crowd, and [with] a lot of people staring blankly at you who've never heard of you and don't give a shit, you have to win 'em over, you know?"  

A lot of our nation's larger festivals such as Big Day Out and Soundwave have folded, but smaller boutique festivals catering to "niche markets" are definitely on the rise. Billed as an "indie/punk rock block party", the inaugural Hot Freaks could definitely be described as a 'genre festival' and Coulter observes, "It's easier to do one thing well". "When you play in a band, you build a community based around bands that you like that sound vaguely similar to you, and that you get along with as people, and it's just fun to do stuff like that - get together for a big party, essentially, but it is also giving something to the punters of those towns that like that sorta thing." Coulter is especially looking forward to Hot Freaks since Grenadiers are "very good mates with several of the other bands" on the bill. "I mean, Horror My Friend - also from Adelaide - we've toured with them extensively. The Sinking Teeth from Melbourne, we've toured with them extensively also. And then there's some great bands form Perth that I'm really looking forward to seeing, such as Leeches; I think they're fantastic."

Hot Freaks goes down this Sat, Aug 27, at Soggybones from 2pm. For tickets and more info, head over to Oztix.