The VB Hard Yards Tour Headliners Offer Up Valuable Advice To Emerging Acts

The VB Hard Yards Tour is affording three hard working, up and coming bands the chance to play with some big name headliners. After a shortlist was chosen, the public decided the winning acts that deserved to head out on the road. 

Here, we get the winners, Queensland’s Being Jane Lane, Victoria’s Claws & Organs and NSW’s Paper Thin, to ask some advice of acts that have already done the hard yards. They chat with WAAX’s Marie Devita, Alex Lahey and Tired Lion’s Sophie Hopes, who play Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney respectively.

BEING JANE LANE

Being Jane Lane: What’s the origin of your band name?

Marie Devita: I wish we had a more wild and wacky story, but basically I was super into one word band names when we started out – names like ‘Can’. So I thought of WAAX. the double ‘A’ was at the suggestion of my uncle for aesthetic and google-ability purposes.

BJL: How long have you known each other and how did you all meet?

MD: Our band history is large. The band started out in March 2013. I was desperate to sing in a band. I had a few shitty song demos that I wanted to play live and I asked a uni friend at the time to join me as a guitarist. He and I asked a mutual friend to join in on lead guitar and another dude on drums. Our now drummer Tom used run a rehearsal studio at the time and that’s where we jammed. Maybe two weeks after our inception our then drummer didn’t show up and Tom was there, so we asked him to play with us and he became our drummer pretty much instantly after that. Our first year as a band pretty much was playing a shitload of gigs in Brisbane (at Ric’s mostly). We decided we wanted a fifth member as a permanent bass player. Mid-2014 -– enter Ewan. 

Tom brought him in as they’d known each other from uni. Ewan started on bass but fairly soon after he replaced our lead guitarist and shredded on since. We had another bassist in for a while, but it didn’t work out. In early 2015 I parted ways with the guy I started the band with. It was a hectic time. We needed a new guitarist a new bass player. We held auditions for bass and Griff got the part. I had known Chris for a year or so before he joined the band, we met at a Mac Demarco concert and stayed good pals until I asked him to join on guitar not long after Griff joined. Our current line up has been solid since 2015 and we love each other very much.

BJL: What is your favourite place in Brisbane to play?

MD: Crowbar!

BJL: If you could have written any existing song in history, what would it be?

MD: Gillian Welch - Time (The Revelator) 

BJL: Can you describe your writing process? Do you and Chris just write together or does he come up with riffs that you sing along to?

MD: Generally Chris will come up with a riff or chord progression and I will form my lyrics and melody over that; or I will make a lyric and melody and rough chords and then pass over to Chris to finesse. Once we have a basic form or ‘skeleton’, we bring to the rest of the band.

BJL: How do you maintain your vocals on tour (especially having to sing the Wild & Weak outro on consecutive nights?)

MD: I warm up everyday I’m on tour for at least five minutes. Usually an hour or so before performing and if it’s a bigger tour, I like to warm down. I drink lots of Manuka honey and hot water and use a steamer. I take my vocals super seriously. It is my worst nightmare to lose my voice – it does happen occasionally, but I do my best to make sure it doesn’t.

BJL: Technical difficulties on stage is every musician’s nightmare – what do you do when
 this happens?

MD: You just have to roll with it. They happen often and most of the time no one even notices! You just have to do what you can to not look awkward (although you feel awkward as hell inside). The actual best course of action is have reliable gear so you can avoid those awkward moments.

BJL: What are your day jobs and are they chill about you taking lengthy time offs during tours?

MD: Haha, great question. And time off always makes us nervous! We are lucky that we have fairly understanding employers. I work as an in-house graphic designer (full-time), Chris is an account manager at a ticketing agency (full time), Tom works at a bottlo (part-time), Griff is an A.I. music producer (full-time) and Ewan is studying Audio engineering full time. We lead hectic lives. It’s never not been a double life, it’s hard.

BJL: What is your favourite food to eat on tour?

MD: We love getting fancy breakfasts in different cities. Also I feel like Griff always gets Pringles on the road. As a vego myself, on long drives there really is only egg salad sandwiches, so I smash a few of those.

BJL: What’s your advice for bands wanting to take things to the next level, specifically dealing with negativity from the public, recording and approaching record labels?

MD: Stay true to what you believe in and represent as a band. In this day and age it’s really important to understand what matters to you and find the people who align with your ethos. Don’t rush into thinking you need a record deal straight away – you can cope fine independently as long as you want or need as long as you’re savvy with your money and know your worth. Just write excellent songs and perform like your life depends on it and the rest will follow.

CLAWS & ORGANS

Claws & Organs: Was there a time when you’ve wanted to give up? If so, what made you keep going?

Alex Lahey: To be honest, I’ve never wanted to give up. Sure, I’ve been in the back of a tour van in the middle of winter in Ohio with a sinus infection and a month’s worth of solid shows ahead of me within a four month world tour and thought “I can see why people bail on this”, but that idea has never occurred to me as something I need to do in order to be happy. 

C&O: What have been your biggest obstacles?

AL: Seeing and acting on the black and white in an environment that requires you to be emotionally vulnerable in order to do your job properly.

C&O: What’s the best advice you’ve received?

AL: “Project what you think the norm should be and the norm will follow” — Sara Quin (Tegan & Sara)

C&O: What is the worst advice you’ve received?

“You know what that song needs? Mouth organ.” — Middle aged man at regional show giving unsolicited creative advice.

C&O: Is there anything you’ve done in your career that you would have done differently?

AL: Although retrospect is a valuable thing to consider and learn from, I think that it’s important to keep looking forward. Of course, we can always do everything differently, but I think it’s important to stick to your gut and believe that if it doesn’t go to plan, there’s always a “next time” where you can assess what didn’t go so well and make the necessary changes.

C&O: Have you made any mistakes that you’ve learned from and have become positive?

AL: Being drunk on stage does not work in my favour. I suppose it has become positive because now I have more beers to enjoy after a show.

C&O:  What are some of the biggest sacrifices you’ve had to make in your career?

AL: Accepting being away from home for the majority of the year when in a touring cycle and knowing how much I’m going to have to suck up to my cats in order to win their love back when I return home. 

C&O: What is your opinion of the inequalities within the Australian music industry and have you been impacted by this?

AL: My opinion is that the ratio between talking about the inequalities within the industry and the action being taken to rectify them are grossly disproportionate. It’s about time that we all stand up and actively make collective changes.

C&O: How does the first gig you ever played compare to the most recent gig you played?

AL: Hopefully the most recent gig was a bit better! The first show I ever played with this project was in the carpark next to the Tote and the most recent show I played was at a boutique festival in a small town in Ohio — so it’s actually quite a good gauge of how far it has come along with demonstrating some of the weird and wacky places this job takes you in its every stage.

C&O: What do you think the future holds for guitar-based music?

AL: I think that the future of the guitar is in the hands of non-male identifying individuals. I’m so inspired by publications like She Shreds that shine a light on women and GNC guitar players who are pushing the boundaries of the instrument both as solo musicians, within groups and in the studio.

PAPER THIN

Paper Thin: Y’all are signed to Dew Process, which seems like a really great record label. How did you find the label that was right for you? What did you look for?

Sophie Hopes: It all happened pretty organically for us. We started gaining interest after our first single from our second EP started receiving quite a bit of radio play. We met with a few different labels, talked, drank beers, talked some more…. The bands gut feeling collectively was to sign with DP. We felt that they understood our vision as a band pretty well from the get go and they were incredibly easy to talk to! If you guys don’t feel like you’re getting along at the first meeting that’s usually a pretty clear indicator that it’s not going to work. 

I highly suggest to take your time, don’t rush. It’s a very long commitment so you really want to be sure it is right for the band. I would also suggest asking as many questions as possible as well as looking into their current roster. Make sure they don’t have too many bands that are similar to you as finding a point of difference may become difficult. Most importantly listen to your gut feeling or that tiny voice in your head that says- yeah I feel good about this. Just make sure everyone in the band is on the same page before making the decision. 

PT: We’ve put out two EPs, and now we are working on our debut album. How did you make the leap to LPs? Are albums still important in the streaming age?

SH: We always knew we wanted to write an album, it was a pipe dream for so long. Our first two EPs felt like a sort of defining process. It was the spot we were in before we knew exactly what we were as a band. If that makes sense. I really feel it is such an important process to go through and these EPs definitely helped pave the way to an LP. I think you really know you’re ready for the next phase when you can comfortably list a bunch of songs you are super excited to record. If you’re only digging the ‘singles’ on the list, you may need more time! And yes, yes, yes totally yes. Albums are still important. Things really start taking off after you release your first album. After all it is just the beginning. 

PT: You worked with Luke from Violent Soho to make Dumb Days. How do you decide who to work with? What makes a great producer?

SH: Our label put Luke forward as a option as a producer, we were all big Soho fans and thought it’d be rad to work with someone who had a similar vision. What makes a good producer? Here are a few things: The ability to work harmoniously among the whole band, someone with a strong attention to detail and long attention span when it comes to music and wizard abilities that tap into the bands mind and pull out the best parts – parts you never thought existed. 

PT: Do you have any tips for getting our music out to wider audiences? We’ve put it on all your usual streaming services, and have physical copies at every show. What else could we be doing to get in as many ears as possible?

SH: I highly suggest you get your EPs/CDs serviced around Australia or if you have the cash, I would suggest hiring a publicist who can help out.

PT: Tired Lion have done so much over the past few years – how do you find a work/life balance that works?

SH: It’s a constant balancing act. I am probably the wrong person to give advice on this matter as I found music always had a way of consuming my time. I think the best advice is to write out a schedule and try and lock in as many things in advance so you have plenty of time to plan ahead.

PT: Tired Lion play a ton of festivals, which seem like a whole lot of fun. How do you get considered for festivals? It seems a bit more complicated than just sending an email.

SH: We are very lucky here and have booking agents that assist us here. If you are doing your bookings independently as we were for a few years starting out, my suggestion is to make your emails as personal as you can. No one likes reading a “Dear Sir/Madam, we are a band that…” copy and paste situation. 

PT: We have to travel pretty light for interstate shows. How does Tired Lion make the most out of their gear on the road? How do you decide what gets used in the studio, and what makes it out on tour?

SH: We don’t do it as often any more, but occasionally we would reach out to bands and ask if we could borrow backline. The musicians allowance on Virgin flights with your APRA number also makes a load of difference too. With gear, I think we have all developed our preferences over time in terms of gear – we’ve played a lot of shitty gear and also the polar opposite with really good gear. It’s about finding an amp that you know will be reliable/easy enough to source at festivals from bands/ backline. Don’t go overboard with gear big enough for a stadium – especially if you are playing venues on the smaller size. Combos are great for saving space in the tour van. 

PT: When we travel interstate, we’re often on the first flight back to Newcastle to make it home in time for work. Any advice on how to survive a red eye flight?

SH: Drink heap of water, make jokes with your bandmates and listen to Elliot Smith to get you through..

PT: Do you have any good penny pinching tips for being on tour?

SH: When you can make your own food!!! This saves you so much moolah. 7/11 have these $2 toasties that have got us through on a few dinners when we have been low on funds. Try not to spend too much of that hot cash at the bar, drink your shandies at your accommodation instead. Ask friends from other states if the band can crash on their floor. (You must make friends in other states for this to work – haha)

PT: Gender diversity on line-ups is an issue that’s really come to the forefront over the past few years. What can we do on a local level to foster a more inclusive music scene?

SH: Locally in Perth we have created a database of FEM + LGBQT bands that has revolutionised the way promoters can book shows, perhaps every state should create one of these.

Head to the VB Hard Yards website for more details.