One more sleep until Aussie musical movers and shakers from far and wide descend on Fortitude Valley in Brisbane for four days and nights - yes fellow music lovers, BIGSOUND, aka one of the biggest events on the Aussie music calendar, is back for its seventeenth year!
Notorious for launching of some of the country's most successful artists in the past (including Flume, The Temper Trap, A.B Original, Gang of Youths and more), BIGSOUND has been instrumental in uncovering the stars of tomorrow and shaping the future of the industry, and this year The Soundcheck will be showcasing some of the hottest heavy acts who will be slaying the stages at the BIGSOUND 2018 festival showcases.
The Soundcheck has been getting "hot and heavy" with some epic up-and-comers in the lead up to this awesome event, and on the eve of the epic BIGSOUND conference and festival today we're chatting with Melbourne punks Bad Juju.
Stemming from the ashes of local acts Confession, Lovers Grave, and House vs Hurricane, Bad Juju toyed around with the concept of building something completely new. They've since become a band that writes from the heart, creating songs with more emotion to tell stories and express themselves.
But before the Bad Juju boys take the stage tomorrow night for their first showcase, they took some time to get 'H-O-T-A-N-D-H-E-A-V-Y' with The Soundcheck to chat essential items, cute dogs and drummer Nick's first album purchase (fun fact - it was the same album as The Soundcheck's Tiana).
H - HEAVY AND ALTERNATIVE MUSIC IN AUSTRALIA: Describe the Aussie heavy/alternative music scene in three words: Shredders, Riffers, Bangers
O - OPPORTUNITIES: What made you sign up for BIGSOUND 2018? What opportunities are you hoping will come out of playing at Bigsound? We saw the buzz around the festival last year and it looked like it would be sick to play. We hope to meet a bunch of cool bands and people in the industry and makes some new mates.
T - TELL US A SECRET: What’s something no one else knows about your band? Nick's (Nick Lucas - drummer) first album he bought with his own money was Spice Girls and he has no regrets and we back it 100%.
A - ADVICE: What’s one piece of advice about the music industry you wish you knew when you first started out? To not take anything too seriously, have as much fun as you can, tour with your friends and make great memories.
N - NECESSITIES: What are some of your must-have necessities when you’re touring? Phone charger, baby wipes in case there’s no shower, nintendo switch, and anything to make the can comfy.
D - DAY IN THE LIFE: What does a usual day in the life of your band generally consist of? Hanging out with as many cute dogs as possible.
H - HEROES: Who are some of your band’s heroes and musical influences? Frank Carter, Cedric Bixler, Dave Grohl, Dexter Holland, Dustin Kensrue.. To name a few!
E - EVOLUTION: Where do you see the future of Aussie heavy music heading in the near future? The aussie heavy music scene just keeps getting bigger and better with more young bands writing amazing releases and pushing themselves onto the global scene. It’s amazing to see and I think it’s just going to keep growing!
A - ABSOLUTE MUST-SEES: What band(s) are you most keen to check out at BIGSOUND 2018 and why? Slowly Slowly as we haven’t caught them live yet but their album has been getting a lot of spins in the van. Sleep Talk as we’ve heard great things about their live performance and can’t wait to see it ourselves. Finally, ‘The Beautiful Monument’ as we have played with each other a few times and loved their sets every time.
V - VICTORIES: What’s been your biggest win as a band so far? E.g. an epic gig, great response to a release, or even just band members showing up on-time to rehearsal? We recently played our first headliner in Melbourne and managed to sell it out. We weren’t expecting it to sell out and it was probably the most fun vibe we’ve ever had at a show!
Y - YEAR AHEAD: What’s your band got planned for the next twelve months? Continuing a lot of writing for our next release, hopefully a lot of touring and playing with some bands on our bucket list!
BAD JUJU WILL BE SHOWCASING AT BIGSOUND 2018,
YOU CAN CATCH THEM HERE:
Tuesday 4th September - Crowbar Brisbane - 8:00pm - 8:30pm
Thursday 6th September - Crowbar Brisbane - 8:50pm - 9:20pm
FOR ALL YOUR BIGSOUND INFO, HEAD HERE.
AND FOR ALL OTHER BAD JUJU INFO, CHECK OUT:
BY TIANA SPETER