Before they play at the very festival they founded, Blood Rock Fest, at The Rosemount Hotel this Saturday, November 9, we thought it might be an idea to catch with Chainsaw Hookers’ Jon Russo to get the lowdown on the loudest little festival in town.
Back in 2009, the boys of Chainsaw Hookers saw a gap in the local music scene and quickly set about filling it. Although the live landscape was as healthy as it had ever been, there was always room for the kind of music they were into – louder, heavier, nastier – to get an airing.
“ We started Blood Rock Fest to showcase the local bands and sub genres we are into,” Jon Russo explains. “With a focus on giving new bands the opportunity to play on a lineup of some of Perth’s stronger acts.”
It was a gamble but it worked. Since then, the event has gone from strength to strength, with this year seeing some 17 different acts performing under the Blood Rock banner. “Every year the event has got bigger and better. Last year we added the most interstate acts we’ve had and this year, we have our first international band in Useless ID from Israel.” Other acts on the bill include Melbourne’s Clowns, local favourites the Decline, Legs Electric and The Order Of The Black Werewolf, plus a new – in a manner of speaking – outfit, Silver Foxes.
As Russo explains, Silver Foxes is an all-star supergroup that features “…members of Chainsaw Hookers, Kerb, Billings Method and The Decline.” They’ll be popping their live cherry at the festival.
It hasn’t been an easy journey, though. “It’s always very hard to organise bands and an event like this,” Russo tells us. “But we have a good unit of crew working together to lessen the load. Blood Rock Fest has reassured us of the talent and variety of heavy flavours we have here in Perth.”
Indeed, future plans for Blood Rock Fest are nothing if not ambitious. “We see it locking down as Perth’s most coveted annual heavy music showcase with as many badass bands as we can get on a bill.”
