The Tommyhawks are launching their new double EP
Hurling Stones and Sticks at Jack Rabbit Slim’s in Northbridge this Saturday, July 23 with good friends
Rag n’ Bone and
HYLA. With two singles already released off the EP accompanied with rad videos,
New Friends and
Hollow are already crowd favourites. We had a chat to Saxophonist Thea ahead of the launch this weekend.
How’s it going? What’s the vibe in The Tommyhawks’ camp, pumped for this weekend?
We are super pumped! Our camp has been totally abandoned the past month with Addison and Vanessa away on tour supporting the Bennies; so we haven’t even seen each other in over a month and we’ve been pining for each other like you wouldn’t believe! I reckon it’s going to be one very big party.
What can we expect at the launch?
You can expect to see the usual shenanigans! If you haven’t seen a Tommyhawks gig you can expect to see a whole lot of fun and love on stage; we’re not really the sultry-gloomy-faced types…
If you’re lucky you might get to see Jess get her sticks tangled in her hair mid-hit which makes for a few seconds of panic and hilarity if you’re watching.
Congrats on the completion of your second EP! How was the recording process? Did you record all four songs in the same session?
Thanks! We did.. it was super fun. Dave Parkin (Blackbird Studios) is such a legend. It’s the second time we’ve recorded with him. We took in some pretty new songs which can be a gamble but we’re really delighted with how they grew through the process. We got to play around with them quite a bit, there’s some extra horn lines and guitars going on and we’re stoked with how they turned out.
You’ve all played in other great bands around Perth, how did you all meet? Were you all friends before you started playing together?
It was all a bit of a coincidence really. Addison and Vanessa were at the museum to check out the dinosaur exhibit, I was around that area doing a spot of busking and Jess was hanging around having a bit of a listen. Addison & Vanessa had been wanting to get a sax player on board so they approached me and Jess overheard the conversation and jokingly offered her services… and thus The Tommyhawks were born!
With the digital evolution moving towards streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, how can artists provide a unique experience for music fans?
I think at the end of the day there’s nothing quite like a great gig, seeing live music (in our opinion!) is always going to trump just listening to it on your computer. Perth people seem to be pretty good at getting out to support live music which is really important for musicians now that there isn’t much income from online sales; so we just try to put on a good solid show every gig and hope that people will come back again!
What’s next on the agenda after the launch? Are you following it up with a tour? More recording on the horizon?
Well, we’re releasing a new video clip to Safe House next Tuesday which stars the gorgeous Kiera Owen (Rag’n’Bone). It’s kind of a sequel to Hollow which we released a month or two back. Our good mate Arlo Cook flew over from the east coast to film the two clips in 3 days so we’re excited to share the sequel finally!
Then we’re off the the east coast again in September to play a few festivals and the general #fourgirlsonevan madness. This time though there’ll be 5 of us sleeping in one very confined camper van for a several weeks so we’re looking forward to that bonding experience!
We’re hoping to record again at the end of the year/early 2017 as well… so keep your ears peeled!
Catch The Tommyhawks this Saturday, July 23 at Jack Rabbit Slims with Rag n’ Bone and HLYA. Check out the Facebook event here.
https://soundcloud.com/thetommyhawks/sets/hurling-stones-and-sticks
