After several years of strutting Perth’s stages and releasing music, local rockers Here Comes The Rooster aren’t slowing down with the produce. The alt-rock group have just laid a golden egg in the form of their third EP Godzilla Illa Illa last week, and they will now celebrate its hatching this Saturday, September 4 at The Aardvark in Fremantle, performing alongside a herd of animal-themed rock acts including Queen Hyena, Them Spacey Dogs, Unicorn and DJ Bald Wolf. ANTHONY JACKSON caught up with lead singer/songwriter John Sears to find out more.
Congratulations on the release of your new EP Godzilla Illa Illa. How has it been getting it out there and having people listen to it for the first time?
It’s been great to finally get it out there. We had it all ready in February so the only thing really holding it back has been A1 muso procrastination. Or COVID. Let’s just blame COVID.
Feedback has been pretty positive to date but we aren’t popular enough to have anyone tell us we suck.
Godzilla Illa Illa…great title. What does it mean?
Unfortunately, absolutely nothing. My main musical talent is coming up with band names. This popped into my head and when I mentioned it at rehearsal it almost ended in a band name change. I suggested using it as the EP title to quell any potential mutiny.
Do you feel like you tried to do something different on this record compared to your previous releases? And how did that play out in the recording process?
There was no conscious move in style, though it has played out a bit more “riffy” than our previous EPs. With a bit more recording experience under our belt, we spent a bit more time thinking about what we could add in or emphasise in the recording rather than just rehearsing over and over like we were preparing for a gig. It meant the songs were less tight but more ready which kind of makes no sense.
And now it’s finished do you have a favourite track from the EP? And has that changed since when you first wrote the songs?
Probation is my favourite track at this very minute but I’ve changed my mind on it a few times.
The HCTR sound is very unique, it’s hard to pin down an influence. What music and other artists do you feel have influenced HCTR?
I think QOTSA has been a big influence in the way that we focus on the rhythm of the song. Dynamically we are like CCR cause they all hate me.
The clip for Deadline is also great, I heard you did it all in-house, DIY style?
Tristan pulled that one out of his arse. We chucked up a green screen at the Hen House for a couple days, acted like dickheads and somehow he made it all work. I had initially suggested to go with the theme of the song we would do a full video clip in 24 hours with a hard deadline. It’s shit like that makes them hate me.
The launch party for Godzilla Illa Illa is this weekend at The Aardvark with some great supports. It should be a killer night. What can we expect?
A full animal-themed night with Queen Hyena, Unicorn, Them Spacey Dogs and featuring DJ Bald Wolf spinning Hootie and the Blowfish between sets. You know it’s going to be a killer line up when the band names thematically match. There will also be tonnes of grooving rock and prog, plenty of moving equipment on and off stage, sound checks, awkward banter between songs and shameless merch promotions. What else could you ask for?
