It’s a huge local line-up for the State Of The Art festival on Monday, June 6, at Elizabeth Quay, with Jebediah, San Cisco, Ta-Ku, Koi Child and many more. HUSSY are among them, so guitarist, Cass, gave us their lowdown.
It seems that WA, more than any other state, takes a real pride in the music and musicians who come from here. Do you agree and if so why is it?
Agree. Perth has a massive surplus of talented musicians; so it’s gotta be something in the water. Even behind the musos, there are people making their life’s work out of putting on gigs: organising and running nights with sound guys and techies working all hours. Every venue we’ve played in this city is run by people who passionately want to see music culture alive and healthy in Perth, so it makes you proud to be on their stage.
For many years the old phrase ‘the tyranny of distance’ was applied to the ups-and-downs of being a Perth band trying to give it a crack. Is that phrase now completely a thing of the past?
It’s never gone, but it’s become a little murmur in the back of our heads. What matters more is having drive to continuously generate new work despite the fact it may never earn you a living, might not even hit 500 likes, might never be played on the radio. Your motive becomes more about ways to enrich yourself, your friends or your community through music.
We’re learning that phrases like ‘making it’ and ‘a successful career in music’ aren’t particularly helpful pressures to keep reminding yourself of, as they tend to cock-block any inspiration and leave you feeling like it’s not worth starting anyway. Part of being an artist is reconciling that it’s not simply out of a whim, wish or the need for money that your art gets made. It’s made out of a basic need to supply yourself with health and happiness via what you make creatively. Plonk HUSSY in the middle of a desert; we would still make music ‘cause it keeps us happy and healthy together.
What’s it mean to you that you’re playing at an event such as State Of The Art?
It’s big ups! Being asked to represent the state in a brand-spanking new location, in the heart of the city: you couldn’t make five girls smile wider if you tried.
What acts are you most looking forward to seeing?
Well we all rocked out to Jebediah back in the Supré days of the early ’00s, so being on the same line-up as them is pretty unreal. We also can’t wait to catch The Tommyhawks, The Love Junkies, San Cisco and Jacob Diamond.
Looking ahead, what musical plans are afoot for you?
During the year we’ll be recording and finessing our debut album. We’ve planned an abundance of collage-crafty-glitter-dress-up nights, so we’re organised and very excited. We’ll also continue to play gigs, write new music, go to gigs and hang out every weekend.
