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TERMINAL BEACH Ghost writers


After putting out their first EP House in late 2020, Perth band Terminal Beach have returned to release their debut album Ghost Lotteries. A noted live act from their very first appearances, the group has built their sound through jamming and performing, adding to the line-up with new members and instruments, seeing them grow from their guitar-based origins to include a more widescreen sound comprised of backing vocalists, strings, horns and more. Now they’re ready to bring the new material to the stage with a launch party at The Bird on Saturday, February 5 with Flooded Palace and Maurice Flavel’s Intensive Care. BRAYDEN EDWARDS spoke to bassist Louis Best to find out how they captured their sound on record, and what we can look forward to at the show.

For those that aren’t familiar with you, how did Terminal Beach form and how has the band changed to what it is today?

Alex (drummer) and Rohin (vocalist and guitarist) used to work together in theatre and Rohin bought a drum kit off of him on the condition that he would come and have a jam with him on his new drum kit. Had a jam and he told his wife he had to buy a new drum kit. She wasn’t very happy.

After that Dan (guitar) and I came along to jams and we started on some new and older tunes from prior bands. Since then we have ended up with seven or eight people in the band depending on the week. We just started calling them in from various different musical or friendship backgrounds, that kind of thing.

Congrats on the release of your debut album. How long has this one been in the works for and how did you go about capturing it on record?

Thanks mate! We released an EP two Christmas trees ago, just before Bree our violin and trumpet champion joined the band. On her joining and Dan having to take a bit of a baby break our sound took a turn a bit more away from the bluesy rock and more towards having a violin and a trumpet in it.

In terms of album tracking we really wanted to kind of capture the live feeling of how we play, so going for as many live takes as possible, not overthinking it too much, and embracing the energy and feel that comes with trying to track an album in two days. Luckily we got to do it with one of the most talented engineers we have had the pleasure to know in James Newhouse down at Lamb Chop studios. What a legend.

And how would you say this release is different from songs you have written and recorded in the past?

They’ve got a violin and a trumpet in them. And also we didn’t record them in Rohin’s lounge room completely live all at the same time. But in all seriousness maybe the songs are a bit more of a journey these days? A lot more thought out and creating and using a lot more space rather than the just do a big blues riff heaps of times and then have everyone’s faces melted by Dan’s white hot licks approach…stay tuned for the return of the white hot licks on album two I reckon!

And how about lyrically…is there a theme or idea you feel carries through the release?

Stop snoopin’ Brayden, but yeah nah tales of misery and woe and giving people the heebie-jeebies about sharks at the beach, the human condition, and ghosts winning the lottery with a slick pick 21.

Who have you got joining you at the launch show and what made them a good fit for the occasion?

We have Todd Picket fronting Flooded Palace who is in every band ever and he’s fucking amazing. It’s their first full band show in a couple of years, so we are just as stoked to be watching them as you readers and shakers should be! And opening the bill we have legends Maurice Flavel’s Intensive Care who we have gigged with a bit over the years who are also incredible. Andee (keys) just told me when we were going down to the studio in Gelorup to record he saw one of the blokes from their band at the servo. Imagine that.

What’s next for Terminal Beach for the rest of 2022 and beyond? Any more music or live shows in the pipeline we can look forward to?

Terminal Beach all summer long is the plan, it’s also our email address I think so send us some emails. Rohin can’t go anywhere to work anymore so we are hoping to really give this being a band thing a red hot crack, we have another show coming up at The Navy Club in Freo on the 26th of February with The Wasted Sons who are our Sister Band like Kagoshima in Japan is Perth’ Sister city which I just found out then. It happened in 1974 bet you didn’t know that either.

Billy Woodley is playing that night too! We are also in the works to book some shows with Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top Rohin reckons but I think he isn’t necessarily telling the truth.

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