Black Heart Breakers

     For those of you that cherished the glorious racket bands like The Boys made back in the late '70’s or the Exploding Hearts made in the early 2000’s: I ask you to turn your attention to a land that the Romans referred to as Terra Australis Incognita meaning “the mysterious land of the south.” The same land where many years ago mighty beasts like The Saints, Radio Birdman, and The Scientists once roamed. Yes, the island nation known to the world as The Commonwealth of Australia. These lands are fertile with rock n’ roll once again and the primal punk rock sounds of yesteryear are buzzing through the outback once again. Sydney’s Black Heart Breakers took what they learned from power pop, back alley glam rock, late 70’s punk and recorded a debut LP released last year that is sure to go down in Australian punk rock history, if not the world’s! 

Interview by J Castro

First off, who’s all in the band and what instruments do you play? 

Hayden McGoogan – Lead Vocals/Guitar

Ed Barnes – Bass

Sean Anderson – Guitar/Backing Vocals

Steve Woodward - Drums

How did you all meet and decide to play music together?

HAYDEN: Sean and I have known each other since high school, and have been playing together for close to 7 years. We clicked through having similar tastes in music and passion to play it. Woodie was a mate of ours who has played in a bunch of Sydney bands, so when we decided that we wanted to make this band he was the first guy who we hit up. We met Ed through a love of punk rock and beer.  

What’s life like for a punk band in Sydney, Australia these days? Is there a decent scene you guys are part of down there? 

HAYDEN: There’s a bit of scene in Sydney, and in the other major cities, but it’s not really a thing, and in particular the style of Punk/Power Pop that we play. We’re fortunate enough to have some of our best mates play similar enough music to put on a pretty darn good lineup together.

Typically, people don’t associate Australia with punk but there have been so many great bands that have come out of there. Are you guys into bands like X, Radio Birdman, The Saints and stuff like that?  Has early Australian punk rock been a big influence on you guys?

HAYDEN: The Australian punk scene rivals any other punk scene. Of course we love those bands! A huge influence! And you can imagine how fucking amped we were, only 6 months after our album release, to be opening for Radio Birdman on the last leg of their 2014 Australian tour at Manning Bar. Deniz Tek & Anne Laurent actually came to our Album Launch at the Gladstone Hotel previously, which was also a huge blessing. Other influential classic Australian bands include The Angels, AC/DC, Rose Tattoo and Cold Chisel.

You guys released your debut album last year, can you tell me a bit about it: where it was recorded, who produced it etc..?

HAYDEN: After Sean and I put all the songs together, we (Hayden McGoogan, Sean Anderson Steve Woodward, Ronnie Simmons) immediately all jumped in a room and started bashing them out. After less than 5 rehearsals, we went in to record the drums and bass for the album at The Lockup Studios in Sydney with Daniel Antix. (Rhythm section really did their homework!) After that, we took it to my makeshift studio and finished it. We completely self-produced it, no outside influence.

You guys said you recorded your album before playing any live shows first. Looking back, do you wish you would have now?

HAYDEN: Not at all. I really dig the fact that we did it first. It immediately gave us a foundation to build of, and a set of songs that people could feel and connect to from the first performance. After our first gig, you could immediately buy our music. I like as well that no one really does it, “it’s that weird thing that Black Heart Breakers did.” It was fucking hard in a way too, but a lot of fun and love.

Have you ever written any song lyrics you regret for whatever reason and are there any particular subjects you like to stay away from in your lyrics, is so why?

HAYDEN: Me personally, I don’t regret any lyrics. They’re a representation of how you were feeling about something in that specific moment in time, even if that feeling changes over time. I pretty much stay clear of political and/or world events. I more just stick to what’s going in my life or someone else’s. 

What are some of the worst or most distracting things people do at you shows that drive you nuts?

HAYDEN: Not turning up! Jokes aside, there’s nothing really that is that distracting. When people spend your whole set on their phone that can be a bit annoying, but that’s not really that bad. 

It’s time for the “beauty pageant question” part of the interview: Name the single most influential person in your life and how this person made such an impact on you?

HAYDEN: There’s not really a single person, of course there is all of our favorite bands: The Beatles, AC/DC, Ramones, and Beach Boys as well all the bands that we play with. It’s great playing a gig with all of your best mates and they’re watching you and you’re watching them and you’re both really digging what’s going on. Those bands inspire you to play better each time.

In your description about yourselves on your Facebook profile you said you guys are “the newest band to give a damn about rock n’ roll.” Do you feel like there’s a rock n’ roll revival going on? 

HAYDEN: You’ve got rock n’ roll bands from all corners of the globe that really give a fuck and make excellent music. There are the Biters in Atlanta, the Cry from Portland, Black Heart Breakers from Sydney, Kotzreiz from Berlin, Prima Donna from Los Angeles, and countless others. Ronnie and Woodie’s half Sydney/half Berlin project AUTOBAHN OUTLAW just released their debut record RU12 through GoldenCore Records / ZYX in October & it’s incredible! Kick In the Teeth! I think there is a global community that really cares about and loves rock and roll.

Why do you think rock n’ roll music that used to be so wildly popular with youth culture has now dwindled down and gone underground and been replaced by hip hop/electronic music? 

HAYDEN: I just think it’s the times and what’s played on radio. The general listener listens to what’s played on the radio or at the nightclubs and at the moment that is electronic music. But with the internet now, everyone go and find there whatever music they want.

What lies ahead in 2015 for The Black Heart Breakers?

HAYDEN: Black Heart Breakers are working with Verboten Music Company and are currently setting up an east coast tour of Australia to take place in June in promotion of the 2014 independent release Black Heart Breakers. New songs have started making their way into the set, such as “I Want You” and “High School Lovers,” and people are digging them, so we’re hoping that an EP will be out by the end of the year.   

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Lovesores

     If you have been wondering “Where have all the punk rock ‘n’ roll bands gone?” then look no farther than Lovesores. Lovesores were formed by Scott “Deluxe” Drake and Jeff Fieldhouse; the same dynamic songwriting force that wrote a bulk of the early Humpers songs. These two, the arguable Mick and Keith of the punk rock ‘n’ roll genre, have created another band that is essential listening. With two EP’s (Bubblegum Riot and Formaldehyde) under their belt and two more singles on the way, the Lovesores attack is the adrenaline shot for a punk rock ‘n’ roll fix.

Interview by Ed Stuart 

Who’s answering the questions?

Scott “Deluxe” Drake

Where are Lovesores from?

We all live in Portland, Oregon…though some of us are originally from California and Arizona.

Who is in the band and what to they do?

Boz Bennes plays drums, Saul Koll plays guitar, Adam Kattau also plays guitar, Alex Fast plays bass and I sing.

How did the Lovesores start?

The Lovesores began as songwriting collaboration between Jeff Fieldhouse, who was the original guitarist of The Humpers and my main songwriting partner in that band, and myself. He left The Lovesores about a year and a half ago for personal/family reasons.

What bands/influences did the Lovesores have in mind when forming?

None really. Jeff and I just started writing songs without any particular direction in mind. But seeing that we’re both mostly interested in traditional 3-chord Rock N’ Roll, we had a general idea in mind.

Scott used to live in Long Beach, especially during The Humpers, but the Lovesores are based in Portland. What made you decide to move from Long Beach to Portland?

I lived in California for 40 years so it was time for a change. I had just married my wife and we wanted to start out somewhere fresh.

What are some big differences between the punk scenes in Long Beach and Portland?

The biggest difference to me would be that in Portland the bands are more supportive of each other, there’s more camaraderie. Also, there is more stylistic variation in Portland. In Southern California, a lot of the bands sheepishly follow whatever is in fashion at the moment, about 75% of them wish they were Social Distortion.

In an interview with Uber Rock, Scott stated “The Lovesores are different especially in that it's just a much more relaxed project, maybe because we're older and we don't have inflated expectations. Musically, Lovesores are probably more like early Humpers, late Humpers got a bit too hyper and pummelling.”  Do you think if the Humpers hadn’t had some degree of success, Lovesores would have the same relaxed attitude? 

You gotta realize that The Humpers stopped functioning creatively around 1998 so there’s been a lot of water under the bridge since then. The attitude of The Lovesores doesn’t have anything to do with The Humpers. It’s irrelevant.

Have you read We Never Learn: The Gunk Punk Undergut, 1988-2001?  I ask because The Humpers were active during these years.

Eric Davidson interviewed me for that book but he only gave The Humpers about ½ a page of ink, the bastard! It’s nice to see some of those bands get a little recognition finally, though.

50 years ago people used to buy music and get their water for free, now people pay for water and get their music for free. Considering that members of Lovesores have been releasing music since the late 80’s/early 90’s and have had relationships with labels of different sizes (Hovercraft, No Front Teeth, Rapid Pulse, Sympathy For The Record Industry, Epitaph). What are some of the big differences/changes that you have noticed in the music business in the last twenty to twenty-five years?

Virtually everything has changed in music in the last twenty-five years. One of the biggest differences that stand out to me is the attitude of the average music fan nowadays and also, to some extent, the attitudes of bands. Twenty-five years ago, in my humble opinion, both fans and musicians seemed to be more intensely devoted to the music, which I think was a reaction to people having less access to “underground” music. That’s just human nature, the harder it is to get something the more people value it. Having said that, though, I have no nostalgia for the old days of mainstream corporate radio, corporate record stores that wouldn’t stock imports or indie records, pay-to-play clubs, etc.

After reading several reviews, Lovesores are most compared to punk rock 'n’ roll, what are some essential punk rock 'n’ roll LP’s/bands that are necessary for a record collection?

Anything by The Lazy Cowgirls, The Nomads, The Neckbones or The Pleasure Fuckers would be a good place to start.

Where can people hear the Lovesores and what is next for the band?

People can hear us doing gigs in Portland every other week. We’ve also played out-of-town in Vancouver BC, Spokane, Seattle, Eugene, Los Angeles, Long Beach and we’re planning a European Tour in the spring. We have two new vinyl releases coming out this year and we’re on Facebook, Bandcamp, Reverbnation and all that. 

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The Black Cheers

     When I was trolling around on The Black Cheers Facebook page someone on there mentioned they sounded like Gary Glitter mixed with Bad Brains.  At first read I threw my head back and scoffed at how absurd that sounded, but for some reason that really stuck with me.  The more I thought about it, it wasn’t too far off the mark to describe these Boston blokes’s brand of melodic punk rock. Black Cheers hit pretty hard but don’t shy away from jabbing the melody with the left immediately following that right hook to the jaw.  Boston has a rich Rock N’ Roll history and bands like Black Cheers just keep adding to that long and distinguished list.

Interview by Jay Castro

Please introduce yourself (or selves) and how you contribute to the Black Cheers mob?

Hey, I'm Dan and I play Guitar & sing, like a fucking ding-a-ling.

Chris plays better guitar than I do, and sings back ups (He is mostly a kind and generous man, so it's really too bad about his punchable face).

Ricky plays the bass, does backing vox, and really gets up to some good Internet hi-jinx.

Scotty plays drums, and it seems like he's always had a beard.

Where are you all from originally and how did you all meet and decide to play music together?

We are all from the Boston area. I had played in a band called the Throwaways with Chris. Come to think of it, he mentioned that we should get together and play, long before I thought of starting a band.  I've known Scotty for a while. I was in a band called Darkbuster, and he would do merch and drum tech for us on tour. (You get to learn a lot about a person when you are on tour. For instance: Scotty always vomits purple, for some reason.)

Ricky was Scotty's friend from way back. He was already famous to us by his alternate internet persona though.

First off, you gotta tell me a bit about that killer “Delete Delete” video!  Was it fun to make and whose idea was it for that Usual Suspects style ending?

This was so fun I always wanted to make a video. Sorry, I'm pasting the video liner notes, because it kinda says it all...

 "This was done one Saturday with Mike Fitzgerald (sicangus@hotmail.com) directing,

Harry Pray (harryprayiv@gmail.com) shooting,

Ryan Pray and John Burke Lighting.

A lot of coffee to start.

Bad guys were: Keith from Panzerbastard, Joe from Crash and Burn, Swid from Razors in the Night and Brian from the Bread Losers.

Christian from Forn was the drunk in the hall.

Total pros all of 'em! Good, good dudes.

The beer and pizza came halfway through, but those bad guys were on something else altogether. Let me tell you something. You don't want to hear "I think its kicking in." from the guy whose about to fake hit you in the nuts with a pair of nun chucks."

Ahhh, I'm back. Anyway, that song "Delete Delete" is about deleting your browser history but which is really a metaphor for regrets and or wishing away bad memories.  So, when I came up with the idea for the vid, it was just going to be a take on an old Happy Days episode (Where the Richie and the gang takes over the bad guy band at the talent show) with the bad guys being the winners. Then, I tacked on the twist ending for the hell of it. So . . . maybe the video is also a metaphor for blaming other people, but really you can only blame yourself? I dunno, I just thought of that now.

So what’s life like for a punk rock band in Boston these days?  Good turnouts at your shows etc..?

We're not really taking the world by storm. Let’s put it that way, ha ha. Sometimes, it feels like it's not even worth leaving the leper colony to go play a show.

What led to the decision to self release both of your EP’s instead of doing it through a label?  I find it hard to believe there were no takers!

Well, to tell you the truth, I didn't even try to get anyone to put them out. Putting them both up on Bandcamp was the path of least resistance/least $. Would love to get the exposure and push that a label can bring, but, you know the old saying; want in one hand and shit in the other....and see which one fills up first.

In your opinion, what bands do people need to know and understand in order to appreciate your music more?

I was kind of aiming for a Black Flag meets Rocket from the Crypt type of sound.

Maybe with some Stiff Little Fingers.

I don’t like using the term “guilty pleasure” just because I don’t think people should be ashamed by anything they really like. With that being said, do you guys listen to anything that some of your fans would be surprised by?

It was weird, I wrote to the other guys and asked "What's your guilty pleasure?" and they all responded "cuckolding." I should've been more specific.

What’s been the most unforgettable show you’ve played, good or bad and what made it so memorable?

Well, we opened up for The Flatliners last spring. There were actually kids there...and they were dancing!

"You guys were the best opening band I've ever seen!" Best compliment ever, ha ha.

Plus, this was the only show (of this band) that my wife had been to. It made us look legit.

The cassette is making a raging comeback.  Do you think it’s a viable and collectable form of music or just another hipster trend that will soon go hobbling back to its dark cave of obscurity where it belongs?

It's ridiculous. I hated cassettes when they were the only game in town. I don't see any real reason for this. Although, this does sound like a pretty good trend for people that have a lot of time on their hands, and a penchant for making things more difficult for themselves.

Where are the best places for people to hear or buy your music?

We have a Bandcamp page that has both of our EP's (name your price! Yes, you can even do $0, you shitbag).

What does the band have in store for us in the near or not so near future?

Playing more shows, planning on making a hilarious video for "You Don't Get It" and hopefully recording another EP in the near future.

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