Shoot the Shit…

 

 

 

 

Name: Mike Caruana
Shoot: Hoodlum Shouts
The Shit:
My first reaction when I heard about this band? Like others I guess…’Who the fuck is Hoodlum Shouts’? But I’m glad I checked them out to say the least and hope you will too. They have a new album coming out in March and their straight to the point, no bullshit answers in this interview (and music come to think of it) make me even more intrigued about the release and what it holds.
Hoodlum Shouts Facebook

First things first, give us a rundown of who is in the band and how Hoodlum shouts became a band?

Sam Leyshon (Vox/harmonica) Luke Robert (bass) Josh Leyshon (drums) Mike Caruana (guitar/vox). We were in other Canberra bands that had ended. It was a case of four old mates getting together and seeing what came out. We played our first show at a bbq in ’09.

 You have members split between two capital cities, correct? How do you find this when putting an album together and doing something as simple as playing some shows?

When we did our album we were all in Canberra so that was easy. Now it’s three in Melbourne, one in Canberra so it’s tricky in terms of travel, money, organisation etc. but y’know, we made our own beds… it definitely has its advantages.

What’s it like getting a band off the ground in Canberra? How do you find it compares to other cities you’ve played?

The obvious difference is lack of venues and small population, but that leads to make-shift venues and memorable shows. For mine it’s always had and has awesome bands, but it’s just lacking that one mid-sized venue in the city that’s totally devoted to live music. It used to. The advantage of being a band in Canberra is that it’s easy to get around and easy to rehearse, and shows rarely clash, Most people support most things, so it’s a healthy scene. But like any band, if you work hard and tour you’ll get rewards. Look at I Exist.

Tell us about HelloSquare Recordings and how did you start releasing stuff through them?

They asked us. They’re DIY, they’re from Canberra, and they were release some pretty diverse stuff so we thought it’d be cool to be involved because we are more of a straight-up rock band.

Can you tell us a little about the LP Young Man Old Man you have coming out?

So Poison City will be releasing the LP and Hellosquare releasing the CD. Without giving too much away we’re hoping people who dug our first EP will get right into it, cause it pretty much takes off from there, but with a bit more experimentation and a few less linear songs.

Lyrically it seems like you are happy to tackle plenty of social and historical issues. Any particular issues you cover on the new record?

Yep. Violence, drinking, murder, suicide, abuse, inequality, luck…everything but fucking politics.

You can clearly hear your musical influences mentioned in reviews and bios (Midnight Oil, Nation Blue, Drones) but you seem to bring an original sound to what you do as well, particularly compared to other music around these days. How did Hoodlum’s sound evolve?

We really don’t think too much about it and I think that’s the key. Our sound is just the combination of each of us playing together. The only thing we’re conscious of is what we don’t want our music to sound like, but everything else is fair game.

I know other bands with musical influences and sounds outside of punk rock are often frustrated at being thrown in with that genre because it might limit chances to play to different people. Are you guys cautious of this considering some of your record label association, radio airplay etc?

Tough question! The only thing I can say is that we’re not cautious because we know we’re not a purely up-beat band and what we’re labeled as is pretty much out of our control. But if we want to play to different people, that’s something we can control. Incidentally our Canberra crowds are mainly hardcore or indie fans…fine with us!

Are there touring plans once Young Man Old Man comes out?

Yep, in April.