Mandy Nolan speaks to a bunch of Byron lads who travelled around the world before settling with the boys next door and Froggy turned his bedroom into a recording studio.
Tell me how Waxhead first got together.
Well, we all grew up in Byron, going to Byron High.
We all knew each other pretty well, surfing, hanging all in the same circle of friends. We had all been travelling around the globe for years but then it all just aligned at the end of 2012 when randomly we were all back settling into the Byron lifestyle.
But it all actually started when Finny moved out to Froggy’s property.
Froggy turned his bedroom into a jam room/recording studio and they they started jamming together. I was living just down the road, so the boys asked me to come around and have a jam. Then over a month or two the songs started to come together and the idea of Waxhead came about.
The name made us laugh every time we said it, and I guess that’s what made it kind of stick.
Moffo joined about five months after we played our first show when we decided to become a four-piece, which was an easy transition. Just another mate hanging out with us, which was happening long before Waxhead.
How would you describe the music you play?
It’s pretty hard to put a label on the music or art anyone creates. But from what I’ve gathered from live show feedback and reviews is that we play pretty grungy rock influenced by our surfing life and background. Froggy’s voice is unique so it’s another reason why it’s kind of hard to describe. Let’s just call it ‘surf grunge’ for now, but that could easily change.
What are your major influences?
Major influences include legends such as Hendrix, Neil Young, Nirvana, Zeppelin, Chili Peppers, and Paul Kelly to name a few, right up to some modern-day legends such as Wolfmother, Kings of Leon, Foo Fighters. Mother Ocean is a huge influence on our life and music.
Tell me about your debut single. What did you try to capture in the studio?
Our debut single is called Ball Buster. It’s basically about trying not to bust your balls working for ‘the man’.
We just wanted to make it a fun song and to make people laugh, not to take life too seriously.
As far as tones and sounds go, we just wanted everything to have real sound and not be over-produced. There’s nothing worse when bands have a great release then you watch them live and they sound completely different and not as good as the recording. So just capturing what we actually sound like is very important. In the studio we tried to capture the sound and direction of where we are at now and where we are heading in the future.
What are your plans for 2014?
2014 is looking like its going to be a ripper. We’ve got a few things in the works. Releasing our debut EP, which we are all so excited about. More shows, tours, festivals, road trips, who knows? As long as we’re all having fun, we’re winning…
What should we expect for your upcoming gig?
We wanted to make this show into more of a party then just a standard gig. Local boys Single Fin will be ripping it up, followed by our Melbourne friends House of Laurence. We just got back from Sydney and Wollongong with these guys and they will blow you away, psychedelic rock as good as it gets. DJ Snake Fist will be taking the night till the party hours.
We will be doing our thing, having fun, rocking out and playing some tunes for everybody to get down and dirty on the dance floor.
And all of this is free. Everyone should come, cheap Sailor Jerrys too.
This Friday, Dec 6 and New Years Eve at the Hotel Great Northern.
Find this and many other great gigs in Echonetdaily’s North Coast Gig Guide.
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