Since the release of the band’s subliminal 2003 debut Bright Like Neon Love, the accolades and love from fans and critics alike, have been pouring in thick and fast for the trio from around the globe. Their lives have become somewhat of a whirlwind in the wake of release, travelling to finer parts of the world, leading the electro rock pack in style. Supporting the likes of Franz Ferdinand, Tv On The Radio, Bloc Party, James Murphy et al and playing to sold out stadiums along the way. Now it’s high time the boys returned home to pick up the local baton, as they get set to rip it up and polish the floor with crowds around the nation on the Big Day Out tour. ITM’s Semone Maksimovic caught up with guitarist Tim Hoey, as he quietly melted away in one of the first heat waves Melbourne had tasted this summer, to talk all things abroad, just what it was David Bowie was doing in the band’s NY dressing room and of course festival essentials.
Imagine walking off stage, after an absolutely immaculate show at Madison Square Garden, to the ongoing buzzing of the amps and the chant of your name by an overly excited audience. Then just as you think you’ve got that chance to catch your breath and exchange a triumphant smile with your band mates, you feel a light tap on your shoulder, waiting for something to spoil this moment and tell you to get the hell out of the way. You turn to find that things are just going to continue to blow your mind, as you stand face to face with the godly existence that is David Bowie, congratulating you all on a great set! Sound like some crazy kid rocker’s boyhood dream? Well, this is indeed reality for our three Melbourne electro-pop darlings on their recent Franz tour in the US.
“That was certainly a highlight for us on that tour” chuffs Hoey “People were running around trying to get a camera, but we didn’t locate one in time. It was a shame, cause we were downstairs packing up our gear and he was in our band room with Tv On The Radio ready to get photos and stuff, so everyone was running around looking for us, but it didn’t happen. So they got all of these photos and Tv On The Radio were wearing our t-shirts, but that was as close as we got to a photo opp with him” he laughs “At least we’ve got the memory.”
And such is the life of the new leaders of the Australian electro rock brat-pack, hanging out daily on tour with the lovely Franz and Tv on The Radio kids. Surprised to find the two like-minded hyped bands of the moment, were still relatively untouched by their overnight successes, happy to hang out and take the trio under their wing. “We pretty much spent everyday of that tour together hanging out and when we did our own headlining show in LA, the Franz kids came down and did lights for us” says Hoey of the bands’ quick bonding. “It was really great, they’re like superstars, but they’re just like these nice down-to-earth people and it was just so refreshing to meet a band like that and be on the road with them.”
The boys didn’t find themselves at all daunted by the height of Franz’s commercial success and the problems that may have unfolded in front of a 3,000 strong crowd waiting for the headliners, or the attitude a band of that current calibre could have possessed. “We were just happy to be playing in big venues like that, with a band we really liked. It was just extra refreshing to see that they’re not compromised by their commercial success. They’re still writing the records that they want to write and that’s where we’re coming from as well” he continues “We don’t feel like we have to change our sound to get on the charts or airplay, we’re just happy making the music we want and they’ve got that same ethic.”
Opening up for a band like that when you’re still relative newcomers yourself is a hard task for even the best of acts, but as anybody who’s ever danced, sang and hand-clapped their way through a Cut Copy show, would know there was no doubt the boys could pull it off in style. And that they did, so impressed were Franz that at their last show together in Toronto, they invited the Cutters to join them on their upcoming Australian tour, an offer the boys couldn’t possibly decline. “I guess we thought we wouldn’t have much on when we got home and we’d be able to kick back and relax. But that’s when everything changed and in reality we only have about two weeks off and then we’re pretty steadily booked up until February, so it’s refreshing to be home and playing to home crowds again, we’re looking forward to it.”
Then as their schedule wraps up again for the season, the guys have played with ideas of a club-show tour, to give us the full ‘we’re back’ show. But unfortunately, the idea was scrapped as they decided that the Big Day Out is to be their last official ‘hurrah’ before graduating back to the studio to concentrate on new material for their forthcoming sophomore effort. Spending a healthy-dose of the last year on the road, writing time isn’t something they managed to get much of, so after the completion of two new tracks, they’re looking forward to unleashing them in all their live glory at the upcoming shows. “We’ve got a whole bunch of stuff sitting there at the moment, lots of starts, but they’re all just waiting there till we’ve got time to finish them. But the two songs we’ve completed we’re really happy with and happy to play live and see how they sound before we take them back to the studio and put the final touches on them.”
Pleasing and interacting with a festival crowd is one of the things The Cutters do best, but what is it that draws them to a festival, how is it they get through the day? “When it comes to summer festivals, you can’t really beat Australia!” excites Hoey, before leaving us all with a few wise words of festival experience “We have to make sure we pace ourselves, it’s such a long day that we have to make sure not to go too hard, too early – you never want to peak to early at a festival, you have to take your time – so that’s what we stick to, our one golden rule” he shares.
Catch Cut Copy on the road as they light up nights around the nation on the national Big Day Out tour and back in the supporting role of the mighty Franz Ferdinand yet again on the following dates:
Sun Jan 22 - Big Day Out, Gold Coast
Tue Jan 24 - Enmore Theatre, Sydney (w/ Franz Ferdinand)
Wed Jan 25 - Enmore Theatre, Sydney (w/ Franz Ferdinand)
Thu Jan 26 - Big Day Out, Sydney
Sun Jan 29 - Big Day Out, Melbourne
Tue Jan 31 - The Palace, Melbourne (w/ Franz Ferdinand)
Fri Feb 3 - Big Day Out, Adelaide
Sun Feb 5 - Big Day Out, Perth
