From a spark to a revolution, Greenthief is a 3-piece alternative rock band that has crashed the indie scenester party with a unique blend of psychedelic rock. Spreading their word with frequent trips up and down the East coast of Australia, the band has broken sound barriers and state lines while enchanting audiences with a sound akin to a lovechild of Jeff Buckley and Trent Reznor.
Your new single ‘Mr Number 1’ is out with a new video in black and white, everyone seems to be doing black and white at the moment, what was your reason going with this?
We envisaged the theme of the clip to be in the 1920s so naturally the black and white look was appropriate. A Sydney company (Creative Foundry) produced the clip and we pretty much only saw the clip after it had been finished (to our delight!).
Write a little sentence describing what your music sounds like to someone who has never heard it
A heavy bottom with a flowery top, essentially – psychedelic rock.
What’s your earliest memory of performing and who inspired you to start?
Ringo Starr inspired me to start drumming. I remember my first performance being with my primary school concert band playing the triangle bit of an anti climax really…
Do you prefer the studio or the stage? Which and why?
Arh, this one is tough. I think live can be either much better of much worse depending on the gig whilst the studio is constantly good. I think it also really depends on where things are at with the band, if you have just done 20 gigs in a row then often you are craving something different.
Do you have a musical influence we might not expect?
We are all quite varied with our musical tastes. Steve (drummer) is really into folk music whilst Tom (bassist) and myself listen to a lot or rap, in particular, Notorious b.i.g.
You’ve been up and down the east coast of Australia a couple of times, what is your favourite venue to play and why?
We love yours and owls in Wollongong. The venue has such a cool vibe and the last time we performed they were constantly playing The Beatles in between bands, a big tick in our book.
Most bands eat a lot of takeaway food on the road while touring, what’s the worst tour meal you’ve had?
Oh, we’re quite strict on this. We do try and avoid the deadly M but sometimes (/often) temptation wins. I guess it depends what you meant by worst. I’m going to roll with meegorang sandwiches, ultimately the cheapest food on earth but is horrific, particularly after the 7th night in the row.
If you could curate your own festival, where would it be, who would be on the bill, how many people would you let in and what features would it have?
Well I would definitely have to bring some musicians back to life (see below). There would be 70 tickets and it would be held at Yours & Owls featuring: Tool, Rage Against The Machine, King Crimson, Jeff Buckley, Tame Impala, Radiohead, Queens of The Stone Age, Led Zeppelin, The Mars Volta, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Notorious B.I.G, Tupac, The Roots, Nine Inch Nails, Gojira, Alberta Cross & Sigur Ros.
Tell us what where we can find Greenthief over the next couple of months
5th September Newcastle CAMBRIDGE HOTEL
6th September Wollongong YOUR & OWLS
7th September Sydney LANSDOWNE HOTEL
8th September Sydney BALD FACED STAG
21st September Adelaide ED CASTLE
22nd September Melbourne PONY BAR
28th September Brisbane TEMPO HOTEL
29th September Toowoomba IRISH CLUB
26th October Perth THE ROCKETROOM
27th October Bunbury PRINCE OF WALES
28th October Fremantle THE NEWPORT
