Hello!!! We’re The Gooch Palms from Newcastle, NSW. It’s just the two of us, Leroy Macqueen and Kat Friend. We play lo-fi, primitive pop with just a guitar and two drums. On October 4th our debut album NOVO’S comes out on vinyl and CD through Anti Fade Records. We’re also about to embark on our very first headline tour of Australia in support of the album which we are really excited about! We saw KISS play live in Sydney at the beginning of the year (dream come true) and were inspired by their stage show, so we have a bit of a mini arena spectacular planned. We can’t wait!
We hear the album was recorded in one day. Why such a rush?
We never intended on recording it so quickly but nine hours after we began, it was done. That being said, nine hours felt like forever, there’s no way we could have dragged it out any longer than that. We then sent the raw tracks over to our mate Jason Testasecca in Oakland, CA for mixing and he did an amazing job, we were really happy with the finished product.
We’ve had a listen to the title track for NOVO’S. Could you have written that song about any other town but Newcastle?
That particular song, like many on the album, are specifically about Novocastrians (folk from Newcastle) and the city itself. We get really angry about living here sometimes and this song just kind of manifested itself out of that anger. It’s about the way people here choose to live in such a standard reality. Mid 20’s is considered the time to settle down, start a family and pay off your mortgage for the rest of your life until you can finally retire at 65 and then maybe buy a Winnebago and finally get the hell out. It’s also a bit of a statement on the city and how it has so much potential to be an awesome place, but isn’t. Haha, we don’t hold much hope for the place. Surely there are other places in the world that could fall under that description, so if you live somewhere like this too, put Novo’s on and do an angry dance. Release that frustration!!!
What kind of influence has Newcastle had upon you as a band? Is it an easy city to make music in?
It’s had a HUGE influence. It’s isolating and unsupportive and every time we run into someone we haven’t seen in a while they all ask the same question “are you still trying to do that music thing” in the most condescending way possible. We’re so pissed off all the time, which makes us want to write songs and get out and tour. Playing shows in other cities makes us extremely happy. But Newcastle is a very easy city to make music in, which at the end of the day is what keeps us here. The isolation actually helps a lot, there are no distractions. We live on the railway line and only have one neighbour who is never home so we can play as loud as we want whenever we want. There is hardly ever anything going on, so we don’t get caught up in socialising every night and partying, which gives us a lot of time to work on the band.
How did you guys get together as The Gooch Palms?
We have been in a relationship for seven years. One day we just decided to learn how to play some instruments we’d never played before and start a band. It has worked out to be really easy with just the two of us and really fun. We’ll do some form of music together for as long as we’re both able.
And why the hell did you call yourselves that?
Haha, for no particular reason the words “gooch” and “palms” were written on our wall in chalk (amongst a bunch of other random words) and when we were looking for a band name we just put the two together and it stuck. It seems to confuse people which is a good thing and conveniently, the combination of the two words is very easy to search in Google.
Your live show gets a bit outrageous at times. Does the way you perform affect the way you want to write music, or vice versa?
We’ve never really thought about it, but the outrageousness is probably a product of all the pent up frustration and isolation. We just get so excited to be playing that it explodes out all over the place. It’s the opposite of how we feel when we write songs. We are usually writing songs because we’re bored and writing songs makes us happy, but on stage it’s the furthest thing from being bored. It will be interesting to play some of the newer material that has never been played live, like Novo’s and We Get By. They are a bit more serious than our past singles. We are growing up and writing about things that matter to us, but live it will still be a party. It’s the best way to feel better about things that get you down. Write a song about it and then get naked and scream about it while people watch.
Next month, you’re going to go on your first headline tour. What other outfits will you be sharing the stage with us?
Outfits as in other acts/bands? Or outfits as in COSTUMES?! We will be sharing the stage with some awesome outfits such as Donny Benet, Atom Bombs, Living Eyes, The Clits, Kremlings, Fighting League, Tyvek, Real Numbers and a bunch more. And we will be wearing some great outfits too. We have been highly inspired by late ’80s/early ’90s exercise gear and cycling apparel.
The tour is pretty bold, including Perth and a bunch of regional centres. Do you expect to be playing to fans or attempting to convert the masses?
It is bold, but we really wanted to do it large. We do have fans in some cities, which is truly amazing and we are so grateful that people like the band, it blows our minds. But we have never been to WA so we don’t expect that many people over there will know us. But you have to start somewhere, so hopefully a few people will walk away as new fans and that’s all we hope for!
Honestly, when was the last time Leroy played in a shirt?
Every now and then a cropped ladies shirt makes an appearance, but it never stays on long.
Lastly, what kind of local bands have you been digging and gigging with lately?
We’ve had a while off playing shows. We recorded the album and then had to really learn and practice all the newer songs, just basically getting ready for the tour. But meanwhile here in Newcastle we have been really digging the new album by Amateur Drunks, who are always good live and also a new band called Dog Beach who will be supporting us for our Newcastle leg of the tour.
The Gooch Palms Novo’s Tour Dates:
WED 2nd OCT – THE PHEONIX – CANBERRA
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THU 3rd OCT – THE BARWON CLUB – GEELONG
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FRI 4th OCT – THE TOTE – MELBOURNE
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FRI 11th OCT – HOTEL ST – SYDNEY
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SAT 19th OCT – GREENSLOPES BOWLS – BRISBANE
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THU 24th OCT – THE BIRD – PERTH
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THUR 14th NOV – WHITE’S RECORDS – NEWCASTLE
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Watch the video for Novo’s here
