The Bronx and their Mexicana flavoured alter-ego Mariachi El Bronx love coming to Australia. Without even asking guitarist Joby J. Ford whether that’s the case the proof is in the fact that they’ve made their way to our shores once a year every year since 2007.
“Have you ever been to Germany?” The guitarist queries when we ask him why they love Down Under so much.
Is that because of the weather?
“Well it’s their food, folks, kind of everything” he responds. “I think as you tour over the years you get offers to go to certain places and whenever the Australian ones come up we always say yes because that place is amazing,” he laughs.
But aside from everybody being “a lot nicer” Ford is a huge fan of Australian music – particularly of the rock variety. Ahead of Mariachi El Bronx’s appearance as apart of Bluesfest’s increasingly mammoth lineup and their third self titled Mariachi record the musician let us in on four things that he loves about Australian music.
Underground 70s And 80s Punk and Garage Music
“I’m personally a huge fan of Australian music from the 70s and 80s and its been something that is pretty underground even to Australians and it’s some of the best garage and punk that I’ve ever heard,” says Ford.
It seems pretty indigenous – well I don’t even know if it’s indigenous to Australia – but we do a lot of covers down there and we played a Victims song, ‘Television Addict’, and no one in the crowd had heard that song before and I was like ‘ok, that’s awkward’.
If you are one of those Bronx fans whose feeling a little out of the loop The Victims were a three-piece from Perth and active between 77 and 79. You might be more familiar with their frontman Dave Faulkner who went on to have huge success with the Hoodoo Gurus.
Ford also cites the Lime Spiders, The New Christs and The Saints as three other bands from that era he loves. “Obviously The Saints were a huge influence on me and still are”.
The Do The Pop Compilation “Is All The Greatest Songs You’ve Never Heard”
“If you want to get the cream of the crop of all those bands you have to listen to this compilation” remarks Ford of his love of Australian bands from the 70s and 80s. “It’s all the greatest songs you’ve never heard, strictly Australian garage and underground staff and that was a very exciting album to get a hold of to me because it was thirty new bands that I can go find their stuff to get turned onto from a scene and another country that is pretty obscure here.”
The Do The Pop: Australian Garage-Rock Sound 1976-87 compilation was released in 2008 and celebrates the genre with 50 of the best tracks from that era. As Ford can attest to; “it’s a great place to start”.
Violent Soho Are One Of Their Favourite Aussie Acts
“We took those guys on tour in the States, I think they’re doing really well now and I think they’re a really good band.” Ford though reminisces of a particular memory from one of their Australian shows.
“I remember sitting there and one of my pedals broke or something and James Tidswell, the guitar player, and I found ourselves in an hour long conversation on the steps about effects pedals and fuzz pedals and distortion pedals and he was kind of killing me. But he gave me his records and he is really good.”
Australian Music Is “More Honest”
When asked what Ford likes so much about Australian music he refers to the honesty of our rock and roll bands.
“It seems way more honest than a lot of other countries . I like rock n roll and Australia is pretty firmly rooted in rock and roll. Obviously one of the greatest bands of all time in AC/DC as well as Rose Tattoo (are Australian) and its just that idealistic sort of guitar, bass and durms thing that I’ve always loved and it’s just no bullshit and great great songs,” says Ford.
Not only that, but our location also has a role to play in what makes Aussie rock so good. “I think of all the countries that I’ve listened to music from I think it’s the hardest to be a band in Australia because there is literally five or six cities to play and that’s it and to break out of that scene and go to America or Europe is so much more difficult. In an American band you can go on tour for three or four months and not play the same place versus Australian tours which are like a week.
Be sure to catch Mariachi El Bronx performing as part of the Bluesfest 2015 line up, more info here.
Their new album will be out November 7 via White Drugs / Cooking Vinyl.
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