the AU interview: Jay Marriott of The Novocaines (Perth) talks "RESOUND"

Perth band The Novocaines have become something of local legends in their own right, and with the release of their latest single “Don’t Wait”, they’re putting that status to good use. This weekend, they’re launching their single with something of an mini festival called “RESOUND”. We caught up with Jay Marriott from the band to talk about the single and the event, the Perth scene… and more!

You’re releasing a new single, tell us about it!

Don’t Wait is the third single that we’ve released this year, it carries on from the heavier sounds we’ve been experimenting with recently. We recorded at Fat Shan Studios, with our bassist Jim Power producing and mixing both Don’t Wait and Inside Out.

You’ve chosen a unique way to launch the single, can you tell us about this “mini festival” of sorts…

I came up with the idea for “Resound” a couple of months ago when we were planning how to launch Don’t Wait. I started brainstorming with Stefan Caramia from Teledex who really helped turn the concept into a reality.

We thought one way to promote WA music could be to make an all day outdoor music event that was free to the public. We’re going to be recording the whole event and then sending the live sets to community radio stations around the country.

Being from Perth makes it difficult to tour regularly, so we often rely on support from community radio and independent music media to help us reach out.

What has the feedback been like so far from the public?

Everyone has been really supportive of the idea, there’s no way Stef and I could have put this together without the support from local businesses.

How did you choose the other bands on the lineup?

All of the bands on the bill are good mates of ours; after the lineup was locked in Stef and I we realised most of the bands live on the same street in North Perth. I guess that’ll make it easier for the after party.

How do they compare to you musically? Is it of a similar breed or a potpourri of Perth talent? Why made you choose that one way or the other?

We wanted to use “Resound” to showcase a variety of Perth music.

The Floors are an amazing blues band that we’ve been playing with for about 7 years. They were the first band from Perth that we really bonded with.

I don’t quite know how to describe FAIM, they’re definitely a punk band but there’s a theatrical influence to their music that makes them really unique.

FOAM and Pat Chow are both massively into their 90’s grunge and slacker rock. PUCK are desert-rock, along the same vein as Fu Manchu and Kyuss.

Mossy Fogg (Turin Robinson) and Nevada Pilot are relatively new to the Perth scene; we’ve been putting these guys on a lot of our line-ups recently.

What do you hope the crowds take away from the event?

Merchandise from the support bands, hopefully someone might get turned onto a band they hadn’t heard before.

How do you feel the Perth scene fits alongside that of the rest of the country?

I think isolation often helps artists develop a unique style. I think that’s why Australia’s music scene sounds so different from the rest of the world.

In Perth there’s a real DIY ethos for independent bands to work together, all of the mini genre scenes are so tight. I think it’s terrific.

What do you think the future holds for the Perth scene?

There have been a lot of younger Perth bands really finding their feet in Australia. It’s great to see your mates becoming headlining acts in their own right. I don’t see Perth slowing down any time soon.

Do you have similar plans for the future? Other unique ways to launch singles/albums etc?

In the future I’d like to be able to turn Resound into a national event, but at this stage Stef and I are just focusing on the task at hand. I think we’ve given ourselves enough headaches for a while.

After Resound, The Novocaines are heading over to the U.S to play at CMJ and Culture Collide. After that we’ll be back in the studio before we head to the east coast in early 2014.

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Resound takes place this Sunday in Perth. For more details, head along to the Resound FB event page HERE: https://www.facebook.com/events/514674751952668 or the Resound bandcamp page HERE: https://teledex.bandcamp.com

Resound is proudly presented by the AU review!

Larry Heath

Founding Editor and Publisher of the AU review. Currently based in Toronto, Canada. You can follow him on Twitter @larry_heath or on Instagram @larryheath.