q&a: bitch prefect
Bitch Prefect have been around the block and then some. Hailing from Adelaide, this trio now comfortably calls Melbourne their home. They’re known for making impromptu smartphone music videos, putting on great shows at swell venues, and being seen cycling around Northcote. They’ve done well, these boys, and starting August 17th, they will embark on a national tour to launch ‘Big Time’, their second venture, which was released on August 3rd through Bedroom Suck Records. So let’s catch up with with guitarist Scott O’Hara, shall we?
How’s it going, Scott? How’s everything been?
Well everything’s alright actually, except that I broke my collarbone.
That’s not great, how did that happen?
Just riding my bike actually. I fell over the handlebars and it just snapped in half. I was pretty worried for a while, because I had to cancel all the other shows for my other band, True Radical Miracle. And that was a shame because that band is all over now. But it should be healed about a week before this tour starts.
That’s a relief. Tell me a little about the band.
Well Liam, Pat and I all used to live in a share-house in Adelaide. And we were always doing silly recordings, so you could say there was a new band every 6 minutes. Some really good bands have come out of that house, like Old Mate, which is Pat’s project, and Liam is in a band called Peak Twins, who are incredible. And then I moved down to Melbourne, and Liam came a year and a half later, and Pat just recently moved down, so it’s been really good.
Did you live together in Melbourne?
Liam and I lived together in a warehouse in Northcote, I’ve recently moved to Footscray. Which is a great place, 7 minute train rides to the city!
I agree! Footscray’s not too shabby. So, back to it. How does all the writing balance out, a group effort or is it more your baby?
Not really, we all have an equal part in it, I’d say Liam and Pat started everything, and then we all had parts in it, each song would change, with Pat on drums, me singing, then Liam would sing, and it was always changing.
I know the tour hasn’t started, but how about new stuff? Already working on it?
It would be good to start soon, we really like playing our old stuff, but yeah, it’s old, and it would be great to be playing songs that aren’t..them. Now that my other projects are sort of winding down, Bitch Prefect will become my main focus and I’m looking forward to working on new stuff.
Any big future plans?
Not really, there’s no real grand scheme, just playing shows.
Can you shed some light on how it was moving from Adelaide to Melbourne, where we can all admit that it’s pretty saturated with, if I may, lo-fi pop?
Of course you may. We didn’t really think about it much. We just had the opportunity to play shows, and Pat and Liam were doing well with Old Mate and Peak Twins, so it just fell into place.
And just quietly, how about that video? You know, the ‘Bad Decisions’ one. What a hit!
Is it really a hit?
I think it should be!
Well thanks! That’s great. It’s actually the first one that wasn’t recorded on a phone. Pat would usually make a video for each song we recorded, just on his phone, and this one was done with a camera, in all of 20 minutes. But it’s always a lot of fun.
What’s happening with the warehouse now?
Still lots of good music being recorded there, like Silly Joel and the Candymen.
That sounds incredible, what IS that?
It’s actually just some more of our silly recordings that people started listening to, so they thought about getting some good lyrical content in there and yeah, it’s pretty great.
The Bitch Prefect ‘Big Time’ tour starts Friday, August 17th in Melbourne. They will be playing in Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide. Check out their Facebook event for more details.
