Hartje hedges that the band could be considered as five, as fellow guitarist Brad Geddes and vocalist Cody Spalding are such close friends they’ve been warped into one dude: ‘Brody’. “They’re the coolest guys in the world, I’ll be honest,” laughs Hartje. “They come up with some of the funniest things I’ve ever seen in my life.” It was Brody who proffered the idea of prefixing the band’s Espy semi-final gig with a hugely atmospheric Batman intro. Danny Elfman’s iconic dark strings swept over the venue before the Failsafe boys unleashed their super heavy riffs, thumping drums and growling vocals to an extremely appreciative crowd. Hartje says that not including set-up and pack-down, they had 25 minutes to play their best. “But we never really were about playing as good as we could; we just like people getting up and jumping around and stuff. It’s what we’re all about. We like to put on a show and play [well], but we have so much more fun when everyone else has fun.” So confirm the repeated entreaties on the guys’ Facebook page to come down to shows and “chuck a mosh.”
Joining Hartje and Brody in the full line-up are Jonathan ‘don’t call me John’ Occleshaw on drums, Jayden Shillingford on bass, and Chris ‘Thrillho’ (one of the best Simpsons references ever) Millward taking on lead vocals in partnership with Spalding. Spalding is a powerful presence on stage; his muscular arms gripping the air in front of him like he’s ripping a Minotaur’s head off. The energy during the performance didn’t gelatinise at any point, and those judging the night clearly felt that positive force and saw fit to send the band through to victory.
Like many musicians who move to a heavier style during the later years of their tuition, Hartje initially played classical guitar, honing his craft for six years. “When I first said that I wanted to learn guitar my parents said, ‘Well if you’re learning, you’re learning properly’,” he says. “Looking back on it, classical guitar was the best thing I ever did. I’d love to do it again; it’s just become so much more expensive than it used to be.” Hartje favours Ibanez guitars and “stupidly low tuning” when playing. “I’m sort of looking at expanding [the guitar collection], seeing if I can find a local dealer that makes guitars; see if I can help someone out,” he says. Paying it forward already, you’re likely to hear more about these young rockers soon.
BY ZOË RADAS
