For better or for worse, we are currently well in the midst of the era of the meme
For better or for worse, we are currently well in the midst of the era of the meme – with ephemeral packets of pop culture having the tendency to supernova on a weekly basis. So much so, rising Melbourne upstarts Amber Lamps can take their name from a year-old viral video and have it seem nostalgic. “Well to be honest, we try to distance ourselves from it,” laughs drummer Jackson. “We think it has a nice, warm feel to it.” Bassist, Mitch, ads: “It’s more of an in-joke, rather than about a video where a dude gets beatup.”
I catch up with the affable gadabouts in an undisclosed family restaurant chain shortly after they packed up school for the week. Jackson, Henry, Mitch, Joe, and Hamish (present at this interview via speakerphone) formed while studying VCE at Melbourne High School, in which the band started to make waves in the academic environment. “Well we got sent to Top Class, which is a collaboration of all the top VCE acts,” Jackson states. “It sounds like we’re talking ourselves up,” he adds with humility. “That’s the point!” Joe laughs.
The band is fresh from kicking arse at the recent Pushover Festival, in which they took out the grand prize in the statewide FReeZA Push Start band competition. Jackson explains, “We never really went into it as a competition, we just went in and decided if we went in and had fun it would give us our best chance.” “I wanted to win,” interjects Mitch to the chagrin of his bandmates. “Well everyone but Mitch had a good attitude going in,” laughs vocalist Henry.
Holding the Pushover event at Abbotsford Convent boded well for the band’s karmic alignment, with their brunchtime altruism paying off later in the afternoon. “We got their like four hours early, so it wasn’t quite adrenaline-fuelled. We were sitting outside Lentil As Anything wondering if they opened that early and it turns out they did,” Henry recalls. “It was fantastic. Amber Lamps fully supports and endorses Lentil As Anything,” spruiks Mitch. So how much coin did the lads drop into the pay-as-you-want chest? “It was a significant amount, more than ten bucks each,” Joe states. “We also played music that day,” laughs Jackson as we steer back from an epicure-bent tangent.
With so many bands on display throughout the event, the day proved to be a fantastic opportunity to check out some major talent for many under-18 Victorians. “You were crowdsurfing to Children Collide, weren’t you?” Jackson asks Mitch. “I tried. And I failed,” he laughs. “What else did we see? Stonefield, they were really good,” adds Henry. “Last Dinosaurs, Goldfields were pretty funky,” adds Jackson. “Then we saw all the other bands in our competition.” So were the band quietly confident of their capability to crush the competition? “No, no, definitely not,” all five sing out in chorus. “I think there were a number of times throughout the day where I was watching a band and my heart just sank, thinking ‘Far out, we just lost’,” Jackson reveals. “For me, it was when Passport For Amy came on in particular,” adds Mitch. “They just had this blasting indie-rock thing going on, they were who I was worried about.” But it seems like Amber Lamps’ onstage theatrics may have got them over the line. “We were the only band to chuck our instruments on the floor when we finished,” laughs Mitch. “We just made a pile of all our gear,” adds Joe.
With each member bearing a studious fluency in their chosen instrument, identifying a definitive influence on the band’s output proves a difficult task. “God, I hate that question!” exclaims Jackson. “Alright, let’s try and name three bands that influence us,” he says, instigating a collaborative discussion. “Well I’d say we’re alternative rock,” Henry offers, “We’re not an indie band. People have labelled us that before, and we’re really not.” “I think alternative rock is broad enough, and narrow enough to describe our sound,” adds Joe. “It means we can play piano songs as well as loud songs and it fits under the one umbrella,” laughs Mitch. “Alright, for influences we’d say Radiohead, Death Cab,” states Jackson. “And Coldplay,” adds Henry. “Oh, and Mute Math,” the lads shout in unison. “There’s also a lot of bands that we each individually listen to that influence our own style,” says Joe. “For instance, there’s a lot of Ben Folds in Joe’s style,” Mitch adds. “We all come from pretty different backgrounds, musically,” Jackson states. “And we have a pretty bitchin’ cover of Take Me Out, if I do say so myself,” he declares.
As the interview winds up, we’re approached by a beggar. Without any hesitation, all band members whip out their wallets and hand over some shrapnel. “That was my Metcard money,” Henry forlornly states. “Not joking, I needed that.” Let’s hope karma will shine once again on the lads from Amber Lamps.
AMBER LAMPS won the FReeZA Push Start Band Competition. You can hear their music at triplejunearthed.com/AmberLamps.
