“The way I hold [the sticks] is actually backwards, and very wrong from the traditional marching band [style],” she explains, as it’s her right hand which she holds reversed. “But I did play in the marching band in middle school and junior high, and then for a year in high school.” From these beginnings, Spina became a chef before she decided she wanted a musical life. “I worked in all sorts of restaurants,” she says in her sweetly high voice. “I was a pastry chef for a few years, I was a sushi chef, I worked the hot line – that’s like the grill. The fish station, the pasta station, I kind of did the whole gambit.” When she hung up her knives and picked up her sticks, she looked to Craigslist to find a bandmate who could complement her raw style. The first person she got in contact with was Anthony ‘Tone’ Catalano.
“He was the first person I responded to and ended up being the only person I responded to,” she laughs. “I worked in a bar at the time, and it was on the same street that we both lived on – we lived a few blocks away from each other. And from the minute that he came in I just kind of got a good feeling, and then from our first practice it just felt like that was what I was looking for.” The connection is palpable during live sets: Spina and Catalano shoot conspiratorial looks and small smiles at one another as they sing call-and-answer tales about lost loves, lies and loneliness.
Catalano is a first-rate guitarist, with a soaring voice that often sounds reminiscent of Jack White’s. In a promo video the band shot for their upcoming Australian tour to promote self-released debut record Homewrecker, it’s clear he’s quite a taciturn man in reality. “Yeah, he’s pretty quiet,” Spina agrees. “It’s kind of funny that he enjoys being on stage so much and has what I think is a really great stage presence. [He’s] kind of a little bit more shy, definitely.” He did make the effort with Spina, writing to her twice before the first meeting was arranged. “On the second time [he wrote] he mentioned that he had played in jazz bands in high school, and I just knew that you kind of know what you’re talking about [if you’re in a] jazz band, you know. To play in school, and to be trained at a younger age, it just sparked my interest.”
The way Little Hurricane set up their stage for gigs utilises a bit of extra effort for a lot of extra bang. They use op shop buys as props to create a prairie lounge room kind of air, with amps concealed inside cabinets and suitcases. “We actually got a custom road case for it,” Spina says when I question how they manage to tour with the carved cabinet that houses the primary amp. “It’s really beat up; we’ve had that since our very first show so it’s definitely seen its wear and tear. We are bringing it to Australia, just because we feel like it’s really important to have that and the lamp, which we’ve also had since the first show. And it ended up on our album cover so we just felt like it symbolised the band.”
Another prop, initially unintentional, is Spina’s favourite footwear. “I always play barefoot, it just seems a little bit easier,” she says. “I really like to wear cowgirl boots and for our first couple shows I tried playing with my shoes on, and I was just kind of frustrated, until one time I took ‘em off and I put ‘em in front of my kick drum, and then I kind of really liked the way that they looked there. Now I always make sure that I have my boots and I set ‘em right in front of my drum before we play.”
Spina is clearly eager to be coming to our shores for the tour. “I’m just really excited because I don’t know that much [about Melbourne], so I think it will be really fun to see the culture, and the environment, and also to see the music venues! Because that’s just a really cool added benefit of travelling to play; to see what it’s like to be in the music [scene] all the way in Australia.” These two unmitigated babes will bring their art and swagger to Melbourne this week, and are a highly recommended watch for those who like their rock lazily tender and raw.
BY ZOË RADAS
