However, despite the external impression, don’t tell the band’s vocalist and drummer Michael Schuman (who also plays bass for Queens Of The Stone Age) the band has in any way arrived.
“To be honest I’m glad people think it’s been a breakout year for us, but for us it’s still the struggle and still the climb,” Schuman says. “It’s been like that since day one and a lot of people have given us a lot of great opportunities, but we’ve been writing constantly and playing shows. Even when there was nothing to promote we were still playing shows and going out on tour.”
The trio of Schuman, bass player Zach Dawes and keyboardist Tyler Parkford released their debut, self-titled album back in 2010. Schuman says the five year gap between albums was necessary for the group to find themselves and change their attitude towards the band.
“When we set up the band it was just like, ‘Let’s just do whatever. I just want to go be in a band. Who cares? We just want to play this music’,” he says. “Not that we aren’t about the music and we don’t want to do those things, but you know, we’re 30-year-old men and people need to pay rent and want to make this our living where no one has to come home and have a job.”
Although their perspective has altered, the band’s creative outlook hasn’t suffered as a result. “One thing I can tell you is we’re not going to all of a sudden make totally different music because we feel like we have to do something or prove something,” says Schuman.
Luckily for him, there’s no need to change their music, as their unique brand of sunny, glammy melodic pop fits right in with the sounds currently emanating from LA – one of the most fertile music scenes on the planet.
“It does feel like people from outside of LA are coming to LA now and understanding how awesome it is to be here,” Schuman says. “It’s an incredible place to be and you can be influenced by all the different types of different neighbourhoods of the city. Like Father John Misty is Laurel Canyon – that’s a whole different vibe and it has its people and its little scene. And then it’s funny to hear Kevin [Parker, Tame Impala]’s song with Mark Ronson, Leaving Los Feliz, which is totally different.”
Schuman has a healthy relationship with Tame Impala, which helped gain Mini Mansions the main support for the Aussie psych kingpins’ massive upcoming Australian tour.
“I met the guys a couple of years ago when Queens and Tame played a festival in Luxembourg together and they were really great. And later on we reconnected with Cam [Avery, Tame Impala bassist] because he had become friends with Alex from the Monkeys, so that connection came back around. And then they took us on tour a couple of months ago in the US, so we just built that natural musical relationship together.”
Considering he’s regularly rubbing shoulders with massive names in rock music, supporting huge artists, and tapping into a sound that’s enjoying mass popularity right now, what does Schuman think it’s going to take for Mini Mansions to really break out?
“All it really takes is one song that reaches the masses and can be accepted universally. Once you have a song like that, whether it’s fucking a ballad or a dance song or it’s a really obscure song, it doesn’t really matter.”
BY NATHAN WOOD
MINI MANSIONS will support Tame Impala at Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Saturday November 7. They’ll also play a headline show at Ding Dong Lounge on Sunday November 8.
