The Bon Scotts

The Bon Scotts are not an ACDC cover band, although they are aware their name might cause some confusion.

“Yeah, of course, but I guess that was part of the fun,” says frontman Robert Zimmerman (not his real name, FYI), “Aside from the larrikin approach to our live show and the fact we are Australian, I don’t think you could draw too many comparisons.”

Plus it has given the band a clear marketing message, which they’ve posted on walls all over Melbourne, i.e. ‘The Bon Scotts are not an ACDC cover band.’ What they actually happen to be are a rambunctious, ramshackle seven-piece folk pop outfit, ready to rock your world with their cleverness and sex appeal. Well, maybe not so much with the sex appeal.

“I originally started The Bon Scotts because I wasn’t getting that enjoyment out of the other project I was involved in. So when I put together the band I was steadfast on the idea that the music was to be fun,” Robert explains, “Most of the people now involved were offered spots in the band before we had played together, just because I liked the attitudes they had towards music. I guess this could have been a disaster, but it seems to be working well so far.”

Formed some time in 2008, The Bon Scotts have developed a clattering, diverse sound that bubbles with joy and irony – an infectious mix. It’s about simple melodies and a focus on rhythm and lyrics that holds it all together.

“With seven people it can get messy, so often the more melodic instruments are used to sustain the chugging rhythm we seem to enjoy so much,” Robert agrees.

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The colour and light comes from all manner of found instruments, from old guitars to exotic percussion tools such as dried chicken necks, door latches and cacti. Yes, cacti.

Robert describes The Bon Scotts’ sound as “somewhere between The Beach Boys and Violent Femmes,” but there is something Still Flyin’ or early-Architecture in Helsinki about it, too – a goofy indie choir vibe.

“‘Twee’ seems to come up a lot when talking about this kind of music,” Robert says, but insists that The Bon Scotts have more to offer. “Beneath all the silliness and joking there is a serious side, a frustration with the culture of rhetoric and surface. The lyrics are really important to me. It’s always the first thing I hear when I’m listening to other music, and I think it deserves thorough attention. One bad line can ruin a song for me, not to say we don’t have our fair share of bad lyrics, but I tried to be really honest with this record.”

The deeper thoughts of Robert and co. can be fully explored on The Bon Scotts’ debut album, Oddernity, which was warmly received by fans and critics on its release last month. Lead single We Like War is a perfect example of the clever ideas at the heart of all the happy noise, with a flood of images like “in sneakers and jeans, we’re dressed for combat” and “let the telco spread its copper wings” preceding a seductive, chanted chorus; “We like war,” the band bellows, with big smiles on their faces. It’s quite a subtle and complicated message.

Oddernity is the product of 18 months worth of song-writing and a frantic few weeks in the studio, with a little down time in between. The release was pushed over the line thanks to a freshly minted distribution deal with Popboomerang Records.

“We sort of left it sitting for a while and about three months ago, when we penned with Popboom we re-recorded all the vocals, a couple of new tracks and some other instrumentation and mixed it all in one literally sleepless week,” Robert explains.

They are delighted with the resulting album, but The Bon Scotts will do it even better next time around.

“Deadlines are something we need, which I guess is the curse of not paying the big bucks for studio time. Some days we would go out to the studio with the plan to record the bass and accordion for a track, and instead we would pen the guitar, percussion and vocals to a new track. This means, instead of ten finished tracks for an album you end up with thirty half finished songs with no bass,” Robert smiles.

“Next time, we’ll employ someone with a metre long ruler and a ferocious teacher stare.”

THE BON SCOTTS launch their beautiful new album Oddernity at The Grace Darling this Friday October 8 with Francolin. They also play the Finders Keepers market at Shed 4, Docklands on Sunday October 10. Oddernity is out now through Popboomerang.