Highlights during the band’s tenure in the States have included doing big tours with Mac DeMarco affiliates Walter TV (“They’re larrikins, just like us,” says McQueen, “and the shows were packed.”), as well as a chance encounter with Outkast’s Andre 3000. “He was in Detroit just looking for some live music,” McQueen says, “and he wound up coming to see us, getting a record and then disappearing into the night.” Indeed, there have been a lot of changes in the world of The Gooch Palms since their 2013 debut album, Novo’s. However, deep down the two of them like to think they’re still the same weirdos they’ve always been.
“The first record was all about Newcastle and growing up there, and it was pretty centrally focused on that,” says McQueen. “This record is called Introverted Extroverts, and it’s more of a reflection on how we’re pretty much still the same people no matter where we go. It’s less about the places we’ve been and more about the people that we are. I should say that, although we wrote most of the album before we went over to the States, we did spend a week finishing it in this house outside of Detroit. It was rainy and gloomy all week, so we didn’t even really go outside the whole time we were there. I guess that there’s a bit of that in the album too.”
While being a two-piece is minimal enough, The Gooch Palms take it one step further – accompanying both their voices is only one guitar, a floor tom, a snare drum and a small tambourine taped to the snare. It’s even been reported that Friend doesn’t know how to play on a standard drum kit. While you could perceive The Gooch Palms’ approach as primitive and liberating, there’s more to it than meets the eye – especially on Introverted Extroverts.
“Don’t be fooled – this is the hardest band to write for,” McQueen laughs. “You have no idea how many song ideas I’ve had, taken to Kat to jam on and then realised that there is absolutely no way that we can pull it off. I feel like there’s a real challenge in being able to fill out a song as well as a three-piece or a four-piece band [could]. We don’t want to have a band blow us out of the water just by outnumbering us. I now run my guitar through a splitter that allows me to use a bass amp as well as my guitar amp. That’s opened up a lot of new avenues for us as far as writing songs is concerned. The new record uses a lot more dynamics, which is important when you have this kind of set-up. You have to have it all running from the get-go. There’s no swapping in and out, or having someone else pick up where you leave off. It’s all on us.”
It’s been said that the only guarantees in life are death and taxes, but when it comes to The Gooch Palms live show, a couple more things get added to the list. First of all, no show goes by without a bit of nudity; secondly, their hometown of Newcastle is certain to be described as “the greatest city in the world.” What at first appeared to be either kitschy or ironic praise of the land of Andrew Johns and Daniel Johns has sparked a newfound interest in the area. Although McQueen thinks a lot of city slickers still don’t quite comprehend their undying love for the area – “I think a lot of people are scared of it, to be honest,” he says – he’s glad the message has spread outside of their native land.
“It’s gotten beyond people chanting ‘New-castle’ at shows, even when we’re not in Newcastle,” he says. “We were playing a show in LA last year, and a kid rocked up in a Newcastle Knights cap. It’s just something that’s really built up over the last couple of years. It’s not just about us, either – we’ve seen kids starting up clothing lines that are really focused on Newcastle. We’ve seen bands start up around the area that are really proud to be from Newcastle. It’s just something that we’ve championed as a band, and we’ve only seen good things come of it. When we wrote the album Novo’s, it was recorded in nine hours in the front room of our little house in Newcastle. We never thought we’d sell 3000 copies of it as an LP. Se just got it repressed for the fourth time. And it’s just all these little songs about Newcastle.”
BY DAVID JAMES YOUNG
