“We felt like we started out trying to be as cool as we possibly could, so we thought obviously the smartest thing to do would be to dress up as sailors and sing about erections, he says. “It turns out in hindsight – and everything is so clear in hindsight – that perhaps that wasn’t the best way to come off as really cool, so we thought we’d take ourselves really seriously like other bands and get into the art rock world. It’s working out really well for us. It’s a lot easier to play in remote regional areas dressed up as astronauts as opposed to sexy sailors.”
The boys have kept up a staggering touring schedule over the last 12 months, playing in excess of 50 shows all around the country. They’re no strangers to less conventional venues, and last year The Stiffys played a generator-powered party in Melbourne’s northern outskirts.
“We’d like to play as many shows as we possibly can, and I feel shows like that, in the middle of nowhere with a generator running an amp is a really good way to connect to people and make everyone part of The Stiffys,” says Leigh. “But the thing about The Stiffys is that we have champagne taste on a nothing budget. I don’t know how aware people are of the music business, but when you play a show, they give you a thing called a rider, and that really appeals to us. The thing about a generator party is that, yes, it appeals because of a sense of community and playing amongst our peers and pals and not having to worry about music industry stuff – but there’s the other part of it, which is obviously the drinks.”
With such expensive tastes, the logical move would be for The Stiffys to seek out an alcohol endorsement. Being the savvy businessmen they are, they’ve already tried.
“We’ve been shooting for alcohol endorsement since day one,” says Leigh. “But the other thing that’s also really good about being in a band, especially a cool-boy art rock band, is that girls start talking to you for the first time. I mean they’ve always talked to us heaps – always heaps – but they really start talking to you when you’re in a band. I think the closest we’ve come to an alcohol endorsement was when we were playing a show that was giving away free Sailor Jerry’s for all the bands. We had free Sailor Jerry’s the whole night – that was the deal. Somewhere down the line we got cut off because we had too much. It was at Bondi Beach and The Stiffys were the only band to get cut off.”
Perhaps the boys should’ve claimed to be the mascot emblazoned on every bottle of that particular brand of rum, but the evening didn’t go entirely to plan. “After about 34 Sailor Jerry’s you stop thinking in those sort of great ideas. It’s hard to make arguments of that nature. All you can really do is just point to it while gesturing at the bar staff and hope for the best.”
BY THOMAS BRAND
