Sometimes here at Music Feeds, we don’t have enough resources to interview every artist we’d like to. So on this occasion, out of equal parts necessity and sheer laziness, we enlisted them to do our job for us.
Adelaide artist Los Leo and Melbourne indie rockers Halcyon Drive are perfect strangers who’ve never met before in their lives, but they’ve both got pretty dope releases out right now — Los Leo recently sharing an uplifting new piece of indie-pop dubbed ‘False Start’ and Halcyon Drive unleashing their long-awaited debut album Elephant Bones — so we thought we’d see what would happen if we let them go ham interviewing each other.
Check out the results below.
Halcyon Drive interviews Los Leo’s Tom Montesi
Halcyon Drive: Tom, I’ve just read that you’re from Adelaide. I’ve spent some quality time at the Hungry Jacks on Hindley Street. What’s your favourite Adelaide hotspot?
Tom Montesi: Dang, I’m guessing if you ended up there you didn’t have a good night? I spend a lot of time on the other side of the city at a cafe called ‘Exchange’, next time you’re in Adelaide stop by as I’ll probably be there.
HD: Don’t tell the other guys, but I love Coldplay too. If you were stuck on a deserted island with Chris Martin, which part of him would you eat first?
Hahahaha this question makes me slightly uncomfortable.
HD: I like your NASA jacket! What’s your favourite space-related movie?
TM: I’ve got to say Apollo 13, but Ryan Gosling was in a film last year called First Man that was stunning. I also need to give an honourable mention to Interstellar and Star Wars.
HD: I really like your live recording of ‘Beautiful Mess’. Can you tell me more about the giant LED wall in the video?
TM: It’s always hard to think of quality content you can do on a small budget, but my friend worked at a school that had a huge LED screen and a grand piano. So, we just hired some camera gear and mic’d up the room and did a couple of takes. It is what it is, I guess.
HD: I’ve been re-watching all the Marvel films recently. Who’s your favourite superhero?
TM: That’s a lot of commitment, I commend you! I like Batman, specifically the Dark Knight trilogy. I just think they’re a lot more relatable than any other superhero movie.
HD: Assuming you’ve visited our home town (Melbourne), can you share with us an interesting tale from your visit here?
TM: Man, I’ve always had incredible experiences playing live shows in Melbourne. I feel like people there genuinely love live music. Melbourne has pretty shitty weather though, luckily, it’s got some amazing cafes to make up for it!
HD: We at Halcyon Drive are advocates of pre-show rituals. How many push-ups can you do?
TM: Haha I’ve dislocated my shoulder a few times so push-ups don’t really go down well. However, I have been known to have pre-show naps.
HD: I once played half a song in the wrong key. Can you top this musical mishap?
TM: I’ve started songs in the wrong key before too, pretty humiliating really. One time I was playing for another act at a pub and someone drunk-stumbled onto the stage and fell into the drum kit. We had to stop playing, it was awkward as hell.
HD: Lastly, and probably most importantly, please share with us your stance on vests?
TM: Some men hunt for sport, others hunt for food, the only thing I’m hunting for, is an outfit that looks good. See my vest, see my vest, see my vest. Made from real gorilla chest!
Los Leo Interviews Halcyon Drive’s Basil Yu
Los Leo: I see you have just released your debut album! Firstly, congrats I would imagine a lot went into creating that? What’s the oldest song on the record?
Basil Yu: Thanks, mate! It feels like we painted a really cool painting three years ago and we’ve only been letting people see the edges until now. So, it’s nice to finally show everyone the full picture. I think ‘The Birds’ is the oldest song written but ‘Only Youth’ was the first song recorded for the album.
LL: What studio did you record the album at?
BY: We recorded the album with silver-fox producer Joel Quartermaine inside the ‘submarine’, a windowless little studio in Moorabin (VIC).
LL: What’s the song Leo about? Great choice of title might I add.
BY: ‘LEO’ is a song about something I think everybody can relate to. Taking a quick stroll in outer space and forgetting to tether yourself to your rocket ship only to be abducted by yellow eyed sabretooth tigers and inevitably being experimented on until you grow a second head. You know? Normal things.
LL: Are the guitars recorded with amp simulators or real amps?
BY: Real amps. You know those tiny pocket Marshall amps (MS-2)? Yeah, just loads of those.
I’ve always thought you can tell a lot from a person by what their favourite movies are, top 3 movies, go?!
This is an exceptionally difficult question to answer. Jurassic Park 3. True Lies and BIG (Tom Hanks classic).
LL: What Marvel movie are you up to? Have you given up yet? Or are you only getting more amped as you go along?
BY: I will never give up and am banning myself from watching Captain Marvel and End Game until I finish the others. I’m up to Civil War and am super keen to re-watch Thor: Ragnarok.
LL: What’s your favourite beer? What are your opinions on Coopers Pale Ale?
BY: I was once scorned for trying to tell someone to roll their Coopers before drinking it. I was just trying to help. I will drink every beer, so Coopers is no exception, but if I had to choose a favourite, I’d say Stone & Wood.
LL: Have you ever cried over a song?
BY: I was actually born without tear ducts, so I’ve never cried. Not even once. However, Mick cries all the time. Like, about literally anything. I once gave him an old sock to set him free from his horrible master and he bawled.
LL: Lastly, who’s the real GOAT?
BY: Tom Brady. I know I should probably answer this question with a musician. However, it’s too clearly Tom Brady. Like, is that guy kidding? What planet did he come from and how can I visit?
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Los Leo’s new single ‘False Start’ & Halcyon Drive’s new album Elephant Bones are both out now.
