Having just finished mastering their long-awaited debut album, three members of Redcoats were kind enough to meet up for coffee and a chat about their upcoming supporting act spot with Perth progressive rockers Karnivool.
The trio of Emilio Mercuri– vocals, Rhys Kelly– bass, and Andrew Braidner– drums, are excited about the opportunity to tour across Australia for a month with such an established band, even if they haven’t heard much of Karnivool’s music. “We tend to neglect a lot of things, not deliberately, more because we have been stuck doing other things,” says Braidner.
But that hasn’t stilted their excitement for their supporting slot on the Perth band’s upcoming tour. “They’ve got a loyal fan base; their live show is renowned to be a certain level,” says Mercuri, “so when you play those types of gigs to that many people, you just naturally lift to another level.”
Having supported bands such as Stone Temple Pilots and Grinspoon before, Redcoats know full well how big these opportunities are. “These support slots allow us to play to a whole new fan base. It helps us build as a band and it’s preparation for bigger things,” explains Mercuri. Looking into the future, they say “we are hoping to play with a band like the Red Hot Chili Peppers,” says Mercuri. Convenient, considering the band are touring Australia early next year.
The guys have seen bands that were semi-successful and talented but let things slide and give up and live on the dole. This only pushes them to work harder. Especially considering this is their job, a dream in any musicians’ books.
When asked about the small gathering of fans who watched them at Push Over a few months ago, the band were quite relaxed about the situation. “Push Over is what it is,” says Kelly democratically. “What we’re doing is still not in the mainstream. Australian rock has been a particular thing for a while, hardcore or prog rock,” says the group’s drummer.
“There is a general trend where people are easing back into rock’n’roll. I think it’s been a little bit dormant for a while,” adds Mercuri. Redcoats keep pushing on however, knowing that the fans of great rock bands such as Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd will appreciate their music.
When asked about their own music tastes however, they are quick to mention some big names from the 60s and 70s, listing: “George Harrison, Neil Young, Miles Davis, Otis Reading, Jimi Hendrix.”
Their fans however, tend to hear different influences and styles of music. “Apparently we sound quite 90s,” offers Braidner.
“At gigs we get that a lot. A lot of names get thrown up by fans and we just stand there with a smile on our faces,” explains Mercuri.
The guys are particularly excited about returning to the place where they recorded their debut EP. “We can’t wait to go back to Byron Bay, because that was kind of our home for a month, and there are good people there,” says Braidner of the recording sessions of their forthcoming debut album.
Their long-awaited debut is expected for an October or November release, and the group believe it shows the band maturing and continuing on from the great success of their self-titled EP, Redcoats.
When asked what they hope to achieve with their album, Mercuri details, “we want to improve on our self titled EP and offer something different to the first recording.”
The guys had little trouble coming up with the songs for the album, as they gave themselves plenty of time for the songs to build. The maturity of the band also comes across with the lyrics, which take on more of a personal tone than the EP.
As yet it is untitled, but one idea seems destined to work. “We are toying with ideas, but we’ve always wanted to make a self-titled album,” Mercuri added. Braidner adding that, “we are cautious about leading anyone into thinking anything about the album with titles, which form before they actually hear it. Which is really easy to do.”
Fans don’t have to wait too long for their next release though. “The new single, ‘Raven’, has just been released on iTunes. It has a heavier sound and is a good driving song,” says Kelly of the single, hopeful that ‘Raven’ will get picked up by the likes of Triple J for rotation.
Particularly Given the success of their piror single, ‘Dreamshaker’ – which placed at #76 in Triple J’s Hottest 100 last year. Fans will also be delighted to know that Redcoats are planning to do an album tour at the end of the year.
Tasmanian fans, who won’t be seeing Redcoats as part of the Karnivool tour, also have some promising news.“It’s a shame we’re not going to Tassie,” says Mercuri, “we’ve got a bit of a thing for Tassie. We’ll definitely try get down there for the album tour.”
Having seen Redcoats perform live a couple of times, there was one question that came to mind when planning for the Redcoats interview: what is with Mercuri’s highly-sexualised gyrations against the microphone stand? “I don’t know what I do. We love to play our music, be on the stage and entertain people. It’s never really a premeditated thing.
“If it’s loud enough,” replies the frontman, “…and we are just feeling it in our bodies, we’re going to do some fucking stupid things.” Prompting everyone at the table to erupt into laughter.
Kelly chipping in with the final word, “there are no rules for rocking out.” Nor should there be.
New single ‘Raven’ is out now through Universal and Redcoats are supporting Karnivool on their ‘Melodias Frescas’ Tour which starts tonight at HQ Bar in Adelaide runs till Sunday 29th July. Full dates and details at the band’s website.
