While Australia is known for being home to a number of flourishing and supportive local music scenes, for some bands the lure of overseas markets just becomes too tempting – or the local scene becomes unsustainable.

Melbourne rock/punk outfit Tequila Mockingbyrd are pulling up roots entirely and moving over to the U.K., eager to get stuck into Europe as a full-time band, so we’ve asked them why they’ve decided to make the huge leap into unfamiliar territory.

They’ll be embarking on a 40+ date tour of the U.K. and Europe throughout the rest of the year, but will be playing at home one more time at their “Flocking Off” farewell show on September 10 at St. Kilda’s Memo Music Hall.

Why Leave Australia?

Melbourne is often cited as one of the world’s ‘music cities’, so why did Tequila Mockingbyrd decide to make the huge move around to the far side of the globe – and why now?

“We’ve been wanting to make music our full time career for a long time now, and have been wondering when the right time would be,” they tell us. “Then, when we released our first single to the UK, ‘I Smell Rock n Roll’, the response was better than we could have imagined.

The response overseas was a welcome one for a band who, despite having had considerable success in Australia, are finding themselves at odds with the limitations of the local scene.

“It’s obviously challenging for an emerging band in Australia with the distances and lack of mainstream support for rock music, but the local scene is incredibly strong, and a really tight-knit community. Ultimately, our aim is to be full-time musicians, and we feel it’s hard to get to that point in Australia without making a splash overseas.”

“We plan to travel wherever/whenever to people who dig our music – and right now, the UK and Europe are where that is.”

Being Embraced By Europe

Even before they’ve made the move, the band are stoked with the response they’ve been receiving from the European market, even receiving a helpful dose of radio airplay as encouragement.

“So far, considering we’ve never played a show over there, it has been incredible – the airplay we’ve been getting over there has been really helpful. We’ve had a heap of people message us about the tour and album release having heard us on the radio, so that’s really encouraging. We can’t wait to actually play some shows over there!

Of course, a bit of support from colleagues and family hasn’t gone astray, and more support from back home will always be welcome.

“We’ve been very lucky to jump on Melbourne band Massive’s headline tour, so their booking agent did most of the heavy lifting for this one. We’ve booked a few shows around that, and even tweeted our way onto a festival bill! It’s tricky cos we don’t have a huge network over there yet… Just gotta put yourself out there and see what happens.

“Josie is from the UK originally, so at least that’ll help with the ‘sofas to crash on’ situation, but we’re basically starting from scratch – no label, no management. Perhaps we’re mad. Feel free to send help our way!”

Going Full-Time

The benefits of the trip aren’t just a massive new audience, the band tell us, but also the opportunity to dive head-first into being a full-time band.

“We managed to lock in Hard Rock Hell festival in November, then a tour throughout Sept – Oct and later the Planet Rock Stock Festival in December. That’s when we realised, we’re gonna have to leave our jobs to do this, so looks like the time is upon us!”

In between tours, the group look forward to getting stuck in to the realities of being a full-time band, with their attention set firmly on their music.

“It’s obviously a very exciting time and it’s kinda exhilarating to be quitting jobs, getting rid of all possessions and just being able to focus on music. It’ll be great to have a bit more free time together. At the moment we write mainly via snippets sent over text messages, then jam it out at practice.

“We’ll be all living together in (drummer) Josie’s parents’ attic between shows, so it’ll be great to have a bit more face-to-face time to flesh out ideas. We’ve got so many half-baked songs in the closet so we can’t wait to give them some love ready for album no. 2!

Saying Goodbye To Home

While they’re understandably excited to head off on a massive overseas adventure, there are definitely things about Australia they’re sad to be leaving behind.

“We’ve had a fantastic time and done a lot of cool things, from sharing the stage with some of our idols, to playing for the Aussie troops in the Middle East. We’ll definitely miss that rock ‘n’ roll family feel. Melbourne has such a great spirit and it’s such a good vibe. We’ll definitely miss all the friendly faces.

“Also, parmas, salt and vinegar road house chicken strips, squeezy ketchup satchets… and the sun.”

What do they all have to say for the Australian fans they’re having to leave behind?

“Thank you, thank you, thank you. We’ve had so much help from so many people along the way and it’s all played a part in getting us to this point. We’ll be back… consider yourself warned.” And as for Europe? “Look out world, we’re coming. Lock up your wine and your snacks.”

If you’d like to support them in their endeavours, the band are running a ‘Flocking Off Fundraiser’ on Pozible to help them get set up in the U.K. and kickstart their European push.

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