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Have you heard of the local indie band Shortstraw? Well, if you haven’t you totally should’ve because they’re awesome. They make great music and they don’t take themselves too seriously. In fact, as far as bands that have a sense of humour go, these okes have the best…by far! Check out one of the funniest interviews we’ve done in a while…
Band: Shortstraw
Members: Al, Ollie, Tom, Russ and Gad
Label: Howl Records (Independent)
Genre: Thrash Folk (Indie-pop)
Sound likes: Jesus high-fiving Bono
Years performing: 5 since the start, 1 as a 5-piece.
How would you sum up the personality of the band?
We’re a little Carrie, but there’s always some Miranda in the mix and on weekends we’ve been known to get pretty Samantha.
How did the band come to be (especially from a 2 piece to a 5 piece)?
Ollie and Al played in bands together throughout high school, and after their last band, Wanton, split up, they started jamming some songs together until they figured they could pull them off live. When it came time to record their EP, We Slept Through it All, they called on ex-Wanton bandmate, Jason Hartford, to record some bass. He then laid down some lead guitars and keyboards too, which enhanced the band’s sound. So, in order to perform the EP live, they needed to bring in some more members. So Jason joined the band on lead guitar and keys and Phil Brierley came in on bass. Two years down the line and Phil was ready to immigrate to Chicago and Jay wanted to travel the world on a bicycle, so we figured we’d record an album showcasing all our newer songs. So we did. Then Jay and Phil left. So in came Russell on bass, Gad on Keyboards and synth and Tom on lead guitar.
Please tell us a bit more about the title and meaning behind your debut album entitled “You’re underfed, I’m wonderful”. Sounds like there’s an interesting story there.
It’s kinda about a friend who went overseas, and when she came back she told Al he looked underfed, and that she was wonderful. Probably not verbatim, but it went something like that.
You guys definitely seem like you have a good sense of humour – how important is it not to take yourself too seriously in this industry? What does it take for you guys to lose your sense of humour?
Ja, it’s such a fickle industry, you kinda have to have a sense of humour to deal with all the heartbreak! But in all honesty, being serious is boring. And what’s there to look back on later in life if you weren’t having fun? Balls, I tell you. This industry is also way too small to get a big head and go all diva. People will remember you. Important people. So don’t be a cock.
What does it mean to be an indie band these days?
Skinny jeans? Moustaches? Jangly guitars? I guess we don’t use the distortion pedal as often as we did in high school. I think people want to dance more now. With DJs becoming more and more popular, people just wanna get loose. So if people can dance to your music, then they’ll like it more? I lost my train of thought. That’s totally not indie. Or is it? Maybe indie is all about ambiguity…
Describe the local indie scene in 3 words.
Small, but nice.
Joburg bands vs. Cape Town bands – elaborate.
Okay, good question. So it’s a well-known fact that Cape Town is a much ‘hipper’ place than Joburg, and I think that comes across in the music. Not in a bad way at all, I’ve just noticed a LOT more indie bands coming out of Cape Town than Joburg. And facking good bands too! Not saying the bands in Joburg are kak, they just seem to be more influenced by rock ‘n roll as opposed to indie. I think. I’m probably wrong. I mean, there’s no mountain in Joburg, so that obviously has some impact on the bands. I can tell you that the crowds are equally awesome. And there are WAY more venues in Cape Town, which gives bands there a lot more opportunities to play shows, whereas in Joburg, there are only a handful of venues that a band can oversaturate very quickly. So it’s tricky. They’re two very different cities, and that comes across in the music. That was a terrible answer, sorry about that.
What was it like hearing yourselves on the radio for the first time?
It was rad.
If you could be nominated for any award in which category – what and which would it be?
Sexiest Kiss at the MTV Movie Awards. Ideally a kiss involving Toby Maguire.
The best and worst part about being on tour.
Best part – playing shows and having a party every night. Meeting new people. Eating poorly. Not having to work during the day.
Worst part – hangovers, I guess. And petrol prices. And driving lots.
What goes on tour stays on tour – true or false.
His name is Robert Paulson.
