Pat Pierce of Pierce Brothers
Hi and thanks for taking the time out to speak with us at Musicology.
What were some of the challenges in putting this album together and equally what were some of the great surprises in writing / recording The Records Were Ours?
The biggest challenge we had with this record was actually finding the time to do it! We kept pushing back recording dates for touring, the main one being a 3 month wait after we took on the support for Ben Harper! It was totally worth it though! I mean, Ben Harper! The Records Were Ours was actually the greatest surprise actually. We wrote it after a rehearsal day and Pat wanted to write a waltz. The next day in the studio Jack came in with the lyrics and we just wanted to see where it went. By the end of the day we were all so stoked with the sound and vibe of the track; an ode to exes and a happy little fuck you song.
You have undertaken the ambitious project of producing a trilogy of EP’s. Will there be an underlying and consistent narrative story throughout the sequential EP’s or will they be treated as standalone EP’s?
When we got around to recording the songs, we had a lot to choose from. In fact when we finished writing all said and done we had about 18 songs to choose from; and we still have a few unrecorded! We decided then to release a trilogy instead on a single album, as we couldn’t fit everything we wanted to fit onto it! This gave us a pretty cool option; we could group collections of songs together to tell their own story, in three different EPs.
The first single off the EP, Take Me Out, is a wonderful track. Can you elaborate a little on the meaning on the song and how it came to be?
This was a riff that we had worked on for a while, but it didn’t really get anywhere. It stayed in ‘Unwritten Land” for ages. We were asked if we’d like to co-write a song with Lorenzo Stillito and it was the perfect riff to work from. We got together and had a great time writing the form and the chorus. “Take Me Out” was the great chorus line that was the anchor for the rest of the song and the story came out of that. A story of dependency, love and addiction.
Having started out in a grass roots fashion as buskers, what street lessons did you learn that found their way into the approach you took in laying down your EP?
Learning from busking we have always written songs around the best way to put on a show. In this EP we wanted to write the most fun songs, and bring our live energy to a record; which we haven’t really been unable to achieve yet!
From the streets of Melbourne to sell out shows all around the world, what stark cultural differences have you picked up on and what do you find to be homogenous about performing in Australia to that of Europe or the America’s?
People always want to dance! No matter where they’re from, they want to enjoy music and move. The main cultural difference between groups in Australia and Europe is the language barriers! We always have had a warm reception wherever we’ve been.
Having meet some interesting characters and performing alongside so great artists, were there any particular instances or words of wisdom spoken to you that really resonated with you and altered the way you approach your craft?
We actually ran into Skrillex during our first festival in Europe. We’d just finished our first European show (to around 5,000 people) and we were buzzing. We told him about it when we were walking up to watch Queens of the Stone Age and he was stoked for us. He actually stopped us all (there was a big crew of them) and gave us some advice: “Relish this moment, because it’ll move past too quickly. Be proud of yourselves, you’ve just done something amazing! Take a moment to take it all in; but whatever you do don’t turn into arrogant arseholes!” It was awesome.
What does the rest of 2017 have install for Pierce Brothers?
Quite a lot actually!! We have another Australian tour after Europe, touring with Tash Sultana in the States and another two EPs to bring out! It should be good fun!!
AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL TOUR DATES
Thursday 18th May – Metro Lair, Sydney NSW
Saturday 20th May – Lorne Hotel, Lorne VIC
Thursday 25th May – The Academy, Canberra ACT
Friday 26th May – The Croxton, Melbourne VIC
Saturday 27th May – Big Pineapple Fest, Sunshine Coast QLD
FOLLOW PIERCE BROTHERS
OFFICIAL WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | SOUNDCLOUD | YOUTUBE
