Bakers Eddy recently released a brand-new single Leave It To Me. Produced by the Home Surgery team; Jon Grace and Tom Larkin, the single marks a slight change of direction for the group, getting a bit more serious after their distinctly light-hearted EP I'm Not Making Good Decisions. Frontman Ciarann caught up with Brendan from Muzic.net.nz to talk about everything happening in the world of Bakers Eddy:
Bakers Eddy have now been around for a while - for anyone who has been living under a rock and might not be aware of you guys, can you give us your 'brief history of time'?
We met each other at high school through the skateboarding circles and we connected over the love of punk rock and skipping class. We started calling ourselves a band in 2009, our first year of school, for an end of year concert. Someone’s Mum dyed our hair red for us and We thought we were the best thing that had happened to music since Rockstar Supernova. Alex joined a year later after lingering in the band room (Jimbo's Mother's lounge) and yeah, it’s been the 4 of us ever since. 9 years on and we are still rolling the dice. We’ve moved to Melbourne now though, so the scenery is a bit different and we got a bit better, but we are still getting along, mostly, and everything is going swell.
Do all of you guys come from musical backgrounds?
Yeah, we all had a pretty eclectic upbringing as far as music influence goes.
Our parents all have good taste, as uncool as it sounds. Ian and Alex were brought up on anything and everything obscure. Jimbo and I grew up on a lot of reggae and world stuff.
We all had a pretty heavy obsession with Green Day, and it was easy to pick up on that when we started writing songs, I think you can still hear the influence for sure.
You have been in Australia for a year or so. Has this effected/strained the personal relationships within the band? With family? Girlfriends etc?
It was never going to be a cake walk moving over here together and we kind of talked about that before we made the call. We’ve all struggled with balancing relationships and band commitments, and it is really tough sometimes. And there's been plenty of conflict between the 4 of us, things get heated all the time, and our close friends will be the first to vouch for that. But we are family you know. We’ve always had this weird thing of being able to resolve our arguments within minutes. There’s nothing but love between the four of us.
What’s your songwriting process? Has this changed/matured over the time the band has been together?
Music has always come first, and that mostly comes from the four of us making noise in a room until, for a brief moment, it doesn’t sound like shit. Then we go with that. We recently did a '50 songs in 50 days' challenge type thing and through that we discovered all these new methods of song writing which kind of changed the game for us. Anything goes now, we always finish a song, regardless if it’s god awful. It gets recorded and either we have a laugh or it’s the next single.
Can you give an example of the best and worst moments you have had on stage?
I think playing on a stage built out of empty beer slabs in front of 3000 lederhosen clad festival goers in Munich takes the cake. A few things happened that night that better stay on that stage. But we had a bearded Tinkerbell for a soundie for fuck sakes.
Worst, Alex had a beer spilt on his gear which was shit, but thanks to a very sorry yet generous German Alex ended up having a fantastic night. So, all was well, except Alex the next day.
You have been working with producer Tom Larkin for a while now. Can you explain how this relationship came about?
He came to showcase in Auckland that we were playing and must have thought we were half decent, so he invited us to join him in Melbourne to put us through the grind. Him and Shihad were a huge influence for us so we’d be lying if we said we weren’t a bit star struck at first.
Your last release I’m Not Making Good Decisions was very light-hearted in contrast to your new single Leave It To Me, any reason for this directional movement?
Yeah a break up and all the shit that goes with it. It’s definitely a heavier song in terms of what it’s saying, but I think it would have been dishonest If we had of come out with a song about being happy go lucky twenty-two-year-olds. Not saying that we aren’t, it just wasn’t how I was feeling when I wrote the lyrics for the song. It wasn’t an intentional directional change, and it still sounds pretty upbeat, there’s just a bit more personal baggage attached to it then there has been in the past.
Where do you see Bakers Eddy in 5 years’ time, and what are your goals toward this?
We are backing ourselves to go all the way. We always have, even with the red hair and the 2-chord songs. That’s why we decided to give music a good go, and we definitely wouldn’t be in Melbourne doing this if we didn’t think we had a shot. I guess all you can do is hope people enjoy your songs enough to go to the gigs and follow you on Instagram.
Here is a statement for you “If we knew then what we know now”. Do you have an example of this relating to Bakers Eddy?
Not really, the journeys been sweet. Its lows can be insanely frustrating, but the highs make it all worth it. We work hard, and this band has put us in some far out situations in far-out places.
Upcoming shows? Where and when can we see you guys play?
We are heading back out on an east coast tour of Australia next month stopping at Halloween Hysteria Festival in Brisbane on the 27th of October.
We’ve got Melbourne at the Gasometer on the 6th of October for Birdfest, Marly Bar in Sydney on the 25th, and we get to play our first show in Adelaide on the 10th of November at the Crown and Anchor which we are super stoked about!
Listen to Leave It To Me on Soundcloud
Leave It To Me Press Release
When did music first really speak to you? For previous Wellington rock quartet Bakers Eddy, it was as teenagers. Inspired by 90's/2000's rock, the foursome practiced together relentlessly. With Foo Fighters, Shihad, The Mint Chicks and The D4 as references, they became the polished band of entertainers they are now.
Over the last two years, Bakers Eddy have done substantial work to build on their talent and dedication, establishing themselves as one of the most in-demand young rock bands from the capital in the process.
Dedicated and professional, their music is all lean muscle. Welding infectious melodies to classic rock themes, ascendant guitar riffs and sing-along group vocals - live and recorded - Bakers Eddy are poised to make a significant impact on the New Zealand rock music scene.