Last week, when Sydney band The Hideaways dropped their new single Heterochromia, we were immediately immersed in their anthemic indie-rock sounds.
On March 1st, they’ll be launching the new single at The Factory Theatre in Marrickville, but before then, frontman Liam Deans caught up with Ellis from The Faces (who are also performing that night) for a chat.
Ahead of their gig together next month, Liam from The Hideaways and Ellis from The Faces caught up to interview each other about their respective bands.
Ellis interviews Liam
ELLIS: What is the origin of your band name? Where did it come from?
LIAM: We were a band for a month or so, having written enough music we had our first gig coming up, so we needed a name. We went through heaps of names that we just couldn’t all agree on one, until our drummer suggested the name ‘The Hideaways’ with no real meaning other then it sounded good! I as the pretentious person I am, endeavour to find meaning in the name for moments just like this. I came up with, we are a vessel of escapism for our listeners, when attending a show or listening to our music our goal is to remove someone from all the negatives associated with everyday life and be a sort of ‘hide away’ for them to relax and let their true emotion out.
ELLIS: What are your names, ages and what instruments do you play?
LIAM: My name is Liam Deans, I’m 22 and I’m the vocalist and rhythm guitarist… this all of a sudden feels like a dating profile. Max Jacobs, 20 and is our lead guitarist, Hadi Ansell is 27 and our bassist, Tommy O’Brien is 20 and our drummer, and Robert O’Brien (not related to Tommy) is our new member, he is 21 and plays keys in the band.
ELLIS: What type of genre do you guys play? And what are your major influences?
LIAM: We play a combination of pop and rock firmly under the banner of indie. A good thing about this band is that each member brings their own vast and varied influences to the table, which leads to a lot of musical conflict but also some interesting music. As a whole though, we can all agree that our influences are Gang of youths, The 1975, INXS, The Doors, Two Door Cinema Club and so many more!
ELLIS: How long have you guys know each other for? And how did you meet?
LIAM: We all met at a music college in Sydney in early 2016, some members knew each other from the scene but never really played together. I say that I am the father of the group because I hand-picked every member, brought us together for one jam session and the rest is history. It was pretty easy really, I just stole all the best musicians from everyone else. Then we were lucky enough to know Rob through friends and when we felt our music start to shift towards a more pop vibe, we brought him in to add Synths and keys.
ELLIS: Where has your favourite place been to perform so far? And do you have any upcoming shows?
LIAM: I think our favourite place to play would be the Factory Floor, which is a room within the Factory Theatre. We sold it out with our first single Waiting Around. It was really our
first big-ish room and to have it full was such a buzz. We have a gig very soon on the 1st of March at another room in the Factory Theatre called the Fusebox, with our mates The Faces and Brunette Drive.
ELLIS: Who is the main songwriter in your group?
LIAM: We don’t have one particular major songwriter, it’s a super collaborative process. I’d say most of the time Tommy or myself will bring in a whole song or lyrics or the music for a song, and Max will do the same with a the instrumentation of a song, then we will jam and write new parts and make it us.
ELLIS: What advice would you give for others that wanna start their own bands?
LIAM: Everyone says this but you’ve got to work hard, in writing, in pushing yourself on your instrument, but also and maybe most importantly getting yourself out there. In today’s music industry, there is so much competition and it’s very rare to just be picked up out of nowhere, so you’ve got to hustle and push your self to everyone that will listen and even the people who won’t, make a name for your self and build on it!
ELLIS: How has your music evolved since you first began playing together?
LIAM: We began in a more rock-based genre and have slowly turned to our pop influences over time. Our debut EP, which yet to be released, is kind of a perfect snapshot of the beginning of our progression. Most tracks are still quite rock but all have pop sensibilities sprinkled between them.
ELLIS: What’s your favourite song to play for a live audience?
LIAM: That’s a difficult one, because we are constantly writing so we have new music every gig, so normally its the newest song because I love gauging the audience’s reaction to something fresh and new. But out of our constant material, it would have to be Heterochromia, which funnily enough is our latest single. It’s full of energy that gets the crowd and us moving, which is intensified by an also breakdown in the bridge where we all lose our minds bit.
ELLIS: What has been your biggest challenges as a band?
LIAM: I think our challenges are the same as every up and coming band’s challenges; getting enough exposure, writing music we love and staying driven and trying to continue on the small success we have!
Liam interviews Ellis
LIAM: Hey man, please introduce yourself, the members of the band, their instruments?
ELLIS: Hey, we’re The Faces. We are Max, Nico, Noah, Daryl and myself, Ellis. I sing and play guitar, Max plays guitar, Nico plays guitar and keys, Noah plays bass and Daryl plays drums.
LIAM: If you were to describe your band as an ice cream flavour, what would it be?
ELLIS: Neapolitan, a little bit of something for everyone.
LIAM: I know you are a relatively new band, what made you go from a solo artist to a band, and what are the major differences in the writing, performing and recording environments?
ELLIS: The music I was releasing was recorded and put together as what was essentially a band – we had plans to gig with the same band, and we figured image would appeal better as a band to our audience. Not much has changed, the music is written by one or two of us, recorded by all of us and performed the same.
LIAM: Who are the major writers in your band? Is it a one-man show or is it a collaborative effort?
ELLIS: Half our songs were songs I had written over the past few years and the remaining half are songs that have been written by Max and me.
LIAM: What drew you to start playing music and what keeps you playing?
ELLIS: I love the way it makes me feel and it makes the people listening feel And what keeps me going Is the love and passion I have for the art.
LIAM: Who are your personal influences and inspirations in music and are they the same in conjunction with the band?
ELLIS: Our influences are quite different but at the same time we share a few so it’s really Interesting when we sit down to see everyone’s owns style come out.
LIAM: How did the group form and did you have a history with any of the members? We’d all been friends since high school and performing in this similar line up for school performances and the occasional cover gig.
LIAM: What is your preferred writing tool/instrument?
ELLIS: My voice and a guitar.
LIAM: How do you write a good song? As I understand it you’ve had great success with your most recent single, why do you think that is?
ELLIS: For someone like myself I try to write a catchy melody then we’ll throw in chords that work the best with that melody or for the vibe we’re going for. Come Over was a song I repeatedly played around Sydney when busking and performing by myself so it wasn’t new to the public eye and it seemed to catch on pretty damn well.
LIAM: Tell me what’s happening in 2019 for The Faces? Gigs, new music, videos? Give me the scoop…
ELLIS: We’ve got plans for a music video and releasing a few more songs. We’ve also had a run in with our band name, so if that changes in the coming weeks you’ll know why.
The Hideaways and The Faces will be playing at the Factory Theatre in Marrickville on March 1st. More info here.
