Project Description

Interview with
JOEY
from
VACATIONS

Interviewer – Georgia Griffiths

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What was the goal for the band when you guys were making Forever In Bloom?
Joey: I guess the goal was that we really wanted to go back to the drawing board and just approach the album differently to what we’d done before. So we had historically always been really DIY-heavy, all the way back to the EPs that we did, which Campbell did. We’re super DIY bedroom when recording stuff and we thought with this album, seeing as how we had been lucky enough to do a bit of international touring and we’re lucky enough to be surrounded by people that were starting to help us out, it would be best to reflect that and record an album to the best of our current abilities. So we were taking the ideas that we had in the bedroom and putting that into the best studio we could get our hands on, and seeing what we could do.

How did the album all come together?
About 12 months out from recording the albums we really started having the first ideas of songs. But it was sort of that whole thing where it only really ramps up as you get close to the deadline. Doesn’t matter how long you have, you’ll always be sort of crammed at the end. And we did end up a little bit like that. But these things, for us, they just come together when we’re in the studio together. So there were some tracks that were more or less done before we went in, and some tracks that really had to have their time in the studio to nut them out.

I saw you guys also worked with Oscar from Holy Holy. What was that like? What did he add to the process?
Yeah, that was really good. That was the first time we’ve worked with a producer. Oscar was a natural choice. That was awesome that we were able to have him on the record. He was just a blessing to have. I mean we’ve only obviously had the one producer, but it helps when you get along so well with somebody you’re working with. We got along with him really well personally as well as musically so he was able to bring a new lens of professionalism to our sound. He sort of works a bit in his own little personal bubble but he’s really good.

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Do you have a personal favourite track on the album?
It’s hard but I probably do have a personal favourite track. It would probably be ‘Peaches’. Sort of a funny story with that one, we were almost not going to have that one on the album. It wasn’t really working or fitting in. It was one of those songs that just sort of gets put on the backburner because it hasn’t been nutted out yet or anything, then we came back to it and brought it back from the dead and it sort of got a new life.

If you could describe the album to a potential listener, what would you say about it?
It’s the culmination of years of friendship of our band and our shared experiences together around the world and in Australia. That all forms a cohesive album that really sums up who we are as people, individually and as a group. It really sums up our lives for the last four years.

If you could have any artist cover any song on the record, who would it be and which song?
Personally, I wouldn’t speak on behalf of the band, but I’d love to hear Kevin Parker of Tame Impala cover ‘Peaches’.

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That’d be sick. I wanted to talk a little bit about TikTok, because I’ve been seeing all the videos with ‘Young’ on there lately. What has that been like for the band, suddenly having all this traction online?
Yeah, it’s been strange. Maybe we’re getting old but we weren’t with the TikTok trend so much. We see the videos, but my girlfriend was the one that sort of knows what’s happening really. But yeah, it’s been cool you know. It’s obviously always cool when people are in any way using the music, as long as its positive. We don’t have any problem with that. It’s really cool but it is strange, being four years down the track from when that song was released. And it’s getting a whole new life now and in the middle of another album’s cycle. It’s a strange thing. But it’s always welcome. I think at this point we’re used to the fact that we’re a bit of an Internet band. We have a lot of love from a lot of fans on the internet, and I guess we’re getting used to it. We’re very grateful for that.

You’ve also had a bit of a following overseas as well. Why do you think that international market resonates with your music?
The early stages of that happened with the two EPs, Vibes and Days, that Campbell recorded and released on his own, fully independently. He just put them up online to see how they’d go. I guess they hit a sweet spot with what was happening in the US at the time. I think the US is the key with this band you know, he was lucky enough to get involved in the right circles of what was happening in the music scene over there, in the alternative scene. It was the right stuff at the right time, that’s the way I see it. And then ever since then we’ve just been lucky that the fans we did gain and the ones that we continue to gain are good people that share our music all over online and different platforms, like TikTok. It just keeps self-perpetuating now which is really nice.

The band is originally from Newcastle. I know a lot of the record was recorded at Sawtooth Studios and down on the Central Coast. What keeps you guys in Newcastle, rather than moving to Melbourne or Sydney?
There’s definitely personal reasons on every count, like family ties are just a given. But honestly there’s nowhere else I’d rather be in Australia. I’ve done a fair bit of travelling around Australia, and some travel overseas, but we all just love it. It’s a great place. It’s got a really disproportionately large music scene compared with other cities in Australia. I think Melbourne gets all the credit for culture, but it’s also huge. Newcastle is a city of about 350,000 people. It hits above its weight and it’s lovely. You don’t get the hustle and bustle of Sydney or Melbourne, but it’s still a happening place. We just love it.

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Why do you think Newcastle does have that really strong music scene? Is there anything you’ve noticed that’s unique to there?
I don’t know about necessarily unique but it’s definitely nice to see that Newcastle has managed to foster a really inclusive and progressive music scene. It doesn’t seem to suffer from oversaturation I guess, which maybe Melbourne and Sydney get a little bit. I think that it definitely helps that it is a smaller place. I’ve definitely seen it in Sydney and Melbourne, there’s a lot more options for where people can go and a lot more niche venues spread all over the city. But in Newcastle, because there’s only a few places to go, it seems to foster a really strong community.

Are there any local artists that you’re loving at the moment?
Fritz has a new song out, ‘Arrow’, which is really good. We’ve always gotten along well with Fritz and that crew. Definitely RAAVE TAPES and Resident, they’re bands that are releasing at the moment.  There’s loads of good bands at the moment in Newcastle.

What are the plans for the band after the record releases?
We’re definitely just gearing up to tour as soon as we can. What’s going on at the moment is making it a bit difficult but we’ve been working towards that for years, to get back out there on the road. The big thing to try will be to get overseas mainly. I can’t really reveal anything yet because there’s not really much to reveal! And then we’re also always just writing new material and sort of moving on. It’s that age-old thing that as soon as you release something you’re over it. We’ve definitely all heard these songs on Forever In Bloom a thousand times now.

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AMNPLIFY – DB