The dream of rock and roll glory is like a rite-of-passage fantasy for every second teenager. Before they were infamous famous, Bleeding Knees Club had the same lofty dreams of rock stardom as the rest of us. Drummer/vocalist Alex Wall talked us through the top five bands that he dreamed of being back in the day…
Black Flag – Black flag is pretty much the best punk bad ever. Their songs are as simple short and energetic as you can get. “Nervous Breakdown” is seriously one of the best songs ever. I really loved that First Four Years record. They have such a badass who-gives-a-fuck vibe that shows in their music and art work, and it something that I always admired.
60s Doo Wop, and Girl Groups – I went through a massive faze with this genre of music. My friend showed me the American Graffiti Soundtrack and it pretty much changed my life ha ha. Every song on that soundtrack is so rad. I especially got into Del Shannon. Runaway is one of the best songs ever I think. I think I really enjoyed this music because of the backup harmonies that they all use. We have a song on our record called, Lipstick, which is kinda my attempt at showing my like for this kinda music.
Black Lips – We [Alex and band mate Jordan Malane] were both big fans of Black Lips from the beginning – They have always had such a rad aesthetic with everything they do, like their stage presence, their videos and photos are all cool, and they seem to never do anything wrong. Their recordings have always been a big influence to us too. They have a really loose raw style of recording that really captures their energy and vibe which I think is the best thing about them. I finally got to see them live about 3 years ago and it was pretty much better than any show I had ever been to beforehand, and since then I’ve seen them maybe 5 times and it’s been crazy every time.
Beat Happening – I’ve always thought Calvin Johnson had a real cool song writing style. His songs are really minimal and raw but still get his message across in the simplest way possible. I really try to get our songs out in the simplest and most effective way. Beat Happenings self titles album is so epic, I used to listen to “Black Candy” on repeat ha ha. I also used to listen to “Indian Summer” over and over again, I think i recorded a cover of it too, its somewhere on my computer.
Blink 182 – Ha ha I don’t care if people think that Blink are a lame influence. They are the best pop punk band ever. All their albums and songs and film clips are epic. They all have such cool vibes about them and remind me of good times when I was younger. I also love Toms Voice, he kinda gave hope to all people that can’t sing, like me ha ha!
Bleeding Knees Club’s debut LP Nothing To Do in stores now with a tour kicking off this week. All dates below.
THU 05 APR – ELSEWHERE, GOLD COAST
SAT 07 APR – THE BREWERY, BYRON BAY
SUN 08 APR – ALHAMBRA LOUNGE, BRISBANE * U18 Matinee (1:30pm)
SUN 08 APR – ALHAMBRA LOUNGE, BRISBANE
WED 11 APR – BEACH RD HOTEL, BONDI
THU 12 APR – TRANSIT BAR, CANBERRA
FRI 13 APR – OXFORD ART FACTORY, SYDNEY
SAT 14 APR – THE FACTORY FLOOR (THE FACTORY THEATRE), SYDNEY * All Ages Matinee (2pm)
SAT 14 APR – THE PATCH, WOLLONGONG
THU 19 APR – NATIONAL HOTEL, GEELONG
FRI 20 APR – KAROVA LOUNGE, BALLARAT
SAT 21 APR – NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB, MELBOURNE
SUN 22 APR – REPUBLIC BAR, HOBART
TUE 24 APR – JIVE, ADELAIDE
WED 25 APR – THE INDI BAR, SCARBOROUGH
THU 26 APR – PRINCE OF WALES HOTEL, BUNBURY
FRI 27 APR – AMPLIFIER, PERTH
SAT 28 APR – MOJOS, FREMANTLE
All Tickets & Information at www.bleedingkneesclub.com
