Written and Photographed by Timothy Casten
So who is East Brunswick All Girls Choir? Well to begin with, they aren't from East Brunswick, they aren't all girls and they aren't a choir. East Brunswick All Girls Choir is Marcus Hobbs on guitar and lead vocals, Rie Nakayama (the only actual girl in the band) on bass and Robert Wrigley on guitar and an ever-changing drummer. This Melbourne four-piece released their debut EP "Dead Air" late last year to strong reviews. I had the pleasure of seeing the band play a few weeks ago at the Tote and was blown away with their reverb soaked and beautiful, somewhat haunting, melodies interwoven with 'noisy' interludes. It's these dynamics - the loud/quiet/loud, which make the band one of the more exciting bands around.
I spoke to Marcus Hobbs about the band, their beginnings and plans for the near future:
So you used to be "Smokin Hot Bitch". What happened to that and why "East Brunswick All Girls Choir"?
I used Smokin Hot Bitch for a reason I can't explain, mainly being there was no reason. I had recorded some music and was due to play a fesitval in NZ so needed a name. I think I was a bit drunk and giggled that one out. All in all it was pretty stupid but when the name got changed to East Brunswick All Girls Choir I had a few emails of outrage, obviously there are stupider people than me.
East Brunswick All Girls Choir comes from when I used to visit my tasmanian housemate at Ceres and there was always a group of really young girls busking on Nicholson street singing these old religious hyms I remembered from my primary school. Thats more or less it.
Where are you all from and how did the band meet?
Rob and I are from Bendigo, being the small as fuck town it is we were bound to meet. Rie and I are going steady, hot to trot and as for whichever drummer we've got, yeah. Yeah.
I've been finding it difficult describing your music to other people. I've heard some critics call your music "shoegaze" and others calling it "post-grunge" and even "bluesy". How would you describe your sound to people who have never heard your music?
I would prefer if it came across as sounding more blues than anything else. The Dead Air tracks were for the most part written when I was playing solo and were written from a folk/blues recipe. With the addition of Rob and Rie the songs have transformed to what I would call a filthy folk sound. I like it.
Who/what are some of your influences in songwriting?
Got to love and rip off Jason Molina, I couldn't help that one. Dylan, Cohen are obvious and easy answers.
I have found a lot of tracks amongst the Alan Lomax collections from the deltas blue to prison songs and even across to Thai Pop which I will probably inadvertanly steal things from. Velvet voices from the south.
I never sit down and listen to a song and go "Ok, I am going to write one just like that". Mainly because I probably couldn't but when you sit down and and mess around on the 6 string things just fall that way. Just like how I used to be a star at football and play like Gary Ablett Snr without even realising.
So your EP Dead Air has been around for a few months now. How do you feel people have taken it?
Some like it some don't. There were some nice reviews floating around though. There is nothing more that can be said on that.
Has anything changed since the release of the EP?
No particularly, just probably another 6 million drummers coming through.
How does the band work in terms of 'songwriting'?
Generally I'll get a few chords and vocalising things popping about and have a really basic structure of a number. Then we'll get together and just play it out. Rob and Rie are so good at shredding away and they'll bust out good ideas for how it should all run.
Are there any new releases to be expected from the East Brunswick All Girls Choir anytime soon?
We're in the midst of getting new stuff together at a very infant stage, by the end of the year something will be out though.
Finally, When i saw you guys play at The Tote the other week you said that your drummer was drummer number 6 and i hear that you had Ryan Caesar from Children Collide play with you guys when you played Brown Paper Bag. What's all that about? How many drummers do you really have?
I'll give you the run down
September 2008 - Ryan Ceaser
Ryan then has to leave for three months to go on a tour/recording trek in the states.
December 2008 - Lex joins as he is conveniently in New Zealand at the time we'll need a drummer for NZ. After that tour he leaves for Germany.
March 2009 - We ask Josh Lobley to play but he is going on a trip for three months with his father and brother across W.A so we bide our time. We get Rohan Robiero to play about 4-5 gigs. Rohan is too busy to keep so we wait till the return of Josh.
May 2009 - Lobley returns and we get cracking. It's time to fucking record these fucking songs we have already taught to a million drummers already. We record and play a quite a lot.
March 2010 - Lobley sends a text message 2 hours before a show stating he is not coming down to Melbourne and that he has to quit the band. We get his brother in law Steve to play. we wished to keep Steve but he is too busy with new war/teeth and tongue. He plays a bunch of shows with us and is keen to continue helping out.
June 2010 - A man named Liam Brewer, and old boy from Bendigo now joins the band. I had previously played with him in some kind of metal band in Bendigo. He has a golden ear for mixing. Which indeed becomes a new hinderence as he is asked to mix a 41 date tour over the states in August.
July 2010 - Ryan Ceaser returns and is willing to help us out as much as he can but lord knows he'll be busy again soon enough.
Plus Rie and I are moving to europe for 7-10 months early next year. But that has nothing to do with drummers. We'll just bleed another continent dry.
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East Brunswick All Girls Choir play The Builders Arms Hotel on July 31
and at The Empress Hotel with Parades on August 20
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