Havana Allies - Gathering the troops to control the world
Compared to the likes of “the heavy parts of Joy Division combined with the softer parts of the Sex Pistols... others have said ...The Undertones, Franz Ferdinand and Kings of Leon.” Havana Allies say: “Have a listen and see what you come up with.”
So what does the Havana Allies come up with, when making musical comaprisions? (other than what their Myspace states: Four people doing things they probably shouldn't, which i don't believe is true!)
The Dwarf gets to chat with Havana Allies' Todd on the ins and outs of this band from Geelong, Melbourne.
“Haha, I guess our sound is constantly changing. Our very early stuff was much heavier and as we’ve grown as a band our sound has gradually shaped into something that we’re very happy with. Rock that you can dance to, without being new wave etc. The term “Garage Disco” has been thrown around a few times and I think it has a nice ring to it!,” he says.
“Someone the other day also said that we sound like The Pixies. I guess we take bits from all the music we grew up with and mix it with the sounds of today’s bands to come up with something that’s not generic. We don’t want to blend in with the others. We get bored easily.”
So how do the four members operate as Havana Allies? Are they always allies fighting for the same cause?
“We’ve always gotten along very well. Rhys and I live in the same house, Rhys and Cindy are brother and sister and Travis has been a close friend for years so we’re always doing something together,” he says.
“When writing songs we occasionally don’t see eye to eye but that’s healthy, as it makes you push for something greater. There are no egos in the band which is a good thing too. Everyone has something to contribute and all of us are willing to make sacrifices to ensure that the songs we create are the best they can be.”
Havana Allies formed in 2004 and have shared a stage with Australian bands like Little Birdy, Sarah McLeod (ex Superjesus) and The Inches, and international groups Shaky Hands (NZ) and Sabot (Czech Republic).
In 2005, the Allies played on the Lorne Foreshore during the 2005 "Schoolies" celebrations, and have played legendary venues such as The Tote, Ding Dong Lounge, The Espy and The Greyhound just to name a few. I ask Todd what his most memorable gig was.
“I really enjoyed the Little Birdy gig at the Barwon Heads Hotel because it was on the night of my 25th birthday. We had about 250 people watching us (we were on first) and when we finished our set people were offering to buy me drinks and were coming up to us and chatting. It was cool,” he says.
“We love it when people come and say hi to us. And of course everyone loves to have drinks bought for them! We also had to “fight off” a heap of drunken girls trying to convince us into letting them in the door at the back of the stage. What fun! Poor Rhys had to mind the door while we loaded out but the girls didn’t know that the back door goes right out onto the stage so it would’ve been fairly obvious if we let them in!”
Havana Allies are set to release their new three track EP, City Lights. Recorded in December of last year the launch is set for the end this coming June.
“As far as the recording went, we went into the studio much more prepared than the last two times. We knew exactly what we wanted to do and in what order and as such we went through the whole process quite quickly, leaving us more time to mix and fine tune. We’re really happy with the way it sounds and the artwork is almost ready to be sent off to the printers so we should be able to get our grubby little hands on them soon.”
Todd gives us a sneak peak into the EP Launch – oh course the merch and possible freebies!
“Hopefully lots of cool people and a big party atmosphere! We want people to walk away from the night feeling like they’ve had a great time. There will be a few other bands playing and we’ll obviously have heaps of CD’s, stickers and badges for sale plus we’ll probably give some stuff away too. We are very generous. Honestly.”
What does the rest of this year hold for the band? Perhaps further collaborations between the four members involving world domination schemes, immature jokes, fashion sense and random animal noises? (the personality traits whimsically attached to each Allie in their band member list)
“Once the new EP is out we’ll be playing gigs to promote it and hopefully get distribution and take it interstate. We’re writing new material all the time so some more recording will probably be on the horizon too,” he says.
“Looking forward to seeing Maximo Park in August. They’ve had a big influence on the band and they were really nice guys when we met them a couple of years ago after they played at the Corner Hotel. It showed that even big bands can have time for their fans, because it’s sad when bands think that they’re too good for everyone else. You need the fans more than anything else.”
“As for those traits – well we’re all kind of immature and silly jokes amongst ourselves form a big part of our lifestyle. Being in a band is, and should always be fun.
“As far as fashion sense goes, it’s always interesting to see what concoction Cindy has pinned and layered together to wear on gig night whereas the rest of us tend to throw ties, shoes and jackets together at the last minute. Usually I’m still deciding what to wear on my way out the door! And who doesn’t want to control the world?”
