The Sand Pebbles

BEAT: LIVE REVIEW: THE OLD BAR, JANUARY 4, 2012

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 17:06:00 -0500

Sand Pebbles, Thursday January 4, The Old Bar

In a week when Rupert Murdoch belatedly tried to counter his reputation as an olde worlde media luddite by signing himself up to the moment’s flavour of the week social media phenomenon, a more significant announcement flew almost below the local music radar. Amid the standard serve of tweeting tedium and self-indulgent trivia, Sand Pebbles drummer Wes Holland declared that tonight’s gig at the Old Bar - a benefit for the Familia Moja Children’s Home - was likely to be the Pebbles’ last gig for an indefinite period.

In some ways, it wasn’t an entirely surprising development - the Sand Pebbles have played three times as many interstate gigs in the last six weeks as they’ve played previously in their entire band history - but it was potentially calamitous, nonetheless.

The Old Bar on a Thursday night in early January wasn’t particularly auspicious timing for a farewell gig, but then again, the Sand Pebbles have never professed to be a conventional band. The set began with the evocative rumbling pop of Natalie, the only ingredient lacking in tonight’s performance being co-writer Dave Graney’s irreverent on-stage prose.

From there it was laconic step to the present with the reflective adult-angst of Because I Could, a song that must one day be played adjacent to its companion piece, Future Proofed. On Long, Long Ago, the Pebbles blended the spirit of David Crosby with its patented brand of musical lysergic acid, bending and stretching the track into hitherto unknown shape and form. Chris Hollow dedicated Wild Season to the Pebbles’ dedicated fans; the song itself ducked and weaved with the viscous poise of Hollows’ former St Kilda teammate Gilbert McAdam, while Black Sun Ensemble expanded and contracted with a galactic intensity worthy of Cambridge scientific study.

After a plea from the venue management for one final track, the band returned to the stage for a typically invigorating cover of Julian Cope’s Out Of Mind On Dope And Speed, augmented by the presence on stage of a few socially excited punters. As the gig crashed into its finale, it was hard to believe this could be the end of an era. And if it was, it was a perfect high to go out on.

LOVED: The love in the air during Out Of My Mind On Dope And Speed.

HATED: The fear that this may be the last Sand Pebbles gig for an indefinite period.

DRANK: Cooper’s Pale Ale.

CANCELLED SHOW: THE NASH, GEELONG!

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 23:12:23 -0500

CANCELLED TONIGHT/TOMORROW: The Sand Pebbles show @ The Nash, Geelong. It’s been variously listed as both Friday 6 and Saturday 7. The Nash double booked the Friday. Sand Pebbles can’t do the Saturday. Unfortunate. Apologies to everyone that was to be there.

x Sand Pebbles

Wild scenes inside a gold mine! Sand Pebbles finished 2011 with...

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 19:26:00 -0500

Wild scenes inside a gold mine! Sand Pebbles finished 2011 with a bang.

This is Julian Cope’s “Out of My Mind on Dope & Speed” captured live at The Esplanade Hote in the early hours of the 24th December, 2011.

The stage full of merry-makers adding their own pre-Christmas ambience.

When we first started playing this song live a punter commented, “Definitely more dope than speed.”

Photo

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 08:20:00 -0500

Photo

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 08:17:36 -0500

RAVE MAGAZINE: EIGHT MILES HIGH FESTIVAL REVIEW 13.12.2011

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 00:09:49 -0500

Eight Miles High Tuesday, 13 December 2011

The Zoo - Sat Dec 10

Howling Rabbits start this evening’s showcase of all things psychedelic with their own brand of incense-scented rock & roll. Throwing in Doors-y keyboard licks with a wealth of catchy garage riffs, the band’s heady mix of psych and hard rock provides an early highlight.

Power trio Dead Shades follow with a more meat-and-potatoes style of R&B-based rock & roll. Resembling a blend of the pub rock tradition with the rough-and-ready approach of early Who, the band may look thrown together, but mercifully there’s a greater unity to their sound.

With their excellent Constellations album behind them, Grand Atlantic reveal the psychedelic elements that have inched their way onto the new record. The performance showcases the band more eager to jam out the instrumental passages of their solid power pop. The title track boasts a particularly brain-melting coda, while elsewhere their songs have the ringing anthemic quality of Oasis or current Britpop stars Kasabian.

Black Cab are up next and reveal a rather different musical approach to the last time the Melbourne shoegazers visited our end of the coast. Replacing guitars with laptops and synths (and drums for a couple of numbers), the group retain the swirling soundscapes of the past, but throw in some Giorgio Moroder and Kraftwerk synth pulses for good measure. Most recent single Sexy Polizei vividly illustrates this transformation, while a version of Joy Division’s Heart & Soul finds an almost drum&bass rhythmic pattern.

Also from Melbourne, Sand Pebbles take us back to the world of guitar reverb and drone, but also throw in some fine vocal harmonies for good measure. While the churning guitar clang brings classic noisemakers like The Velvet Underground and 13th Floor Elevators to mind, their melodies are more classicist and gentle.

With one of the best Australian releases of the year in the excellent Crystal Theatre album, Belles Will Ring take the harmony side of psychedelia even further. Their near Simon & Garfunkel-esque melodicism goes superbly with their guitar swirl, multi-instrumentalist Lauren Crew filling out the sound nicely with keyboard and that most psychedelic of instruments, the flute. Frontman/guitarist Liam Judson leads the band through solid renditions of album highlights including The River and the hypnotic bass skip of Come To The Village.

More than anyone tonight, Richard In Your Mind illustrate the genre-hopping properties that frequent psychedelia. Theirs is an almost Zappa-like playfulness, which extends to crowd interaction – large balloons are thrown into the audience to bounce along with the group’s fevered and buoyant art rock. With his whimsical yet surprisingly powerful voice, Richard Cartwright fronts with aplomb and the group as a whole makes a likeable shimmering racket.

The evening is rounded off nicely with our own bandidos of instrumental surf rock Los Huevos. Complete with go-go dancer and horn section, the band’s blend of Morricone spaghetti western soundtracks and surf tunes would sound ideal in a Robert Rodriguez movie, while Jamie Trevaskis’s saw brings to mind pre-psychedelia soundworlds circa The Ventures In Space LP. It’s a rousing finale to a truly quality night out.

MATT THROWER

Drawing by Angus McLeod. Done at The Tote, Collingwood. 21st...

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 05:58:17 -0500

Drawing by Angus McLeod.

Done at The Tote, Collingwood. 21st December, 2008, playing with Hugo Race.

THE MERCURY: INTERVIEW W/ CHRISTOPHER HOLLOW 8.12.2011

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 05:52:01 -0500

All signs point to The Grand Pooh Bah, Hobart, this Saturday,...

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 20:49:00 -0500

All signs point to The Grand Pooh Bah, Hobart, this Saturday, December 17 with local heroes, Hey Mook!

Sand Pebbles recorded live at 3RRR FM, Melbourne, playing a...

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 20:25:57 -0500

Sand Pebbles recorded live at 3RRR FM, Melbourne, playing a version of the 13th Floor Elevators “It’s You [I Don’t Ever Want to Come Down]” on The Skull Cave. July 3, 2009. Shot by Adam White.

Officially declared “punk” by Byron Bay newspaper.

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Officially declared “punk” by Byron Bay newspaper.

MUSIC FEEDS: INTERVIEW W/ BEN MICHAEL X

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:18:00 -0500

Now on their fifth album, entitled Dark Magic, Melbourne’s Sand Pebbles are a band whose members span almost all of the period of rock and roll’s expansion, with a member born in every decade of the genre’s heyday, from the 50s to the 90s . This smorgasbord of generations within the band has informed their work on the new record, which sees the band fusing together their various voices and influences to craft an album that speaks across the full stretch of rock and roll, having recruited the likes of Galaxie 500′s Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips, Tim Holmes from Death In Vegas, Will Carruthers from Spaceman 3 and Spiritualized, even Malcolm McDowell.

MF: So, there are some pretty impressive names on the record; how did you get all these great people involved?

SP: Our Drummer and twenty-year-old dynamo Wes went on a wild trip overseas armed only with a 7 inch vinyl we’d made. He ended up at a bunch of parties and gave it out to some of our musical heroes and they, in turn, offered to do some mixing. It has given the album a sonic edge. Playing with people you admire is one of music’s true joys.

MF: It seems that collaboration was central to this album, both between individual members of the band as well as the various collaborators you brought in; can you tell me about that?

SP: Alfred Hitchcock would have a film in his head, everything worked out, and he’d make sure it came out just like that. Francis Ford Coppola gets a bunch of creative people together and goes on a trip. Many minds make light work (better). While I dig both of my fatties, I’ll take The Conversation over Rope any day.

MF: The theme to this was, and stop me if I’m wrong, to try and draw from the collective experience of the band members to present a sort of slide show of the history of rock ‘n’ roll, more in terms of drawing inspiration rather than blatant imitation. Can you tell me how yoU think that came out in the music as well as how you came to try such a task?

SP: It just happens naturally; we’re all at such different stages of our lives. It’s one of the keys to the band. Some of us are tripping, some changing nappies, some awaiting grandchildren. That has to come out when you play. And we’re the better for it.

MF: How did the writing process work with this album? Did you all bring in ideas individually and work on them together or were all the ideas work-shopped as a group from the ground up?

Spring Time was a real group effort. The others are more a band member bringing in an idea type situation. That said, we all share writing credits, which is as it should be. A beautiful guitar solo is as important as the lyrics. A drum beat as cool as a melody. Let’s be honest, singer songwriters are kinda square. It feels very old fashioned. Everything changes, everything can be made better.

MF: How would you say this album compares to your earlier work?

SP: Every album has its charm, and they are all very different: different personel; different moods in the band at the time. I think it feels like a Sand Pebbles’ album but with a softer side showing. It’s more concise. Like a stock: boiled down to is essence. It compares wonderfully. But I think all our records, with the exception of our debut, are brilliant. The debut is just plain old great.

MF: You’re about to set out on tour; are you guys a band who loves touring or who tolerates it?

SP: We’ve never really done it, so who knows. We are a band insanely dedicated to the music with pretty much zero dedication to pushing ourselves; it seems kinda tawdry. But that said, it may be time to spread the word a little further. One thing’s for sure, it’s going to be an adventure; and life without adventure isn’t life at all.

MF: With the live show do you set out to recreate the album or offer something different?

SP: No. Never! A live show is a one off, in the moment, thing. It must be a roller coaster. It should always feel like it’s about to come off the rails. Tension. Bands who sound like records are actually evil and against nature. We are naturists. The natural state of being is unpredictable. Live shows should capture that feeling.

Sand Pebbles 2011/2012 Tour Dates

Friday 2 December - The Front Canberra (album launch), with The Sun Blindness

Saturday 3 December – Goodgod Sydney (album launch), with The Sun Blindness & Astral Kaleidoscope

Friday 9 December – Byron Bay Brewery, Byron Bay (album launch), with Black Cab and The Windy Hills

Saturday 10 December - Eight Miles High Festival Brisbane, The Zoo, with Black Cab, Richard In Your Mind + more

Saturday 17 December – Grand Pooh Bar, Hobart (album launch), with Hey Mook!

Friday 23 December – The Espy Front Bar, Melbourne, with Matt Sonic and The High Times, Buried Feather + more

Friday 6 January 2012 - The Nash, Geelong, with Black Cab

EchoNetDaily: Interview w/ Ben Michael X - 07.12.2011

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 05:08:00 -0500

EchonetDaily

Sand Pebbles roll our way

December 7, 2011

To coincide with their forthcoming tour, Sand Pebbles have released their second single, the Hell Broth & Bubble remix version of single Dark Magic. The wait is almost over for interstate punters. These Melbourne flower-punk luminaries will embark on a national tour next month to launch their acclaimed new album Dark Magic in Canberra, Sydney, Byron Bay, Brisbane and Hobart.

On the back of supporting Galaxie 500 frontman Dean Wareham, the Sand Pebbles launched Dark Magic in Melbourne not once, but twice due to popular demand. Out now on Dot Dash / Remote Control, Dark Magic is Sand Pebbles’ fifth studio album and features contributions from Dean Wareham himself, along with Britta Phillips (Luna), Tim Holmes (Death In Vegas), Will Carruthers (Spacemen 3, Spiritualized) and Malcolm McDowell.

When Wes Holland joined the Sand Pebbles a couple of years ago at the age of 18, Andrew Tanner had just turned 50. The band quickly realised they ran a unique age gamut: a member born in each decade in the history of rock ’n’ roll – 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. Far from disowning this unique fact, they decided to use it to inform their next album. The result, Dark Magic, speaks from many minds and many times. It’s hypnotic, cosmic, kinetic and freewheeling.

The Sand Pebbles are singer-guitarist Tor Larsen, guitarist Ben Michael, bassist Christopher Hollow, singer-guitarist Andrew Tanner and drummer Wes Holland.

Sand Pebbles’ founder/guitarist Ben Michael X answers a few pertinent questions…

Sand Pebbles are… An Australian underground band that combines the freak elements of true psych rock with the intensity of post-punk and the blissful transcendent drones of shoegaze. We are flower punks.

We take inspiration from… Harold and Maude. The Tree Of Life and Thin Red Line and Days Of Heaven and Badlands. Hemingway. Sam Peckinpah, Breaking Bad. Mid-60s suits. Faye Dunaway. Fast Times At Ridgmont High, camping in the desert, BMX, surfing, West Indian cricket team of the 70s and 80s, Joseph Campbell and the power of myths (we are trickster gods in case you’re wondering), Spacemen 3, disco, Deliverance (book and film) and the new dried mushroom caps that are floating around.

Our new album is… Dark Magic. Folk beauty, angry guitar, a sense of losing your head and doing something stupid. The perfect soundtrack to summer.

It might surprise people to learn that… We range in age from 21 to 52.

You should catch us on our forthcoming Australian tour because… We are an incredible live band who understand how to jam with intent. Through the beauty of repetition you will transcend. You will float and you will open your eyes at the end of the show and suddenly realise you’ve been on an incredible trip, time has stood still and your life has changed. Sand Pebbles are a good trips band.

Listen to the new single… Dark Magic (The Hell-Broth & Bubble single mix) http://blogrc.remotecontrolrecords.com.au/2011/11/stream-sand-pebbles-new-single-dark.html

The Sand Pebbles play the Byron Brewery on Friday with special guests Black Cab and locals The Windy Hills, with surf film projections by Andrew Kidman.

“Silver Comet” from Ceduna gets visualised by the...

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 23:19:00 -0500

“Silver Comet” from Ceduna gets visualised by the mysterious BloodMeridian67.

RAVE MAGAZINE: INTERVIEW W/ CHRISTOPHER HOLLOW 5.12.11

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 23:17:00 -0500

Sand Pebbles Monday, 05 December 2011

CHRIS HOLLOW, bass player for Melbourne’s enigmatic psych-rockers SAND PEBBLES, won’t let the truth get in the way of a good story. He chats with KRISSI WEISS.

Sand Pebbles began their musical journey when three scriptwriters from Neighbours – Chris Hollow (bass), Ben Michael (guitar) and Piet Collins (drums) – decided to join psychedelic forces. The line-up has changed a lot over the past 10 years with the band’s diversity augmented by the fact they have members born in every decade between the ’50s and ’90s. But despite Sand Pebbles’ latest release, Dark Magic, receiving rave reviews, the band are probably more known for the mythology that surrounds them. Normally musicians plead with the media to focus on the music but Hollow embraces the stories that have created this mythology. There’s their unique beginning, the infamous Meredith Music Festival ban (they allegedly stormed the stage during Rose Tattoo’s set in 2006, something that Hollow describes as “the greatest story that never happened”) and now revelations that Hollow went to school with the US government’s most wanted man, Julian Assange.

“There hasn’t been many people who have asked me about Julian Assange,” Hollow says. “I went to an alternative school down here, I had a fair bit of communication with him but it wasn’t as though we were close or anything… We were working as scriptwriters and storytellers so if the story is more intriguing than the music or it provides a way into it, then go with it.”

Sand Pebbles have managed to make quite a name for themselves over the past 10 years despite the fact they barely, if ever, play outside of Victoria. “It’s hard to talk about this without sounding egotistical,” he says. “But Melbourne is a big scene and there are so many places to play so we don’t feel like we have to push it very hard. I don’t want to sound like Melbourne is the best or anything but we are able to play here and still have people turning up that have never seen us. Also, heading to Sydney and Brisbane, well, we may as well be going to New York with the amount of organisation that is involved.”

Each time we move onto Sand Pebbles’ latest album, Hollow cuts things short, stating “I don’t want to bore your readers.” As we begin to wrap he tells me that he is much more interesting via email if I had any more questions and he once again reiterates that he doesn’t want to sound boring. We have a laugh about the notion of controversy and how people perceive that as being somehow more interesting. He decides to take a crack at controversy by discussing the latest album of 2011’s golden boy, Gotye. “Well, I lived through the ’80s and listened to Peter Gabriel and Sting so I don’t really need to hear all of that again,” he says laughing. “I am wrapped that he is doing so well though and is jammed up against Rihanna and any of those types of artists.” It seems that Hollow can’t help but be a nice guy, which some people still find interesting.

SAND PEBBLES with be at the Eight Miles High Festival at The Zoo, Saturday Dec 10, with Richard In Your Mind, Black Cab, Grand Atlantic and many more. Tickets are available through Oztix. Head to www.sandpebbles.com.au or www.thezoo.com.au for more information. DARK MAGIC is out now through Dot Dash.

THE BRAG: INTERVIEW W/ ANDREW TANNER 5.12.11

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:55:00 -0500

[MUSIC: Interview]

Sand Pebbles Blood On The Floor

By Rick Warner

“I’m not a fucking suit!” exclaims Andrew Tanner, Patriarch (he specifically requested I use that term) and singer/guitarist for Melbourne psychedelic five-piece, The Sand Pebbles.

Luckily, he’s quoting Billy Walsh from Entourage and not yelling down the phone at me, as he gives me a rundown of his day-to-day away from the rehearsal room. “I’m a creative, so I get to wear a beret and stroke a cat and say things like, ‘Make it more fluffy’ and ‘Put a bit of salmon over that mix’ … and people actually take you seriously, which is always good fun.”

When not dealing with clients and putting together sizzle reels (teaser videos released by movie studios – I had to look that up), 50-year-old Tanner is usually holed up with the rest of his band in a recording studio somewhere. “We don’t ever just rehearse. Mostly we go to a room with recording gear set up and play, and everything gets recorded.”

It’s this obsession with aural record keeping that saw the band record four albums in the span of six years from 2002 to 2008 – but it’s taken three long years for their most recent album, 2011’s Dark Magic, to come to fruition. Tanner blames the delay on changing up the process.

“We kind of made the fatal mistake of trying to do something different, and it all unravelled from there,” he muses. “They were scrappy little beasts [the songs], and we didn’t quite know which way they wanted to go. At one stage we thought we were going to do a folk album. Everyone got all beardy and folky and we thought, ‘No, that’s a stupid idea.’ Then we went to a kind of rock thing and thought, ‘No, that’s kind of boring.’ It kind of ended up this mutant thing.”

And a strange mix it is. Dark Magic sways from leafy, forest canopy folk to snapping, taut post-punk to fog-laden psychedelic rock, but with each band member’s birth date falling in a different decade from the 1950s to the 1990s, it kind of makes sense. According to Tanner, the multiple songwriters all have a hand in the procedure.

“It’s collaborative whether you want it to be or not, really, in this band. You can come with a fully-formed, beautifully constructed piece of work and they’ll rip it apart with their teeth and throw it around like a carcass, and it gets put back together in some strange form. It’s very much an organic process – and there’s always blood on the floor at the end of it, I can tell you.”

Notorious for rarely leaving the comforts of their home city Melbourne, The Sand Pebbles are finally taking Dark Magic on the road. Their East Coast tour takes in the major cities as well as stops in Canberra and Hobart in December, and Andrew is excited to get amongst the fans. He maintains that there’s nothing quite like psychedelic music lovers.

“There have been acts of near copulation on the dancefloor and we’ve seen some incredible dancing, I’ve got to say. You want to see some good dancing? You ought to go to some kind of psych show. I don’t know where those moves come from, but they’re unbelievable to watch.” But as a rocker in his fifties, will he still enjoy the rock ‘n’ roll tour life? “Ask me at the end of December,” he laughs. “After consecutive weekends in a bus, it could kill us. This may be the last interview. I’m tipping it will be fun; everyone’s mindset is to take the party on the road. What could possibly go wrong?”

Canberra, The Front, December 2nd, 2011 Met Stuart [Stewart]...

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Canberra, The Front, December 2nd, 2011

Met Stuart [Stewart] Harris, who that day had a new species of spider named after him.

Christopher w/ Gibson Thunderbird bass!

Pic by Patrick Cox

THE CANBERRA TIMES: INTERVIEW W/ BEN MICHAEL X - 1.12.2011

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 23:43:00 -0500

The Dark Magic of Sand Pebbles

Unlikely as it seems, the genesis of Melbourne pysch-rock band The Sand Pebbles can be traced back to a party marking the 3000th episode of venerable soap Neighbours.

”I was wandering around with all these TV people who in general don’t have great taste,” explains guitarist Ben Michael, who was working as an in-house scriptwriter for the show at the time. ”I bumped into this guy, Chris, and we started talking about the 13th Floor Elevators and the Velvets and the Stooges. Then he got in contact with me and said, ‘You should get off your arse and start playing’.”

Before forming the band, Michael and bassist Chris Hollow entertained themselves by dropping obscure musical references into the show’s dialogue.

”A lot of the characters names were taken from underground music heroes and I certainly had characters playing records that, ordinarily, there’s no way they’d be playing,” Michael chuckles. ”A funny one was Mogwai. About 10 years ago on Mogwai’s first Australian tour … they played this absolutely ball-tearing show and came backstage and we’re mouths agog going, ‘My god, that was great!’ and they couldn’t give a shit about the show they just played, all they wanted to do was talk about Neighbours - ‘Imagine if we could be on Neighbours!’ I said, ‘I’ll definitely get your name on the show’. ”Pretty soon after, one of the characters is going, ‘Oh, I just got this great new album by Mogwai’ and the next thing you know the post rocks up with 10 T-shirts delivered to me from their manager. You get your kicks where you can in TV.”

Over the past decade, Michael and Hollow have assembled a motley crew of musicians around them, including a Spinal Tap-esque succession of drummers. The current line-up includes 50-year-old guitarist Andrew Tanner, 27-year-old guitarist Tor Larsen (”the fan who used to come up to us after shows”) and 20-year-old drummer Wes Holland.

Hollow discovered Holland busking on the street and, as the band was down a drummer and due to play a show that afternoon, drafted him in on the spot.

The Sand Pebbles recently released its fifth album Dark Magic, which Michael says was an attempt to strike a balance between the two previous records: 2008’s stripped-back Ceduna and the all-out experimentation of 2006’s Atlantis Regrets Nothing. ”Atlantis was completely insane with how many tracks we did,” he remembers. ”We went seriously crazy! We were putting microphones in coffee cups and recording the drums through that. I mean the record sounds fantastic, but it sent our engineer at the time off the deep end - he left the country soon after.”

For Dark Magic, the band enlisted an impressive array of collaborators. Long-time friends and supporters Dean Wareham of Galaxie 500 and Britta Phillips of Luna both contributed, while Tim Holmes of Death in Vegas mixed the lion’s share of the album and Will Carruthers of Spiritualized and Spacemen3 also reworked one of the tracks. ”Working with people who have had a profound influence on you - or just make your life better, basically - for them to respect what you’re doing and work with you is a real joy,” Michael says.

The Sand Pebbles

WITH: The Sunblindness

WHEN: Dec 2, 8pm

WHERE: The Front, Lyneham

TICKETS: At the door

Posted By: By Peter Krbavac on 1/12/2011 4:00:00 AM | Comments (0)

“Black Sun”, ’the anthem of a...

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:12:00 -0500

“Black Sun”, ’the anthem of a generation’ [The Times], gets visualised by the mysterious BloodMeridian67.

T-SQUAT: SAND PEBBLES INTERVIEW W/ WES HOLLAND: 16.11.2011

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:07:51 -0500

SAND PEBBLES

November 16, 2011 | SOUND

“Flower punk” band Sand Pebbles are more like a storm in a bottle; with their new album- their fifth thus far- Dark Magic, they’re smashing stages and rattling cages with fire-and-brimstone Aussie rock. T-SQUAT’s Laura Main chatted to newly commandeered drummer/vocalist Wes Holland.

Getting a new member is a pretty big change for a band- what was the inspiration behind this bold move? How has the sound changed now with the new addition?

When The Sand Pebbles asked me to join the band, I naturally just assumed it was for my vocal abilities. I thought they wanted a charismatic new frontman…turns out they just wanted a new drummer, so I’ve remained at the back of the stage since. I’m pretty bitter about it, to be honest. Fuck those deceitful pricks.

The band has played on the Marngrook Footy Show a few times. Are you guys keen footy fanatics?

Our bass player Chris [Hollow] actually used to play football for St Kilda alongside the show’s host Gilbert McAdam. Just before they introduced us, they showed footage of the worst goal Chris ever kicked in the AFL. We were stoked they asked us to play… but Chris was spewing they didn’t show his Goal Of The Week.

How have things changed in the industry since your earlier days?

Having only been in the industry for a couple of years, I thought I’d ask other guys in the band this question: the dashing yet reserved Andrew Tanner [guitar/vocals] answered: “It’s not getting any easier”, while the reclusive Ben Michael X [guitar] could only offer: “I’m better looking”.

The new album features some fantastic contributions, like the very talented Will Carruthers from Spiritualized. How did these come about and what was it like working with new faces?

Will is one of my favourite bass players in the world. He lives in Berlin, making him one of seven cricket fans in Germany. When the Ashes were on here a while ago, he just started gloating to me about England’s performance on the field. Next thing you know, he’s putting the Carruthers touch on one of our songs and the final result was insane. It’s easily the loudest Sand Pebbles song on record… and it’s a ballad.

You’ve all been playing gigs and touring for a while now- what are some of the weirder things you’ve seen during your time in the Sand Pebbles?

We’ve seen some pretty crazy things: on-stage hypnotism, witchcraft, animals beings exorcised…and that’s just from watching Ben.

Are there any other big changes coming up or magical new things on the burner for the band?

I’d like to think so, but clashing egos, incompatible star signs and conflicting hopes and dreams will probably mean the Sand Pebbles never commit another note to tape again.

Dark Magic is out now though Remote Control/Dot Dash. You can catch Sand Pebbles at any of the following venues on their album launch tour:

Friday December 2 – The Front, Canberra w/ The Sun Blindness
Saturday December 3 – Goodgod, Sydney w/ The Sun Blindness and Astral Kaleidoscope
Friday December 9 – Byron Bay Brewery, Byron Bay w/ Black Cab and The Windy Hills
Saturday December 10 – Eight Miles High Festival, The Zoo, Brisbane w/ Black Cab, Grand Atlantic and heaps more.
Saturday December 17 – Grand Pooh Bar, Hobart w/ with Hey Mook!
Friday December 23 – The Espy Front Bar, Melbourne w/ Matt Sonic and The High Times, Buried Feather + more
Friday January 6, 2012 – The Nash, Geelong w/ Black Cab

Words: Laura Main