Getting To Know... Parades

We love Parades here at BobbySix. So it was a pleasure to grab a few words with them about touring, beards, and Friday's gig in Sydney:

We take inspiration from our past musical shortcomings as songwriters. After playing the same songs for roughly 18 months, we're basically at the point now where our old material has been diminished to just its flaws...almost like listening to a weathered record over and over, where the needle jumps in the same places every time. We're still really proud of the majority of those songs, and there are still so many people who are just hearing [debut album] Foreign Tapes for the first time. But familiarity breeds contempt, and we're contemptuous people...

Our new material is unrealised! Undeveloped! And by no means a representation of where we'll eventually end up... with fingers and toes crossed.

We wish Parades had written heavier music. Not in a Reign In Blood kind of way, but just in a denser-whilst-being-layered-less kind of way. Music that weighs more.

Touring is more sensible these days. We've gone from having the logistical headaches of a five or sometimes six/seven piece band, to just the four of us. I feel like it's a more truthful representation of Parades, because at the end of the day, this is the band. For better or worse, we've always been the ones responsible for everything that's written and the way everything looks and sounds. Naturally, touring is just easier as a result, and now we can fit all our crap in one car most of the time.

It might surprise people to learn that Tim's beard will be contributing to a lot of the new material we're working on at the moment. So much in fact, that I'd imagine it will receive extensive writing credits.

You should come to our gig at The Gaelic because it could be the best damn night of your entire life. That, and because the Jezabels gig up the road is all sold out I think.

Catch Parades this Friday night as Purple Sneakers presents: Last Night @ The Gaelic. Support comes from Little Scout and tickets are a bargain $10 on the door. In the meantime, do your homework on the band by checking out their Myspace.

You can also catch Parades in the following venues real soon:
Thursday 7 April - The Harp Hotel, Wollongong, NSW
Saturday April 9 - Woodland Bar, Brisbane, QLD
Thursday April 14 - The Karova Lounge, Ballarat, VIC
Friday April 15 – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne, VIC
Saturday April 16 - Jive Bar, Adelaide, SA

Interview by Rob Townsend.