Evoking a vibe akin to Tegan and Sara and playing music with quality well beyond their years, Perth’s Goodnight Tiger are definitely a band to watch. I had the opportunity to chat to the two front ladies – Jill Chrisp and Perrin Date – just after they played to a packed out Amplifier Bar at the WAMi Festival “Saturday Spectacular Closing Party” in Perth.
So where did Goodnight Tiger begin? Legend has it that Jill and Perrin got together for a jam session on Australia Day 2009: “We basically just started jamming and decided that our voices worked well together… so we started making music together”. Their first gig fell in April of the same year, and they recently added bass player Bex Chilcott and drummer Mat Marsh to their live equation. Asked how much their songs have changed live since their addition: “It changes the music in every way. The dynamic between us (and Bex and Matt) brings a new feel to it entirely.”
But it doesn’t sound like they’re a part of the songwriting process just yet – “We (Jill and I) record the tracks together on GarageBand and then send it to the other guys to learn.” In fact, pretty much everything that exists of the band in recorded form thus far has utilised that software, the pair adding: “midi drums – they’ve never done us wrong!” But recently, Goodnight Tiger have been in the studio recording a few of these tracks properly, so they have something to “pass along to the labels and maybe sneak over to a radio station or two! … It’ll be a better representation of us as a band” While these tracks won’t receive an official release, they’ll thankfully be recording a full EP later this year.
And as nominees of the Most Promising New Act award at the WAMis, you can bet there are plenty of Perth and national fans who are itching to get their hands on the polished product! But for now, you can head to their MySpace page to check out some video diaries of the duo working in the studio – and just doing whatever! “We love to post those videos! We hope other people enjoy them… although we only really do it to amuse ourselves.”
While the furthest the band has travelled out of Perth has been to Bunbury to support Whitely, they haven’t been sleeping on their laurels. Asking how things have changed for the duo since they started out, Jill had this to say: “University has been taking less and less of a focus (since we started) – I now focus almost entirely on the band!” Indeed, they’re putting everything they have into the music, Perrin even cutting her hair to keep Jill happy! “(Perrin’s) hair used to be so long! I made her cut it off or she’d be kicked out of the band *laughs*”.
Meanwhile, they’ve been playing festivals as diverse as In The Pines, West Coast Blues and Roots ‘09, One Movement ‘09 and Southbound ’10. But they do hope to move beyond Bunbury and make their way over to the East Coast for some debut appearances later this year, “We just need some recorded material first!”
So what about their music? Watching them live, it’s instantly apparent that they mix genres quite impressively. What may otherwise be considered a “folk” sound on record, becomes infused with rock and pop in the live setting, ticking all the boxes. Asked what other boxes they’ve ticked, Perrin said: “We (even) had a country song that everyone seemed to like, but it was awful! I think everyone just wanted to do the box step?”
And as for their inspiration, they have unsurprisingly turned to the female singers and songwriters who came before them. What may surprise you, however, is just how much of this inspiration has been found locally, “The music that has come out of Perth is what inspires most of our music… Abbe May, Katy Steele, Felicity Groom and the Black Black Smoke…” Asked to elaborate on the Perth scene, “It’s Incestuous! *laughs* Oh you mean the music scene? Yeah that too! But it’s so
great, everyone gets along… but there’s still a bit of rivalry…” No doubt a good sign of a healthy music climate!
Moving back onto the topic of the WAMis, they’d had an amazing couple of days, but admitted “We’re so exhausted! We wish we could have been a bit more awake up there (at the Amplifier Show), but that’s OK, we had fun!” – Adding that as this was the only time I’d ever seen them and thus was the best performance I’d ever seen, they replied “Well you better not see us ever again then!” I think that might be a bit hard, because they really were lovely. Definitely keep your eyes open for Goodnight Tiger!
Those of you in Perth will have the opportunity to catch them again very soon! They’re headlining a 1980s party at Norfolk Basement this Saturday, the 29th of May. While this won’t represent the style of music at play, 1980s dress sense is a must, and as Perrin put it: “people are welcome to bring 80s attitudes”. The Fags, Oh! You Pretty Things and James Teague are supporting. Tickets are $10 on the door.
