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Little Red: It’s A Ten Year Plan

Little Red are five guys from Melbourne, Australia.

Posted 23rd November 2009, 6:10pm in Interviews, by Jasmine Phull
Little Red Little Red are five guys from Melbourne, Australia. They sound like the Beach Boys and are influenced by the Beatles, but don’t fool yourself into thinking that permanent-marker can pigeon hole these lads. On their short but zeal-fuelled visit to ye ‘ol London town they bring with them 'Listen To', a debut spectacle whose unique brand of rock and roll channels the sounds of 50s Pop Americana. They represent everything you’d expect from a noughties’ band except for that melodic crooning; it warms your innards and takes you back to way back when. Jasmine Phull speaks to the band about their first time touring overseas and their plan for world domination; ‘it’s a ten year plan’. As if bonded by blood rather than a mutual love of a sweet harmony, the boys’ comical banter reveal a refreshing honesty which seeps through the notes of their doo-wop tunes; effortlessly floating between rock, rhythm & blues, garage and soul.

So tonight is only your second gig while being in London? Do you prefer the smaller intimate gigs or the larger scale festivals?
Quang: Well at the small ones you can rock out and be loose and not have to worry about anything as much. Plus you have a smaller crowd to get a vibe off. At a festival there are so many people and the audience can sometimes get lost in the music. We’re all different but I prefer the smaller ones.

Who started the band?
Quang: Dom and Tom. We’ve all been in a few other bands. Me, Dom and Adrian used to be in a band called Synthscope – a Radioheadish experiment. Dom started another band called the Bon but that was more about colonial rock.

So what was the attraction to the 50s Americana pop band?
Quang: I guess Dom and Adrian started getting interested in the Beach Boys and then it kind of spread.

You’ve already released ‘Listen To’ in your native Australia but you’re re-releasing the debut for the UK audience?
Adrian: Yea, but we’re planning to dominate the world.
Tom: It’s a 10 year plan.

And you toured with Vampire Weekend?
Tom: It was just Sydney and Melbourne.

Did you get to know them?
Adrian: They kept to themselves. They’re nerds.

I thought that was a front. It’s not just pretentiousness?
Tom: They were very nice although they weren’t the Gallagher brothers or anything.

You all share vocals except for Taka? Taka, do you feel like you’re missing out?
Taka: Yeah sometimes, I’d love to do vocals.
Tom: You can only have 4 part harmonies.
Taka: Not enough microphones? Don’t worry I’ve got a plan. I’m going to poison them.
Dom: You don’t have to kill us, just cut one of our larynxes out.
Taka: Dom is an organ donor, so if I kill him his organs will go to good use.

How do you inspire yourselves when you are on stage. Do you try and emulate people from the doo-wop era?
Taka: Get drunk and see how it goes.
Dom: When I’m on stage I get inspired by the other guys. I’ll go with the guitar or the bass.

Are any of you actually big fans of the 50s?
Adrian: Tom was around at that time.
Tom: Around? What does that mean?
Dom: You can actually see him in the background of ‘Back to the Future’.

So do they pick on you a lot, Tom?
Tom: Yeah, sometimes. They like to gang up. It’s cause they weren’t cool at school.
Dom: I was voted most popular and Tom was the dux of the school.
Adrian: And don’t forget his Dad taught at the school.

If you could all chose a character from Happy Days which would you be?
All: The Fonz.

You can’t all pick the Fonze. You don’t know any other characters?
Dom: No.
Taka: A lot of people just think we are 50s revivalists but it all just happened at a particular time. Maybe music journalists have to pigeon hole us but we’ve moved on. The next record is totally different.

You’re recording some new songs next week? Who is it with?
Taka: Mushroom publishing hooked us up with Steven Street. Steven Street worked with Blur and I love them. We’re all really excited.

So you have a whole week to work with him. Other than recording what else do you guys want to do?
Dom: I want to go on the London Eye.

No you don’t, it’s a waste of money.
Dom: Aha, you should be in tourism!

Is there a creative vibe here that’s not in Melbourne?
Taka: Yeah, also I used to live in Tokyo and London reminds me of it a lot; outside every single tube stop is the city. There is just so many people.

Do you guys think that you’ll uproot someday?
Dom & Taka: Yeah we’d like to move to London.
Tom: Maybe America.
Quang: Maybe a little bit down the track.

What Aussie bands do you think are doing well?
Taka: AC/DC..

Ah I mean budding bands.
Dom: The Drones and the Vasco Era.

Do you try and tour with people you are friends with?
Taka: It’s a small scene. Once you start playing at festivals you get to know one another.

What helped you get to where you are today?
Taka: Just gigging. In 2008 we went around Australia six times.

What about marketing wise? Do you guys like the concept of Spotify?
All: What’s that?

Oh I don’t think that’s in Australia yet.. (I then proceed to explain it to the gobsmacked boys). Well what about Twitter? Do you like it?
Adrian: Nobody reads it.
Taka: Personally I hate it.
Dom: But you’re the one who does all that.
Adrian: Fans are welcome to send snail mail.
Dom: We don’t have an address.
Adrian: Yeah we do, I can’t remember it though and you have to include a self-addressed envelope.
Dom: I’d love a big bag of fan mail.

So you’re only gigging for a short while will you then hop back on a plane to Australia?
Dom: Me and Adrian are going to stay in Europe for a bit, go to Paris and stuff.

Your manager told me you’re renting a sweet loft, are you going to keep that?
Dom: I wish but we can’t afford it just between the three of us.

There are five of us?
Dom: No I meant the three of us who are going to be staying there.

Oh ok.
Dom: Why do you want to chip in?

Ah.. Are there any bands you guys are really in to?
Dom: The French band Phoenix is amazing. I love their recent album.
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