We chat with the “loud, hairy and loose” Melbourne rockers, Luy and Jacob, from The Hunted Crows in the midst of their Young Man Tour.
Hey guys, thanks for taking the time to chat to us. You are halfway through your Young Man tour. How’s everything going so far, and how are crowds responding to the new tracks?
We’ve been ecstatic to get back out on the road. Shows have been great – we’ve been playing the tracks on Young Man EP in a live setting for a while so crowds are somewhat familiar with the material, although we’ve noticed a different reaction now that the music is out.
We’ve actually been testing out some brand new material we’ve been writing over the past few months – and that’s had quite a positive reaction. It’s a liberating feeling to bring new tunes out into public for the first time.
Touring together across the nation, have you managed to get up to any crazy antics just yet for 2017?
Our year has started in a very ‘nomad’ way – we’ve been sleeping in some freaky places on tour! A golf course (right next to tee off), on the grass behind a rural pub, and next to a football field to start. The occasional haunted room above the venue doesn’t go astray either. The places people will let you pitch a tent are unreal!
With your debut EP released back in 2014, you’ve just released your new EP Young Man. How has your sound changed since the debut in your own perspective?
With the debut EP, we were more interested in capturing our sound as a live band – keeping it raw. With this EP, we’ve been happy to add extra elements into the recordings that we won’t be able to re-create live. Treating the live performance and recorded music as two separate mediums is something we are delving deeper into. On top of that, our song writing has developed, as most bands go through in their early stages.
You are a familiar name in regional Victoria, performing multiple times in Warrnambool and Geelong. How do you personally find the regional music rock scene? Do the crowds differ?
We love city crowds – don’t get us wrong, but no-one appreciates local live music the same way a rural crowd does. It might be harder to fill the venue – but when you do, there is such a strong sense of passion in the room! Regional scenes give 100% of their energy, every time.
You guys have been referred to as a ‘power duo’, creating sounds much larger than many two-pieces, are there certain bands you are heavily influenced by?
I think the key is drawing inspiration from bands outside of the two-piece format. A lot of people compare us to bands such as Royal Blood, which we do share many similarities – however we’d never heard of them until after writing all the material for ‘Young Man EP’. We try to draw inspiration from four or five piece bands, and scale it back from there. That being said – you do have to admit your limitations, and work from that.
Bands like Queens of The Stone Age, Rage Against the Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Bronx would make up major direct influences for this band – but our tastes are quite broad, ranging far outside of the rock genre.
What else will we be seeing from you guys in 2017, any international plans?
We are working hard to try and broaden our touring circuit to a couple more continents this year – we’ll see how budgets allow! We’re also working hard on new music – hopefully have our debut album by the end of the year. We’re super excited where things are heading.
Thanks for the chat guys, any words of wisdom for our readers?
Keep supporting your local venues! They need you, and you need them. Thanks for having us Forte – been a pleasure!
When & Where: Cherry Bar, Melbourne – February 10 & Karova Lounge, Ballarat – February 11