From their humble beginnings in Brisbane, HITS, have spent the last 12 years climbing to the forefront of rock music in Australia. With two albums and a bunch of singles, as well as EP’s under their belt, it hasn’t always been a sprint to where they are, just a hike to their new reality, explains Melbourne based musician and HITS frontman, Richard Hunt.
“We always hoped that we would make it big like this, but that was more of a dream. I never thought that it would actually happen for real. But it just kind of led on bit by bit at the start; it was never a race for us,” Hunt says. “We just slowly stuck at what we love, and it just formed from there. Nothing like that ever happens overnight. We’ve been together for 12 or so years, and now it’s all coming together.”
Performing for hundreds of crowds for more than a decade, HITS are no strangers to performing alongside other bands, artists, and acts, having shared the stage with the likes of The Hoodoo Gurus, The New York Dolls, and Tumbleweed; the ever growing lists seems surreal amongst the blur of music and passion.
“We have played with so many different artists. The list of people we have played with is huge, and that doesn’t even include all the festivals that we have played at – that’s just gigs and tours. I never thought that we would even get big enough to play with all these people, that’s for sure, definitely not. But we do certainly get lucky with all the people that we are able to play with, or perform with on stage,” he explains.
It’s been a while since HITS have released anything new for our ears, with their last single ‘Loose Cannons’ released in March 2016. Only time will tell what comes next, as the past year has been filled with new projects to keep the band running.
“We haven’t performed much at all. We have just been taking the time to write our new songs. Next year there will be two albums. The first will be named Death, which is part of the trilogy of the other two records, so it will be a big finale to end that section of our career,” Hunt continues to explain the second album. Accessories is filled with songs that had to be cut from previous, combined with the now unavailable singles and EPs. But it’s not always about sticking with just HITS band members, as Hunt expresses their work over the past year.
“We all do other things too when we aren’t with HITS. We all have other bands, just to keep ourselves busy and playing, no matter where or what it is,” he says. “A couple of weeks ago, I was doing a replacement in a band for a gig in Melbourne, at another gig a few of weeks before that. It’s just important for a musician to keep going with music, even if it’s not with your main band or friends.”
Between the tours and gigs across the world, and songs in the making, HITS are a resident part of the River Rocks lineup, performing there for five years, coming up to their sixth this November.
“I don’t always remember the first year of River Rocks. They have all just blurred into one big River Rocks for me. I couldn’t even remember which bands I have played with – there’s just so many acts over the years,” he laughs. “It’s like Christmas for us, getting to play in front of so many fans, River Rocks is always just a great gig to play. We will always play River Rocks if we can make it, it’s just the best.
“The people that run river rocks are just great, they always grab a great lineup of acts, the pub is a perfect venue, and the crowd, definitely the crowd. The crowd is always what brings us back, they are just great, and always get behind us every year.”
When & Where: River Rocks @ Barwon Club, Geelong – November 11 (sold out)
Written by Sophie Barker