Band members: Dan Rock, Dom Bell and Fraser Telfer.
Tell me a bit about the band and what you’re up to at the moment.
The band was born out of Fraser, Campbell and Dan jamming in year 9 and 10, but we came into full fruition when we met Dom after he moved to our school in year 10. Currently we’re based in Geelong and Melbourne and commuting in-between. Fraser and Dan live in Melbourne and Dom lives in Geelong. Recently we’ve had to say goodbye to our dearly beloved Campbell as he’s pursuing other full-time music industry opportunities. Currently we’re working on our third EP with some fresh faces and new sounds that is a bit of a switch up from the old ‘gymies sound’.
How have you been keeping inspired during isolation? Who are you listening to?
It’s super hard to stay inspired in iso, playing and writing can sometimes feel like a chore which sucks but pushing through and grabbing on those little moments of inspiration makes it worth it. It’s also super frustrating having ideas but not being able to jam them as a band. There’s a lot of emailing back and forth going on too! At the moment we’re feeling super inspired by Louis Cole, Parcels, Klaus Teuber’s ‘Settlers of Catan’ and John Coltrane – all master musicians and great time killers in their own right.
What advice would you give to other musicians who are struggling for creativity?
Just sit down with your instrument and play. Half the time that feeling of not wanting to play goes away after 15 minutes of jamming. If you’re finding writing hard, just play along to some music you love, that always gets our heads and hearts excited!
What’s been the hardest challenge making music in this climate?
Definitely the separation, as a band we’ve always worked really well as a group and haven’t necessarily played ‘one person songs’. When Fraser or Dan has an idea and brings it to the band, we can normally find something juicy between all of us, so not being allowed to travel or even be in the same room together makes that kind of writing process super hard. Love finds a way though.
Should we expect any new releases from you soon?
Yes, definitely! We’ve had a fairly long hiatus as we’ve all been busy finishing degrees, travelling, recording and gigging with other projects, but we’re getting to the business end of the EP and we hope people are still there to get amongst it with us when this is all over! New sounds, new personnel, new heartbreak, new loves, new flavours to savour. God Bless x
Find Gymnastics in the Seventies on Instagram, Facebook and Triple J Unearthed.
