Uncovering unwalked paths in music after 40 years is unheard of, but the Hard-On's seem to keep finding new rubble to run on.
Peter ‘Blackie’ Black of the Hard-Ons speaks to me with the softness of an internalised aftermath. The consequential fatigue of a morning spent exercising, perhaps over exercising. “I had maybe a little bit of a slightly too intense cardio session,” he says as we talk through the phone.
The triple, as Blackie puts it, involved three separate bouts of high intensity exercise. This is likely the secret to the energetic live shows that the Hard-Ons have become renowned for over the years. A pulsating energy that has not, and does not seem to be, wavering anytime soon.
Keep up with the latest music news, festivals, interviews and reviews here.
View this post on Instagram
After 40 years of recording and releasing music the band are gearing up to head on an Australian tour that will see them play shows at the hallowed Barwon Club in Geelong on Monday 4 November and at the Red Hill Hotel, Castlemaine on Sunday 3 November.
If that wasn’t impressive enough, they’ve just released a hard-hitting new single entitled ‘Buzz Buzz Buzz’ with their album I Like You A Lot Getting Older set to be released on Friday 4 October.
“Playing live is always exciting,” says Blackie. “I don’t need any milestone or specific event to get excited about it. When I’m at home demoing I’m excited by it. I love music so much, and I’m grateful I’ve been able to do it for this long.
“I know quite a few people who I have this running joke with. We call ourselves lifers. My soul is singing out saying “I can’t lose this”. It’s truly one of the most magical things us as a species have created. I haven’t done a lot of good, but music is definitely something good I have done.”
Despite the perennial excitement that spurs Blackie on to continue making and playing live music, the recent inclusion of Tim Rogers to the band has opened up a whole new way of writing and recording music for him.
“‘Buzz Buzz Buzz’ was a real party Aus rock number with a real bass root note sound,” he says. “Sort of like a chunky Angels style. But, Tim was like, ‘oh, give me a crack at this.’ And I said ‘yeah’, but when we got to the studio he mentioned he went a bit left of centre with the melody on it.”
“I wasn’t prepared for what he did, it really changed it from what I initially thought the song would sound like. It floored me and I was really fucking stoked on it.”
Collaboration is a new approach for Blackie, a step into the unknown that has shaped a lot of the upcoming LP release.
“That’s obviously one of the joys of collaborating. I’ve gotta admit though, I rarely do it. I normally just work my arse off at home on my own. Sometimes I’ll just bring in half a track to the studio and I’m feeling it with the band. I’ll finish it there with them.
“But with the new record, we started collaborating more and about half the album has come about through writing in collaboration.”
The newness of having Tim Rogers in the band as well as adjusting the approach to writing music has impacted Blackie in a way he might never have discovered otherwise.
“It’s unreal working with Tim because his voice is so killer. It’s meant we can go way further with the melodies than what we could without him. I would hear some of the stuff that he did and say ‘Ohh man, I’m fucking loving this’, I would have had no chance in hell hitting any of those notes.”
The willingness to compromise standards and work within new parameters is one of the ways the band has been able to continue on. 40 years of the Hard-Ons has also come about through varying the way that music is played and recorded.
“Sometimes I pick up the acoustic and work towards writing an acoustic record,” he says. “Then I get bored. Then I pick up the electric and I start making an electric record. Then I get bored. Then I get back to acoustic and the cycle repeats. It’s truly how I keep myself fresh.”
After four decades since their inception, the Hard-Ons are only just discovering a fresh new sound. It’s hard to fathom what lies ahead for them as a band, especially with the fitness regime in place, but what’s for certain is they won’t be fading away anytime soon.
You can have a listen to ‘Buzz Buzz Buzz’ now and grab tickets to their upcoming shows to witness the energy live here.
