Husky
Words: Rob Lyon
2011 has been Husky’s year. The four piece from Melbourne have taken out Triple J’s Unearthed competition and proceeded to win hearts touring sell out shows across the country, supporting the likes of Devandra Banhart, Noah and the Whale, Kimbra, Jinja Safari and Gotye.
October saw the release of the much anticipated debut album “Forever So”, which was met with universal praise, rounding out a pretty prefect year for the band. On the eve of their appearance at the 2012 Laneway Festival, Caught in the Mosh got chatting with front man Husky Gawenda to find out what the future holds and talk about the journey so far.
What's the latest for Husky?
“We just finished our national tour, celebrating the release of our album Forever So. We’re in the middle of some amazing shows with Gotye in WA and Tasmania. Soon we’ll be heading north for some festivals.”
Did you ever imagine that 2011 would be so massive for the band?
“No. I only hoped we’d be able to finish the album and be happy with it and then be able to tour it and get it out there a little. We’ve had some great luck this year, much more than I ever imagined would come our way. We’ve had an incredible 9 months.”
Have you got used to life on the road?
“I suppose I have. There are difficult things about it, like with any job. But the positives outweigh the negatives. In other words, the fact that we’re out there playing shows every night, doing what we love doing and having the privilege of people all over the country turning up to watch us do it, makes all the travel and motel rooms and take away food seem not so bad at all.”
Are you looking forward to a break over Christmas?
“Well we’ve got a week or so off and then we head up north for our first festival, Woodford. So we don’t get a huge break. But we’ll catch up on some sleep and then look forward to hitting those festival stages!”
Have you taken much from touring with the likes of Kimbra, Gotye, Devandra Banhart and Jinja Safari?
“It’s always great to share the stage with good artists and to see how they go about creating their shows. It has also been a good chance for us to play a lot, to work on our live show and really come together as a live band. As well as that, we’ve had access to people all over the country who may not have seen us play, people who have come back to our shows later on, which is really exciting for us.”
October saw the release of the much anticipated debut album “Forever So”, which was met with universal praise, rounding out a pretty prefect year for the band. On the eve of their appearance at the 2012 Laneway Festival, Caught in the Mosh got chatting with front man Husky Gawenda to find out what the future holds and talk about the journey so far.
What's the latest for Husky?
“We just finished our national tour, celebrating the release of our album Forever So. We’re in the middle of some amazing shows with Gotye in WA and Tasmania. Soon we’ll be heading north for some festivals.”
Did you ever imagine that 2011 would be so massive for the band?
“No. I only hoped we’d be able to finish the album and be happy with it and then be able to tour it and get it out there a little. We’ve had some great luck this year, much more than I ever imagined would come our way. We’ve had an incredible 9 months.”
Have you got used to life on the road?
“I suppose I have. There are difficult things about it, like with any job. But the positives outweigh the negatives. In other words, the fact that we’re out there playing shows every night, doing what we love doing and having the privilege of people all over the country turning up to watch us do it, makes all the travel and motel rooms and take away food seem not so bad at all.”
Are you looking forward to a break over Christmas?
“Well we’ve got a week or so off and then we head up north for our first festival, Woodford. So we don’t get a huge break. But we’ll catch up on some sleep and then look forward to hitting those festival stages!”
Have you taken much from touring with the likes of Kimbra, Gotye, Devandra Banhart and Jinja Safari?
“It’s always great to share the stage with good artists and to see how they go about creating their shows. It has also been a good chance for us to play a lot, to work on our live show and really come together as a live band. As well as that, we’ve had access to people all over the country who may not have seen us play, people who have come back to our shows later on, which is really exciting for us.”
Are you looking forward to touring with Laneway festival?
“There’s no doubt Laneway is one of the best festivals in the country. I think it will be an incredible experience for us and again, we’ll be sharing stages with some unbelievable artists.”
Are there any bands that have caught your eye?
“We played with some great bands on our national tour like Tin Sparrow, Charlie Mayfair, Mosman Alder, Wolves at the Door. We also love Tinpan Orange, Clairy Browne and the Bangin Rackettes and Ainslie Wills.”
What's the biggest tip you can pass on to any up and coming band?
“I’m not sure about that. Maybe to always play and write from a place of honesty and what you believe to be good. You can control that, but you can’t control what others will think of your songs and music.”
How would you describe the music of Husky?
“Haha, the dreaded question. I think it’s for others to describe it. There are folk influences, as well as classic 60s and 70s pop, and we’ve all listened to a lot of the great songwriters like Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen and Paul Simon. I think we are about songs and lyrics and strive to create arrangements that best deliver what the songs set out to deliver.”
Is there a hidden meaning behind the band name?
“It is my first name. I used to play under the name Husky Gawenda and then shortened it to Husky. In the early stages of our band we continued under the name and then when we got to discussing changing it, we all already felt like it was our name. It’s hard to change a name once it has stuck.”
“There’s no doubt Laneway is one of the best festivals in the country. I think it will be an incredible experience for us and again, we’ll be sharing stages with some unbelievable artists.”
Are there any bands that have caught your eye?
“We played with some great bands on our national tour like Tin Sparrow, Charlie Mayfair, Mosman Alder, Wolves at the Door. We also love Tinpan Orange, Clairy Browne and the Bangin Rackettes and Ainslie Wills.”
What's the biggest tip you can pass on to any up and coming band?
“I’m not sure about that. Maybe to always play and write from a place of honesty and what you believe to be good. You can control that, but you can’t control what others will think of your songs and music.”
How would you describe the music of Husky?
“Haha, the dreaded question. I think it’s for others to describe it. There are folk influences, as well as classic 60s and 70s pop, and we’ve all listened to a lot of the great songwriters like Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen and Paul Simon. I think we are about songs and lyrics and strive to create arrangements that best deliver what the songs set out to deliver.”
Is there a hidden meaning behind the band name?
“It is my first name. I used to play under the name Husky Gawenda and then shortened it to Husky. In the early stages of our band we continued under the name and then when we got to discussing changing it, we all already felt like it was our name. It’s hard to change a name once it has stuck.”
Was the recording process for your album as challenging as you thought?
“I knew it would be challenging and it was. So no surprises there. If anything, I think we found a groove and a flow that perhaps I wasn’t expecting to find. That’s not to say there weren’t many challenges or it wasn’t really hard work, but we really gave everything to learning how to achieve the sounds and atmospheres that we imagined for the record and I think we came close to achieving what we set out to.”
Would you do anything different next time?
“Sure. You’re never going to do things exactly the same way. And it’s important to change things in order to develop and keep things fresh. But there is nothing I regret. Which doesn’t mean there aren’t some things I listen back to and think we should have done them differently. But I think that is always going to be the case with any sort of artistic endeavor.”
As a band what's your collective goal for 2012?
“We hope to continue spreading our album Forever So, and our live show, around Australia and perhaps beyond these shores. We’ve also started discussing writing and planning for a new album. But we’re not rushing into anything. The main thing is to continue growing as a band and to write the best songs and create the best music we can and to continue connecting with audiences wherever they are.”
“I knew it would be challenging and it was. So no surprises there. If anything, I think we found a groove and a flow that perhaps I wasn’t expecting to find. That’s not to say there weren’t many challenges or it wasn’t really hard work, but we really gave everything to learning how to achieve the sounds and atmospheres that we imagined for the record and I think we came close to achieving what we set out to.”
Would you do anything different next time?
“Sure. You’re never going to do things exactly the same way. And it’s important to change things in order to develop and keep things fresh. But there is nothing I regret. Which doesn’t mean there aren’t some things I listen back to and think we should have done them differently. But I think that is always going to be the case with any sort of artistic endeavor.”
As a band what's your collective goal for 2012?
“We hope to continue spreading our album Forever So, and our live show, around Australia and perhaps beyond these shores. We’ve also started discussing writing and planning for a new album. But we’re not rushing into anything. The main thing is to continue growing as a band and to write the best songs and create the best music we can and to continue connecting with audiences wherever they are.”