With pre-orders now available and a launch locked in for Saturday 28th April at the Gasometer in Melbourne, we’re not far off hearing Infinite Void’s new self-titled full length. We caught up with Jacquie from the band this week to take on our Hotseat Questions. Expand this post to take a read, grab launch details and check out a track from the album.
THE BASICS
Name: Jacquie
Band: Infinite Void
Job In Band: Guitar + singing
Website Address: www.facebook.com/InfiniteVoid
HOME
Hometown: Melbourne
Hometown is best known for: Weird weather, delicious coffee, maybe even Lord of the Fries?
Best venue in your hometown: Probably the Gasometer: delicious vegan options (fried pickles!!), run by punks, it’s really relaxed and has a great PA.
Favourite show you’ve seen in your hometown: Too many to even begin thinking of.. but i just caught Electrelane from the U.K who were totally amazing! It was easily one of the best shows I’ve seen in years… plus I thought I’d never get to see them play. Also definitely up there – Limpwrist from the States, Danish punk band Gorilla Angreb, Royal Headache from Sydney and local black metal shredding/despair Hordes of the Black Cross. Saw them at Such is Life Festival and they ruled.
Favourite show you’ve played in your hometown: Again, it’s hard to pick a standout, but… Such is Life Festival a couple of weeks ago was a lot of fun (though not technically in town). Appreciation for camping and playing music amongst such beautiful scenery is only enhanced by the feeling of relief at making it up the road with ‘soft edges’ in one piece. We’ve played a few shows with White Walls which is always a bloody privilege. WW are incredible musically and really nice people just for good measure. They play exactly the sort of music I want to listen to, and see live. We also recently played an under 18s show at The Corner Hotel in Richmond, which was pretty fun/scary and something we’ve never had the opportunity to do before. There was a smoke machine, light show and screens either side of the stage projecting the show. This, plus excitable teens without a reason/ability to go have a beer during the support bands, (and perhaps admittedly because it was all before 3 in the arvo) presented a challenge for us, but I think it was happily met despite the nerves.
THE BAND
How did the band first come to exist? Originally I jammed with T-bone in Schifosi (2002-2008) then Scotty, Alicia and I played together in the Diamond Sea, until 2010. After that project finished up, we started writing new songs influenced by bands like Jesus & Mary Chain, Joy Division and Pornography-era Cure. We wanted to jam out something a bit creepier, or at least something more heavy-handed on the reverb and chorus.
How long has the band been going? Since 2010 with a couple of big breaks to accommodate travel addiction.
Any particular story behind the name? It’s a Schifosi song title, but I believe all credit, royalties and intellectual property rights associated with that name belong to Kite McFosi, or so it has been rumoured. She definitely came up with the name. We just thought it seemed fitting to our sound.
What’s your most recent release? Tell us a little about it… Infinite Void’s self-titled LP will be released on Poison City Records this month. We recorded at Crosstown Studios with Steven Smith (who plays in Scul Hazzards), who recorded, mixed and mastered the record. I’m actually sorta sure he produced it, although nobody threw that term around. Either way, Steven was very active in the process of creating the album and one of the most relaxed, reasonable and patient people we’ve worked with. The recording is also something I’m really proud of being part of. The album artwork is dizzying symmetrical linework in ink: gothic cathedral and dirty birds by Snotrag and it totally blew me away! Poison City Records is arranging to press 300 records with the first 100 on electric blue vinyl, all with free digi download! It’ll also be released on CD in due course, but the LP launch has been booked for 28th April at the Gasometer with our friends White Walls and Apt 223. One more support TBA.
Got a personal stand out achievement of your band to date? I’d have to say it’s the record. I think it’s a really accurate recording, and possibly the first opportunity everyone has had to hear all the different layers going on.
Click to pre-order now
OFF THE STAGE
What was your first introduction to music that made you think seriously about playing it? I think I stumbled into some Nirvana tabs when I was 12 or 13 and eventually this led to me putting up an ad in Missing Link Records to start a band and Richard answered it. At first we just played Sonic Youth and Magic Dirt covers, but then we started writing our own stuff. After that I was involved in a few different DIY punk bands, which really got me stoked on people setting up their own events and parties and to develop an appreciation for playing people’s lounge rooms (or basements in the US).
Any particular band / album or song that you personally credit as a major influence? On Infinite Void? Well I can’t speak for everyone, but for me it’s the sad-sack Cure albums like Pornography and Disintegration along with the music of Ride, J & MC, Siouxsie and For Against. Electrelane and the Estranged both also ended up on my stereo a lot too.
Your first band name, and what style did you play? The first band had no name. But the next one was called Plea of Insanity! Melbourne Slopcore was what we called it at the time. Accurate, but fun times.
Most prized music related item you own? Probably my fender jagstang. Not the most pragmatic of designs, but I really like how it sounds.
When you’re not doing band related stuff, what are you usually found doing? Oddly enough, I’m a legal secretary. It pays the bills.
The thing you most look forward to just before a tour is… quitting work for a while and hanging out with my friends instead eating candy in a van.
The thing you least look forward to before a tour is… Jetlag. It just robs me of sleep and makes me a cranky little person for a few days. Also stinky van socks are never something I actively consider before tour, but inevitably they appear. They are no good.
ON THE STAGE
When on offer, what’s your one must have item on the rider? More than one beer each. Please? When the Diamond Sea (old band) played Queers, Beers and Rears in NYC a few years ago we got the drink rider of my dreams – I took a ticket to the bar and ordered scotch on ice. One drink ticket got me a tumbler brimming with amber, with 2 small cubes of ice rapidly melting into the overflow. You can imagine how the evening unfolded (and yes, it did include naked crowdsurfing but not by band members).
Favourite place you’ve toured… and why? Touring the states in my old bands was pretty memorable for a lot of different reasons. From napping in pickle juice to playing supermarket checkout pokies, I suppose there’s nothing like being halfway across the planet to reality check the whole DIY tour experience – in a good way. It made me really wish we had basements in Australia. It also made all of us better friends, introduced us to many new friends and overall generally greedier for Lucky’s sesame tofu at 2:45am.
Most memorable show you’ve played? and why? Punk Outside in Sydney springs to mind. There’s something pleasant about playing outdoors when the weather is permitting. The whole show was relaxed, people were having lazy drinks on a small grassy incline and others were up front for bands dancing a bit. No noise complaints either.
Got a favourite song to play live? I go through phases with it. At the moment it’s (you’re) still sour.
Any embarrassing on stage moments come to mind? Not in this band (as yet), fortunately. But I’ve made my share of bad moves over time. You’ll have to ask someone else about those. I’m not dobbing myself in.
Any pre-show rituals? Nah, not really. But on Schifosi tour Tristan and I vowed to drink at least one can of sparks (which is malt liquor with energy drink and tastes like red bull with goon) before every set. The results were electrifying of course. Generally everyone in the band encourages me to drink before we play because it allegedly enhances my story-telling skills.
What do you find is the hardest aspect of touring in a band today? Paying for it.
RIGHT NOW
Last song you listened to? Sabres by For Against
Last album you acquired? A Dick Dale double LP
Which band or album is currently on high rotation? Royal Headache. I think their LP is one of the best pop records I’ve heard come out of Australia in years. Each song on that album has taken in turns getting caught in my head for weeks on end, and I often found myself humming at the afternoon sun instead of answering the phone at work while listening to their sweet tunes. I saw them live a couple months ago, and wondered (needlessly) if Shogun would execute the epic soul-influenced vocals (given that I’d only seen them in garages and shows with small PA’s before). Even the one song I thought I had disliked previously sounded incredible live, and I left the show with a smile.
Tell us an up and coming band or artist you think we should go and listen to right now? White Walls from Melbourne. Somewhere between doom and shoegaze, it’s dreamy reverbed out vocals over a majestic hum of guitar effects, underpinned by the weight of custom-made downtuned guitars (no bass!) and early MBV-style relentlessly driving drums. They are all top fellas to boot, definitely my favourite local band. I would also highly recommend The Stevens and Bad Aches! And I never tire of seeing Useless Children constantly rule. Oh and I’m pretty excited about seeing Rule of Thirds play live based on their demo- They’re from Adelaide.
What’s on the cards for the next few months for the band? We have a few upcoming shows in Melbourne, including of course our LP Launch at the Gasometer on 28th April. Then we’re going traveling to launch the record: Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane at this stage. Following that, hopefully overseas again (funds permitting of course). Keep an eye on facebook.com/infinitevoid for all upcoming events, and for links to all our other stuff. Poison City Records will have all details with regard to the upcoming release but if you wanna hear a track for free we have one streaming below.
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