Shout Hey! is Timothy Kohler, Matt Pratt and Brogan Muir. Andrew Marias sat with Tim (Vocals, Guitar) over a glass of wine to discuss the bands debut appearance at Oppikoppi, their latest single, Word Of Mouth, hair-care on tour and all things Shout Hey!
The Fuss – Shout Hey just finished off their recent #DOPEDOLLAH Guateng tour alongside South African greats as aKing, Desmond and the Tutus, Shortstraw and Man As Machine among others. As relative newcomers to the industry, how did it feel playing alongside these artists who have already achieved so much? And as neutral as we all like to be what would you say was your favourite show of the tour?
Shout Hey! – We feel very privileged and lucky to be able perform with such prestigious acts, they’re all fucking amazing people apart from their bands and we are really lucky to not only call them people we work with but also our friends. For the #DOPEDOLLAH tour I’d say my personal favourite show would be the one that happened at the Linksfield Keg and Beagle alongside Trevor Rebello, Adventure Man and The Beard, because we didn’t expect it to be so fun. As well as so many people from different aspects of my life all caming to see us and having a show where you have your very close friends is really something special. But we enjoyed all the DOPEDOLLAH shows.
The Fuss – Shout Hey! have been exceptionally busy with extensive touring and the release of your debut EP over the past year. It seems that you are not playing games. What can fans expect from Shout Hey! in the next year or so? (Mumbles something about a full album)
Shout Hey! – (Laughs) We’ve always planned to release a full album as soon as we can but we’ve actually always noticed how far local bands get without a full length album or even an EP, maybe just a few singles here and there which has always baffled us. So we’d love to release a full debut album but at this time unfortunately not, maybe closer to the end of 2015. However our plans for the next year or so are a few confirmed upcoming festivals, which we cant exactly air yet (winks suggestively) however we are releasing our new single “Word of Mouth” in a week or so… I’d say definitely before Oppi. As well as play a few festivals here and there, maybe… possibly record a new EP at the end of the year… and it goes without saying that we are going to do another nationwide tour at the end of the year or the start of the new year, that is the plan till about… February.
The Fuss – Your six track EP entitled ‘Can You Hear Me?’ is a huge hit with fans and was released digitally on iTunes in December 2013, what was the inspiration for the EP and which song would you say is your favourite to perform live?
Shout Hey! – For ‘Can You Hear Me’, the first three songs we wrote were just to get ourselves out there as a band – End of The World, She’s Crazy and Bedsheets are My Favourite Colour – and through each song we, as a band, discussed how we have developed, in that each song isn’t particularly different but they have their own unique aspects and influences so those three were just added and the rest were recorded for the EP so that we had a collective to call ourselves by. My favourite song would probably be, Purple Skies. Just because I love the rhythmic drive to the song and I also really dig the breakdown. When we recorded it we tried to get a very The 1975, Foals, aspect to that particular part of the song, and if I remember correctly Brogan was just messing around with the breakdown and just put it in there because we didn’t actually know what to do with it and as a joke we said we’ll lets just keep it and just sorta kept it. We ended up with this little bit of chaos and it soon became evident that we can’t make chaotic music on purpose per say so we did our best. I love every aspect of that song actually, particularly what that song is about and how it can be interpreted.
The Fuss – After the EP and recent touring Shout Hey! have currently been in studio working on a new single “Word of Mouth” at Anti-Motion Studios with David Grevler. What can fans expect from the new single?
Shout Hey! – Our actual plan was to release the single with a music video with Jacque Cilliers and Bouwer Bosch but because of time and our current situation with Matt, being on the other side of the country, we unfortunately couldn’t record the video. However we do plan on recording another music video, hopefully with Jacque and Bouwer. We actually recorded the single about a month ago and as I said before we are planning to hopefully get it out before Oppi, where we will play it for the first time live, I’m actually shitting myself because it’s a really complicated song to play, but it’s probably the song I’ve been most excited about releasing. It brings about all our varied aspirations as a band together in one song. The song came about when, during the varsity holidays we were all in the same town for once and we decided to try squeeze in some studio time. And what’s really amazing is how differently the song comes out at the end compared to what we originally planned, which all three of us are so excited about.”
The Fuss – As a band with roots somewhat shrouded in mystery, how did the trio become what it is today with it’s genre-bending sounds and constant experimentation? What or who inspired you guys to take the leap and be so daring with the bands sound?
Shout Hey! – The three original members of Shout Hey! Matt and I and our past drummer Jason got together and started playing blink-182 covers, which we really enjoyed. So in the beginning that’s what we were, a pop-punk band that just sorta did a blink-182 cover at every show, not because it was on purpose but because it was who we were trying to be which was good and bad in retrospect. However as we’ve all grown up and our music tastes have developed. We all listen to such varied genres which every indie kid will tell you these days, that they listen to drum and bass, and every type of electronic music as well as the Beach Boys and the Beatles, and they also listen to The Foo Fighters and the 1975, etc. So what we did was come into the studio with these rad ideas for songs, be it a bass line, guitar riff, drum beat or vocal melody and regardless of what genre it was most evident of, we didn’t restrict ourselves by limiting that idea to a specific genre if that makes sense.
The Fuss – 2014 sees your Oppikoppi debut. What are your views on your billing, the monumental festival and performing at your first Oppikoppi as Oppi-virgins? What the audience expect from your performance?
Shout Hey! – Since the beginning of the year our goal was to make our festival debut which will be Oppikoppi Odyssey this year. We are so so stoked to play but we are also shitting ourselves, more excited than nervous though, mostly because at Oppi so many people from varied parts of the country come together for a weekend – hopefully Thursday, we’re playing on Thursday. Even though it sounds a bit pretentious and clichéd for a musician to say but we can show a whole lot more people what Shout Hey! are about and where we’re coming from. We are so privileged to be a part of the line up with the Editors and Wolfmother! We can’t thank Oppikoppi and everyone behind it enough. Our Oppi performance will include a bunch of rad covers, the majority of our EP and the new single “Word of Mouth”. We are also all somewhat dreading the Oppi experience but in the same token we couldn’t be more excited to become Oppi Prawns.
The Fuss – Along with the band’s original genre-bending sounds and antics, Shout Hey! are almost always expected to add a few somewhat unorthodox cover choices to their set lists, with their own unique take. Covers varying from Of Monsters and Men to Pharrell Williams. Whose idea was it to start doing these or was it something natural that just happened one day?
Shout Hey! – You know someone just rocks up to rehearsals and just says hey guys have you heard this song, without any real intentions and we say cool lets listen and we dig it or we don’t or we kinda like it or we fucking love it! So when we’re just practicing for a show or a tour we like to add a few covers into the mix for some familiarity for the members of the audience who don’t know us or barely know us. So we don’t like to play the clichéd covers expected from an indie band and instead go along with stuff we wouldn’t stereotypically cover, stuff we wouldn’t normally touch like Pop – we take it and regenerate it in our own field. So that’s what we do, its no one’s particular idea it just kinda happens amongst the general relationship between the three of us
The Fuss – As three friends from high school living the “rock-star” dream, you guys must have had some expectations or hopes for it growing up. What have been the biggest differences between your expectations and experiences? And what has been the most memorable moment with the band?
Shout Hey! – Taking into account that Shout Hey! began in the senior years of our high school career, coming from an experience with a band that had no idea about the industry at all. With the previous band we didn’t know about all the big events or gig venues so we came from a sort of sheltered or even ignorant background going into a world that introduced us to tiny club shows and huge festival shows. We also didn’t think that coming from South Africa, with it’s stereotypically smallish music scene, there would be so many bands popping up all the time and its amazing, it makes me so excited. The moment which stands out is when during the launch of the EP at the beginning of the year, Brogan and I had to wake up Matt an hour early just so he could get his hair perfect, which also meant we had to get up and hour earlier to do our hair. Also the time we played the Assembly in Cape Town, it wasn’t just that we opened for one of my favourite local bands, Beach Party, but that we were performing at my favourite gig venue in South Africa. That was a pivotal point for me personally. But in my mind nothing bonds you with other people than being on tour with them. Being together for weeks and months, in every single space, be it bathrooms or hotels. I didn’t think you could get to know someone that well until I went on tour with Matt and Brogan, which for me is a real privilege since they have been such great friends of mine for so long.
Shout Hey! – Throughout your history you guys have performed with so many of South Africa’s local legends. If the future of the band is anything like it’s booming past we’re pretty sure you guys will end up on stage with some rather huge names. Who would you most like to share a stage with and why?
Shout Hey! – It’s such a big thing to say and for me it’s really typical with my past with pop-punk, but it would have to Blink-182. Even though we have drifted from wanting to sound like them and they themselves drifting from what they originally sounded like. They are the pivotal root point of Shout Hey! and one day sharing a stage with them would be absolutely monumental. Besides them there’s this small band from California called The Miracles and they’re pretty small – not having more likes than The Plastics – but I am in love with them and someone recently compared us to them which makes me really happy. Being able to play with them would be so amazing.
The Fuss – You group has achieved quite a bit of success in its short span of existence. What advice would you give to any new or fledgling bands in South Africa? Or rather what reason could you put down for your bands success?
Shout Hey! – You know its really funny actually because I’ve always looked forward to this question from anyone because I’ve asked it so many times to people I met throughout the music scene and I still do to people a lot bigger than us, so I’ve kinda always wondered what I’d say. One moment that stands out was when I was at a Wrestlerish show at Tanz Live and I met Werner for the first time and all he could say was, “Write Write Write”. That advice has taken us to where we are today. Personally I would also add in that persistence is a huge thing because you’re going to have bad shows and you’re going to have amazing shows, mediocre shows, you’re going to have haters but you’re also going to have people who love your band. So all I have to say really is persistence is everything. For Shout Hey!, especially, I would also put down my sheer tenacity when it came to booking shows – just about not taking no as an answer.
