Rrocklobster of Perth

Rrocklobster's Interview with The Disappointed

A few weeks ago, Andy, Mark and Michael from The Disappointed caught up with Rrocklobster for cups of coffee and a chat.

Being in such an isolated location, the Australian market can be difficult for Perth bands to tap into. The Disappointed have worked hard to build a following on the east coast. “It took us a while to make friends over there. Now in every city we’ve got a group of bands that we like playing with and hanging out with. We’ve got some good friends in Melbourne so whenever we go there now it’s like a big hangout.” They toured and hung out with those good friends earlier this year. "We got drunk - that's important. We didn't lose anyone in an airport!" The entire east coast tour was a super-party for the guys, with a huge turnout in Brisbane and enjoying the King's Cross nightlife in Sydney. "Our drummer always gets super loose in Sydney!"

Things have really come together for The Disappointed this year with triple j airplay, the release of their second EP Weird Peace, and their debut overseas tour. “WAM sent us to Singapore and helped us get there. It was incredible. We played a beer festival and we got to play on the Formula 1 track. Singapore was amazing. We got a really great response and feedback since has been really good. We had a great holiday and a really successful run of shows.”

Now that they're back home it's time to start working on new material, and after two EPs the five-piece are keen to write an album, but are adamant that it needs to be top quality. Whether they release an album or an EP "will depend on if it’s is good enough to fill out a whole album. We won't put out anything second rate if we don't have the songs."

Collaboration and cooperation is what moves the band forward. "There's a lot of give and take and everyone's really happy to do it. We've been really goal-oriented rather than anyone having agendas of their own." Everyone's involved in the creative process. "We're definitely a jam band. The first two EPs were 80% jams." Lead singer Michael Strong summarised the band’s feelings. "I've always felt you get better material that way. I can't even sit down to write a song by myself any more, I'm instantly bored. I have no interest in writing without these guys - it just doesn't appeal to me."

Jamming keeps things fresh for The Disappointed, who constantly reinvent their sound and don’t feel held back by the past. “We have an album sound and a live sound. If you start imitating your own records it never sounds as good as it does on the record. You never get anywhere new doing that either – you’ve got to keep experimenting and changing and trying new ideas or else you’re just going to repeat what you did on the last EP.”

They like to keep things fresh on social media, too. “I think people are bored of seeing bands plug their own stuff now. You just see the same posts over and over again. I think it’s going in one ear and out the other; if people want to see a show they’ll look it up. Constantly promoting stuff is important but you’ve got to mix it up with stuff that people actually want to read.” The idea, they say, is to create an honest conversation with their fans by sharing their opinions on current issues. “You really need to elicit an emotional response from these things otherwise it’s not worth doing. Part of the fun of having fans is that there’s a whole dialogue of people that dig what you do that you can then talk to, that you wouldn’t have met otherwise, so having conversations with them is part of the fun. If you post something about you as a band in particular I don’t think people feel free to say what they think.”

Band members feel free to say what they think too, even if their opinions differ from each other. “People know when you’re just protecting your brand with what you’re saying and when you’re telling the truth. It’s a bit of a risk to tell the truth because it doesn’t put across the squeaky-clean image of the band. We’re people and things affect us and we’d like to talk about that stuff.”

Keep your ears open for The Disappointed in the coming months, because they’re on a roll after their recent touring. “It would be good to do some extra shows while the set’s still in its prime.”

Interview and article by Rrocklobster of Perth. Photographs by Shoot The Wicked Witch.