Rrocklobster of Perth

Alex The Kid   

Unbearable Kid 
Single Release

Sharing time and members between Geraldton and Perth hasn’t stopped Western Australian five-piece punk band Alex The Kid from touring, recording new tracks, and partying with mates like they always have. They are set to release their latest single, Unbearable Kid, later this afternoon.

The single was recorded in Perth the same day The Bennies played at Amplifier Bar earlier in the year, and Geraldton compatriot Ken McCartney was stoked! The Rrocklobster had a chat with Ken in the Amps underground band room, but the free-flowing beer and raucous Melbournites proved far too distracting and no useful material could be salvaged. Later, the Rrocklobster clawed up some questions on the keyboard and members of Alex The Kid were eager to provide details.

Read what they had to say below, keep an eye out for their single release later this afternoon, and join the Rrocklobster at their single launch show on June 19* at Jimmy’s Den, with The Decline, The Hard Aches, The Bob Gordons and Blackwitch.

Where did you record?

Ken - "The drums were put down at Electric City Studio by local legend Harold Stuart Decline. The rest of the tracking was done with Rohan Martin (Window to the World and Jedi Sounds Studio). It was really cool. We did all our guitars/bass/vocals and sneaky organ in the comfort of his living room. Rohan let us do it all in spare time on weekends for nothing more than coca-cola, (he's an absolute legend), so it took us a while, sort of. We have shipped it off to Jay Maas and Daniel Florez, best known for their work with Defeater, for mixing and mastering."


What’s Unbearable Kid about?

Trent - "The lyrics for this song went through a few changes before the final recording. Ken and myself originally worked on the lyrics together, the final lyrics I suppose are about pushing through when times seem rough and that some changes are for the better."

Ken - "We're really proud of this track because all of us got our creative two cents in the music. Trent wrote the majority of the lyrics, while James and I contributed some. I wrote the line 'until the heavens open up and we're drinking beer in the pouring rain,' which is a bit dorky. To me, the song has a general theme of shitty monotonous days, but when everything pulls through it's pretty great. Specifically, my line was inspired by a photo of my brother who just finished seeding (wheat) and is sitting in the dirt drinking a swan draught with some clouds rolling in behind him. I thought it was pretty cool. I'll attach it so you can have a laugh. He will give me shit for it I'm sure."

Do you have plans to record more tracks this year?

Ken - "We do but it's super secret and if we tell you, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones will come to your house and wipe your memory. We'll make an announcement soon though :)"

Will there be a single launch show?

Ken - "Originally I was planning a bowling and pizza party at AMF: free copy of the single for anyone who wants to beat us in bowling. But now we've got something in the works. It'll be a huge show for many reasons. If the album launch show with THE DECLINE, and HARD ACHES are is announced by the time this hits the stands, include this paragraph, if not, just black out the words THE DECLINE and HARD ACHES ;)"

Ken is back in Geraldton now. 
How has this changed the way the band works?

James - "Ken's moving has affected jamming but that's about the extent of it. We don't mind the travel for shows and Ken living in Geraldton gives us a place to party and crash."

Trent - "Ken moving back wont affect the song writing too much; we always have ways of recording song ideas and sending them through the inter webs and the rest of the band can always get together for jams to keep from getting rusty and share ideas. Recording won’t be too hard to do either. We usually spend a few days on the drums then track one by one so Ken only really needs a weekend in Perth to put down his bits. The shows now seem more special as we are playing here and there as [compared] to once when we were almost playing every weekend, so they seem a bit more exciting at the moment which is great."

Ken - "There's so much less to do here in Geraldton which makes guitar time more easy! Plus with my boyfriend Trent being long distance, it will give my lyrics more emotion and longing. "I miss you Trent baby baby" will be the name of the album. Did I say album? I meant not album. I think it's going to make way for exciting fast paced on-the-fly writing."


You guys had a national tour last November. 
What are your favourite memories?

Ken - "Canberra was wild. Melbourne was wild. So was Brisbane. And Sydney and Adelaide. And of course Perth. My favourite part was "tour manager" Steve who did nothing but drink red wine with James each morning, talk to girls on Tinder and wake us up wrestling James on the hostel floor of Byron Bay. Oh and he booked us one hotel room. He was a walking party machine."

James - "Tour was insane! So much fun, Trent and I nearly didn't make it due to arriving at the wrong terminal for our flight from Perth to Adelaide!"

Trent - "Tour was awesome, even though I got a bit sick I still had a lot of fun. I'd say meeting new friends and catching up with old ones was the best, plus all the partying. Tinder was also great - I know you’re out there my Tinderella....."


How important has the local band scene been for you?

Trent - "The local scene has helped Alex The Kid so much along the way. Perth has so much talent and there were always a bunch of local bands that I really wanted to play with because they were amazing and seemed like genuine people with the same musical tastes as ourselves. Which has led to making many great friends in Perth just by playing shows and finding out we have similar interests and have things in common, so its pretty awesome."

Ken - "One of our first goals as a band was to play with our local favourites Grim Fandango. Super stoked to have done that, and gutted that they're breaking up."


What’s the best thing about being in Alex The Kid?

Ken - "Writing fun music with great friends."

James - "Getting free drinks sometimes, and being able to play music with friends."

Trent - "Being able to write fun music and do it all with mates. We all have quite similar interests in the band so we get along pretty well, which is awesome. Also free beer, I like free beer."


What’s motivating you to keep your band going?

Trent - "I think our songs are developing as we go along, so I’m always so keen to find out what our next songs are going to be like. Also just seeing the band progress keeps me motivated and hopefully it can lead to some exciting and fun times ahead, which I'm already looking forward to!"

Ken - "Writing fun music with great friends. Plus I'm nearly married, I need a good excuse to keep running off on party trips!"

 

*June 19 show is also The Decline Album Launch Show

Interview and article by Rrocklobster of Perth.
All photos provided by Alex The Kid.