What is your name and role within The Gooch Palms?
Hey I’m Kat, I play drums and do some singing
You’re originally from Newcastle and now based in LA, what’s the music scene like in LA at the moment?
We moved back from LA around a year ago, it was awesome but we felt we were neglecting Australia a bit so decided to move back. We haven’t been back to the US this year but before we left the LA scene was awesome, so many great bands, there was always a local show to go to. But we’ll be heading back early next year for a big US tour around SXSW.
Who are your favourite acts from Newcastle?
Raave Tapes of course! Also loving some of the young bands right now like Milky Threads, Fritz and Surf Trash. It’s a great scene in Newcastle, all the bands are great!
How and why did you end up moving to LA?
We just decided one day to do it. We always enjoyed touring the US so we decided to sell everything we owned except our instruments and move to America. We didn’t know where we’d live, we planned on just heading over for a tour and settling where ever we found a place that we liked. But about a month before we left our friend posted about a room in his house for rent in Los Angeles and we asked if we could take it and he said yes and that was how we ended up there. It worked out great though, LA has such a welcoming scene and we had so many musician friends living there so it was a pretty smooth and super fun transition. We’ll definitely spend more time in Los Angeles in the future, might end up living back there again! Who knows!
How did the Gooch Palms form and how did you come up with the band name?
We started the band in preschool when we were about one and a half years old. The only word Leroy could say was “gooch” and the only word I could say was “palms” so that’s how we decided on the band name. All our first songs were also called Gooch Palms and we just sang about ourselves!
You’ve just finished an Australian tour with RAAVE TAPES, what did you most enjoy and also find most challenging with this tour?
It’s great touring with a support band, especially when you’re friends. It’s nice to see the same faces when you get to the venue each day. And they are so fun live. The only challenging thing was not playing more shows. That tour was only a few shows and we love playing so it would have been sweet to play a bunch more shows with them.
Your latest single Summertime dropped a few weeks ago, where and when did you record it?
We’ve recorded a new album and have released three tracks so far, Busy Bleeding, Marfa Lights and most recently Summertime. We recorded some at our house in LA last year, some at The Grove on the Central Coast with Dylan Adams and then finished it all up at Dylan’s studio in Coogee a few months ago. Now we’re just releasing singles and waiting for the perfect time to drop the album!
What influenced the sound and songwriting for this track?
Summertime was written a few days before we went into the studio at The Grove and didn’t have lyrics at the time. I went into a small office and wrote some lyrics after Leroy and I had a chat about the vibe of the song, we decided we wanted to call it Summertime and give it a summery vibe. So I just plopped down some lyrics and ran them by Leroy and we were like “yeah that will do”. Leroy was going to sing it but was struggling with the phrasing so I quickly grabbed a mic and went back to the small office and quietly sang it straight into the computer as a guide track. When I took it back Leroy and Dylan really liked the way it sounded and they thought I should sing it. We all agreed it sounded completely different to the original way we intended and almost sounded a bit French so I changed some of the lyrics to French (thanks Google Translate!!!) and learnt how to say them, I had to write it all out frenetically, and laid down the vocal. We used a really old accordion organ (don’t know if that’s what it’s called) to bring the end of the song home. Leroy played it and it was starting to heat up so he only had one opportunity to get it right. By the end of the first take the organ was smoking! But we got the take and it really added to the french vibe of the song. It was only supposed to be an album track but it turned out great so we released it as a single.
How do you usually go about writing music and lyrics and then turn them into songs?
Leroy generally writes the guitar part and then we work on a melody and then get a vibe for the song and talk about what subject matter or lyric content might go with the song and then jot down some ideas. The ideas usually change a few times but we settle on some solid lyrics and then build the music section with guitars and drums and then record it as a demo. Some demos don’t ever see the light of day but the ones that do end up being recorded properly and being released!
Who are you listening to at the moment?
We’re currently listening to a band from Sweden called Viagra Boys on repeat!
What do you like to do outside of music?
Leroy surfs, I like to go to the beach too. We like seeing other bands play and hanging out with friends. Love a cold beer down the pub and do karaoke when ever possible.
You’ll be playing at the Best Night Ever on the 29th of December on the Gold Coast along with RAAVE TAPES, DZ Deathrays, Dune Rats and a heap of other rad bands, any idea of what can we expect on the night from this killer line up?
It will be one epic show. All the bands are awesome and we’re also all friends so it will be one giant party on and off stage! We may just get a few of our pals from the other bands up for a song as well!!! But I expect it to be a very fun night!
What do you have planned for the remainder of 2018 going into 2019?
Apart from playing Best Night Ever the rest of the year is going to be pretty chill for us. We usually play NYE but have taken this year off so just planning on partying our way into 2019! We are heading back to the US early in the new year and will be hitting up Europe and of course a big Aussie tour. And dropping the new album some time in the near future!
Favourite food and place to hangout?
Pizza in bed!!!