Dancing at your party: The Blow Waves, with John Stout (second from right) and Matt Thomas (far right).
Richard Watts catches up
with two members of local queer band, The Blow Waves, on the eve of their
debut single launch.
“I’m gonna blow your candles/I’m gonna wet your dream,”
promises The Blow Waves lead singer, Matt Thomas, on the band’s debut single,
‘Little Bitch’.
Ripe with sexual innuendo, the song is a great introduction
to the five-piece Melbourne
band, whose gigs bassist John Stout describe as “an electronic punk show with a
touch of cock rock. It’s a bit of a performance; not just music-based. We try
and create a performance, and try and involve the crowd with that performance
as well. It’s more than going to a gig; it’s going to an event.”
Matt Thomas, similarly, describes The Blow Waves as “a party
band”.
“It’s a dance band, but it’s not dance music as its known
today; more like dance music from when I was a kid. We’re a rock and roll,
disco, party band,” he says.
“We don’t want the music to be throw-away though,” Thomas
adds. “We’d like to send some messages and humour through the lyrics as well;
poking fun at stereotypes in all areas. We’re reclaiming them, in a way; even
with our stage outfits - taking the piss with love.”
Having been playing around Melbourne’s numerous live venues
and interstate, (including Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras earlier this
year) for just over two years, the band is now gearing up for the release of
their first single later this week. It’s an important event for any band, but
perhaps especially so for The Blow Waves, who are the only out, all-queer band
in Melbourne.
“Everybody in the band is queer, which is not that
important; it’s just something that we wanted to do,” Stout explains. “It’s not
important that everyone’s sexual preference is gay, but we thought it would be
a good idea to have an all-queer band out there playing shows and live electronic
music.”
When asked to explain why
it was important, Stout gets lost for words. It’s a point that Thomas, too,
struggles to articulate, despite the fact that he says playing in an all-queer
band was an idea which occurred to him “many, many years ago”.
“I dreamed this band up and now is the time to do it. It’s
something I wanted to do. Why? That’s a really, really difficult question, now
I think about it. I just wanted to make something queer that was really, really
good.”
As part of their performance at the single launch, the band’s
members encourage fans to shower the stage with underwear.
“We’d love any type of underwear thrown on stage; the
dirtier and smellier the better,” Stout laughs.
The Blow Waves launch
their single ‘Little Bitch’ this Saturday June 7 at The Toff in Town (Second
Floor, Curtin House, 252 Swanston Street Melbourne) with support from Sydney’s
Blush Foundation, and The Town Bikes.
www.theblowwaves.com
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Taking the piss, with love
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