Q & A with Rackett (2)
After having a huge year out on the road through 2017 and 2018 playing over 150 shows and releasing critically acclaimed EP ‘Ready Or Not’ Rackett have returned triumphant as ever with their new single, ‘Tried To Quit’.
With snappy production and an attitude-laden delivery of lead vocals and punk harmonies, ‘Tried To Quit’ deals with all the vices and habits we can’t quite kick. As ever with this one, Rackett have brought us a relatable tale that is primed for a sweaty rock and roll environment.
Easily one of the hardest-working bands currently on the ‘Strayan circuit, and with Rackett coming back our way to play Jungle Love Festival soon, we thought we’d catch up with these amazing women…
Hello Team Rackett! Firstly, congratulations on ‘Tried To Quit’ - a catchy, blistering little tune, with a back story that the majority of us working (and playing) within the music industry, regardless of genre, can relate to. Looking at (vocalist) Bec’s quote - “… I guess in a way, I tried to quit on myself and I just couldn’t do it” (in regards to being immersed in the Melbourne punk scene) - was there a particular catalyst that changed the self-destructive behaviour?
My personal experience with self destruction is that change happens when you reach the limit of the destructive behaviour, when it no longer serves you. For me, I became bored when the thrill no longer existed. That happened for me when I was living in Melbourne, immersed in the punk scene. It became mundane once I had explored it to its limits and decided that I might be more challenged in pursuing pop.
Personally, observing your progress over the last year, Rackett would be one of the hardest working outfits currently in Australia. What keeps you pushing forward?
A drive to succeed. Time is always hot on our heels and everything seems urgent. The greater intention for us is to give back to world, an intention to help people by generating resources and redistributing them back to people in need.
Speaking of, I did see that you’ve now racked up over 150 shows, and have been nominated for Live Act of the Year for this year’s National Live Music Awards… how was the reaction when you found out about that?
We are thrilled to be nominated alongside such established acts, honoured that we’re even on people’s radar. We’ve played everywhere, still more venues to discover and make an impression on and we’d love to get out of Australia and take our show world wide.
You’ve recently been doing some shows with 90s Australian alt rock royalty, The Superjesus. How were those shows, and how goddamn cool is Sarah McLeod?!
Yeah Sarah is a goddess. She’s performing better than ever, stronger than ever. They play two, 1hr sets at every show, so it’s inspiring to be surrounded by such a hardworking act. We noticed on this tour the loyal fans, fans that showed up to every show and followed the tour, we made friends and new fans and sold a lot of merch, it’s great to be on the fringe of The Superjesus community.
Ok, I want to talk about your new relationship with Strandberg guitars… those guitars are far out with their body shape and headless set-up. What drew you to these guitars, and how did the relationship come about?
We were drawn to these guitars because of Kat’s issues with injuries she sustains from playing traditional guitars. The Strandberg Guitars are specifically designed to avoid injury, the shape and the weight, the whole design of these guitars has the players anatomy in mind. We were at the Melbourne Guitar Show and I picked it up, looking for something light weight and unique, I fell in love. The next day the designer Ola Strandberg hit us up saying his wife had found us online and offered us a sponsorship deal. Now we use them at every gig and we love sharing them with other guitarists.
So, you’ve released a few singles this year… can we expect a full album squeezed somewhere in between the shows?
We’re releasing our second EP soon. It will have ‘Tried to Quit’ on there and three new tracks we recorded at the same time.
And with all your hectic schedules, you’ve managed to make your way back up to the Sunshine Coast to play Jungle Love next month… keen as?
So keen, we’re playing with POND! We love POND so much and wearing costumes (we hear that Jungle Love is costume themed) so we’re really excited for that combination!
Thank you, legends. Keep kicking arse, and we’ll see you at Jungle Love very soon.