Q & A with Fat Picnic

Fat horns, fat grooves and fat tones are the fundamentals of this 7-piece Brisbane ska/ reggae/ soul band that is Fat Picnic, and they are taking it all on the road and are inviting everyone to ‘Come And Get Some Good Vibes’. 

This energetic, fun-loving troupe are heading south to a play a line of shows in Melbourne and Geelong, followed by shows across South-East Queensland in support of the yet to be released single ‘Come And Get Some Good Vibes’.

Fat Picnic are coming our way VERY soon, to play the Queensland Ska & Reggae Festival at the Caloundra Powerboat Club on February 25th, so we though we'd better play catch ups before they arrive...

Hey Fatties! Sooo… you lot have a new single coming out called, ‘Come and Get Some Good Vibes’… sounds pretty self-explanatory (as you’re one of THE good vibes bands around)… but we’ll get through the whole ‘who produced it’ and what’s it all about stuff first, shall we?

Hey hey! This tune has been in the works for a while now, with initial writing beginning in 2015, followed by years of performing and tweaking the tune. We began tracking with west end roots producer (and legend) Paulie Bromley in 2016, with final production magic coming from Andrew Threlfo at the end of last year. We've been working on a number of different songs at once but we felt this tune would be awesome to drop. It shows off the darker and heavier tones of our roots sound and the first full songwriting collab between the bands principle writers Hughie and Graham. And its also a good flagship tune for a band with a message that’s all about creating those good vibes!

You guys had a pretty killer past 12 months, with some East Coast tour lovin’ and some festival slots, including Splendour in the Grass. One doesn’t usually associate roots-y bands with this festival, given it’s Triple J-centric appeal… but how was that experience for you?

It was nothing short of epic. We gained a whole bunch of new fans from that festival. My favourite story is from a group of punters who said they saw our bass players cape and said to themselves “we have to go check that out!”. They now come to all our gold coast shows.

You’re about to head back down to Melbourne for a string of shows, before heading back up our way to play the Queensland Ska & Reggae Festival at Caloundra (the Powerboat Club). Melbourne CAN be a weird one for bands that play roots/reggae/ska, however, there is a fairly devoted reggae scene down there if you can tap into it… how do you feel you connect with the Vic audiences?

I think with any new scene you're going to start a little dry, but by making the right choices with supports and venues you can quickly gain a following and create some epic little dance parties right from the start. New fans are hiding everywhere so I have no doubt with a few Melbourne tours we will be rolling with a lovely new roots following. As long as we keep working at it!

You’ve managed to tick quite a few festivals on your list off now… but is there ONE big one that you want under your belt, and if so, why? Here’s your turn to try and pitch! 

Woodford Folk Festival. Its basically the Fat Picnic of festivals in our eyes. Its all about celebrating unique experiences, ecclectic backgrounds, and above all love and good vibes! We cant think of a festival more suited to what we do, and if we performed we know that we would connect so well with the audience there. Our sound is high energy, fun and full of ska soul and reggae influences. It’s a match made in heaven! 

You sneak in a very clever adaption of Ray Parker Jr’s ‘Ghostbusters’ in to your sets, which gets people losing their minds on the pure ‘holy shit… how did they do THAT to that song’? vibe…. But I reckon it’s time to get another one into your set. Any in the pipeline, or if not, what would be a really random song to convert to FP style? 

Fat Picnic business is very super top secret stuff. We have many ideas floating around for another epic cover but you'll have to wait and see!

You’ve managed to make quite a few friends in the scene in your time… so who’s on Fat Picnic’s list to watch in 2018? 

Some of our favourite acts include Hot Potato Band, Cheap Fakes, Bearfoot, Caravana Sun, Dubmarine, Bullhorn and The Steele Syndicate. All have awesome good vibes and killer tunes. Highly recommend each one of these rad bands!

Thanks legends… have a great time in Victoria, and we’ll see you back up our way on February 25 for the Queensland Ska & Reggae Festival. Been way overdue for a catch-up with you lot!

Thanks Rhys, looking forward to catching you there ☺

Fat Picnic play the Queensland Ska & Reggae Festival at the Caloundra Powerboat Club on February 25th.