Sydney band Straight Arrows have just returned from Big Sound and are about to hit the road again to play at Sound Summit Festival (27-30 September). We grabbed frontman Owen Penglis before they head off to see what Straight Arrows have been up to this year.
How would you sum up Straight Arrows in three words?
Crazy, sexy, cool.
What have Straight Arrows been up to over the last 12 months?
We’ve played some pretty great festivals like Vivid at the world famous Sydney Opera House (which our mums almost came to, but it was pretty late), Sugar Mountain at Melbourne’s quite historic Forum Theatre with our friends Thee Oh Sees and Dig It Up! alongside some of our heroes like The Sonics and (early) Redd Kross.
In addition to all our hard work onstage, we’ve recently finished recording two new 7″s. One for Chicago based label Hozac and one for Italy’s very own Goodbye Boozy. We’re also re-issuing our first 7″ through our favourite new label Anti-Fade out of Geelong.
You chose to record your last LP ‘It’s Happening’ strictly on 1950’s equipment only. How did this impact the overall sound of the record?
It sounded a little better than the cassettes we did all our early recording on.
You just came back from showcasing in Brisbane for the 2012 Big Sound Conference. How was the experience?
It was great! We played a good show and got to hang out with our friends, drinking XXXX in the hotel spa, while our manager Marty ‘Slinky’ Doyle held heaps of important meetings in the sauna.
In what ways did the MusicNSW Quick Response funding support you in getting there?
It paid for our flights and allowed us the luxury of staying in a hotel for once, and I don’t mean in the hallway either!
You’re on the bill for Sound Summit this year. What aspect of the festival are you most looking forward to this year?
We’re looking forward to swimming heaps, drinking Croatian beers on the bowling green and seeing Home Blitz. The Gooch Palms have offered to set up a nine-man tent in their backyard for us too.
What can we expect from your set at Sound Summit Festival?
Please refer to question one.
If you could pick any Sydney based artist or band to collaborate with, who would you choose?
Our friend Rachel Myles draws some cool posters and recently designed a rad cover for one of our upcoming 7s. Also we’re really digging The Green Bananas and their song ‘Do The Ape’, so working with those geniuses would be pretty cool too.
What is your favorite venue in Sydney to play in and why?
Goodgod’s always a good time as is the basement of The Shannon.
Are there any other new releases, projects or tours are on the horizon?
Apart from the junk we already mentioned, we’ve also started working on a second hit record possibly titled ‘It’s Happening Again’ out early 2013 in all good record stores.
Catch Straight Arrows at Sound Summit Festival this weekend! For info, head here.