The Fearless Vampire Killers

“Holly why the fuck are you shaking your head and dancing in the tutorial”

Yes this is what I have been faced with ever since I splurged and bought The Fearless Vampire Killers EP, and yes, I blame them for making me look mildly insane. Their music is infectious. Right from the opening riff of “I Gotta Love You” it is hard to resist the catchy sixties/blues/rock feel that this band encapsulates (it is also hard to resist shaking your head in a Ringo circa 1964-esqu fashion). Sure the influences aren’t hard to pick but the band puts their own spin on them, referencing rather than copying, I personally think this is what the love child of The Beatles and The Stones would sound like if they made a guest appearance in Tarentino’s “Death Proof”. The band that is made up of Seán Ainsworth, Rich Bradbeer , Al Marx and Dylan Lieberman have won the approval from the likes of Triple J’s Kingsmill and Rosie Beaton, but the greatest thing about this band is that with out delving into their influences, gigs, history n’ all that rot- as soon as you hear their music you smile and dance, and that my friends is more than enough for me.


Drummer Dylan Lieberman was kind enough to do an interview:

How did The Fearless Vampire Killers come about?
Sean, Al and myself all went to Box Hill Senior Secondary and met in the music performance class there. The class was asked to group up into bands. I'd known Sean for a little while before we were at Box Hill, so we teamed up, and Al and Lachlan (our then-current bass player) joined in to complete the band.

What are your main influences?
All the obvious ones, you know, like The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Bob Dylan. We wear our influences on our sleeves, and it's quite easy to tell what they are.

Favourite Beatles album?
Well, I don't know about the other guys, but mine would have to be A Hard Day's Night. It's the perfect pop record!

I’ve read that you recorded your EP yourself. Did you enjoy the experience? Would you do it again?
Most of the tracks for the EP were recorded with the help of an engineer at Head Gap Studios. Some overdubs, like vocals and percussion, were recorded at Will Dempsey's house (our then-current bass player (we've been through a few!)). It was mixed by Al and Will and mastered by Adam Dempsey (no relation to Will). I enjoyed the recording process, that's always fun.

Are you recording an album?
We recorded nine or ten songs a few months ago. One of the songs, "Loaded Gun", will be released as a single next month. The rest of the tracks may be used for an album. It's hard to say at this point in time, there are a several factors involved. Again, we mixed these tracks ourselves. I, personally, would prefer to have the tracks mixed professionally, but there's only so much money we have to spend on this sort of thing.

Any changes to the recording process?
What we generally do is record bass, drums, lead and rhythm guitar live together. That's what we did for the EP, and that's how we've done it with these latest recordings. We are essentially a live band and we try to capture that energy in the studio.

What is your song writing process? Does it stem from jamming or is it more structured?
A lot of our songs do evolve from jams, yes. That's how a lot of our early songs came about (i.e. "Alright Now Honey", "Evil Woman", etc.). Otherwise, what happens is Sean will come up with a chord progression and vocal melody, or Al with a riff, and we work on it from there.



Have you been trying anything different with your new songs?
Not consciously, no. Sean or Al might tell you different, but I don't feel like anything we write is ever forced into any one direction. It always feels very natural. The latest songs we've written are very much in the same vein as older songs, like "The Sinner" or "One Day at a Time". We've struck a winning formula, as far as we're concerned, and we're sticking to it.

Do you take different approaches to the sound you produce in a live show and the recordings?
We aim to get that live energy in the studio by recording the basic tracks live (as opposed to laying down each track individually). I like to think of our sound on record as very much the same as our sound live, but with a few overdubs.

What is your favourite venue to play at?
I like playing at Yah Yah's because of the atmosphere, and there are always cool people there. The Gershwin Room at The Espy is another favourite. We always seem to get a good crowd there and the sound is great.

You have been very much DIY, whether it is in the recording process or booking shows and touring. How did you learn the ropes?
Yes, before we got signed to Majorbox management, we did most everything ourselves. We learnt how to do it just by doing it, I suppose. We all studied music industry at school, so that helped. But now booking shows and tours is all someone else's problem, thank God! Ha ha!

Do you have any advice for other bands trying to hook into the Melbourne circuit?
Just get out there and try to play as many gigs as you can. Self-promotion is so easy now, what with things like Facebook and Myspace, a good band can get into the loop quite easily. Eventually bookers will get to know your band, and if they see that you can pull a good crowd, they'll offer you more shows (in theory).

Can you recommend any other up and coming Australian bands to look out for?
I personally love The Frowning Clouds, who we'll be sharing the bill with on our Snakes & Ladders tour next month. I'm a big fan of early/mid-'60s R 'n' B and they pull it off really well. I also like The Messengers, a great little pop-rock group who are brilliant songwriters. Other bands, like Tame Impala and Little Red I love, though I suppose they've already established themselves in the Aussie music scene. I think it's all heading in a good direction, and I can't wait to see what the next few years have to offer!


Despite the fact that anything to do with vampires has been tainted with the wrath of Stephanie Myer I highly recommend getting your hands on this EP. They are playing at the Hopetoun on the 8th of October, until then I shall continue to dance like an idiot the to sounds of The Fearless Vampire Killers whether it be on the bus, in a tutorial or walking down the street. Awe yeah.