Marcus Hobbs, guitarist and singer with East Brunswick All Girls Choir, is refreshingly patient when ask ed the origin of the band’s name. Is it true, I ask him hesitatingly, that you named the band after coming across some friends’ housemates singing in a Brunswick share house?
Marcus Hobbs, guitarist and singer with East Brunswick All Girls Choir, is refreshingly patient when ask ed the origin of the band’s name. Is it true, I ask him hesitatingly, that you named the band after coming across some friends’ housemates singing in a Brunswick share house? “I got sick of answering that question,” Hobbs replies. “People always ask that question in interviews, so I just started making up stories to explain it. I probably should’ve thought of another story before this interview. Maybe I should’ve just called the band Metallica,” he laughs.
It’s not so much the origin of the name that intrigues me personally, but rather the extent to which it creates assumptions in the minds of other people – bookers, venue owners and even punters – about the type of music East Brunswick All Girls Choir play. “Yeah, we do get people getting the wrong idea about what we sound like,” Hobbs admits. “Not so much in Melbourne, but when we’re playing out of town. When we were in New Zealand and we’d go to the bar to get beers they were worried we’d be getting beers for all these people. Or you’d get somewhere and the owner is waiting for all these girls to appear. I don’t really know what they’re expecting,” he laughs.
East Brunswick All Girls Choir started out as Hobbs’s solo project. Hobbs grew up in the regional Victorian town of Bendigo, and playing solo shows has its advantages and disadvantages; after a while Hobbs wanted a band behind him to increase the sound and spread the responsibility. “It’s OK to play on your own, but if you fuck up, then you’re on your own,” he notes. “After playing solo I thought it’d be good have a band. In Bendigo it’s pretty easy to start a band, ‘cause there’s nothing much else to do. But in Melbourne it’s a bit harder ‘cause there’s so many bands already,” Hobbs laughs.
Hobbs teamed with Robert Wigley, who he’d known from his days in Bendigo, with Ria Nakayama joining on bass. Like so many bands before, East Brunswick All Girls Choir found settling on a drummer a difficult task. “We’ve been through something like nine drummers!” Hobbs laughs. Has having different drummers had any effect on the band’s sound? “Yeah definitely,” Hobbs replies. “When we had Steve Masterson from the Bird Blobs, he was great. Our drummer now is a bit of a doom drummer, so that’s a lot different. We tend to choose our set-list to suit the drummer we’ve got. It’s pretty hard to teach drummers songs,” Hobbs laughs.
East Brunswick All Girls Choir have recently finished recording their debut album, recorded at a warehouse studio in Fairfield. “There’s a studio space that’s been set up there,” Hobbs explains. “We did our EP there as well – we just used the space that’s there. We did about three days of recording there, and we were pretty fucked by the end of it.” Hobbs is satisfied with the final product. “I’m not sure if the vocals turned out exactly as I wanted,” he offers. “I think the album’s a grower – but all the songs are absolutely classic hits, obviously,” he laughs.
This coming Friday night East Brunswick All Girls Choir launch the first single from the album, Essendon 1986. Disappointingly, my assumption that the song celebrates the 1986 Essendon premiership team turns out to be misguided. “I didn’t even know Essendon won the premiership in 1986,” Hobbs admits. “It’s actually named after a street near I where I catch the train to work – there’s a sign there saying the street won cleanest street in Essendon in 1986.”
After the launch Hobbs and Ria are travelling to Berlin for a six-month working holiday. “Everyone’s assuming that we’re going there for artistic reasons,” Hobbs chuckles. “We’re not – it’s just the cheapest place we can go. But maybe we’ll another drummer and call ourselves the East Brunswick Kraut Choir,” he deadpans.
EAST BRUNSWICK ALL GIRLS CHOIR launch their single Essendon 1986 at The Northcote Social Club this Friday December 17. It’s also a farewell party, so why not help send them off in style. Tickets at the door.
