Hazy Days Music is honoured to be premiering Tug's fresh, psychedelic, brand new single “Droid Party”. This song is the first taste of new music from their much anticipated upcoming second album. Hazy Days Music would like to thank Mitch for taking the time out and having a chat. 

Tug has a pretty interesting story of how the band started, could you tell us how Tug formed and what have some of the highlights been over the years?

It would have been back in 2017 when we all first started jamming together. Tug began as a result of the bands I was previously in (Bears and Dozeys) and another crews band (King Evil) which broke up all around the same time. King Evil was originally from Warrnambool, but they moved up to Melbourne. We played a lot of shows together and became good friends. Suddenly there was turmoil in all the bands, and they all ended up splitting up, so we made a new one with members from each of the bands'. 

We started Tug with the idea that it had no one head songwriter and anyone could write the music. Tug was originally going to be a four-piece band, but our friend ended up backing out, and we were a three-piece for pretty much the whole of the first year we were a band. We released our debut album in February 2018, “You're Not Exceptional, Man”. Two weeks before we had the studio booked. I was talking to my mate Jayden 'bone' Hebbard. I told him how sweet it would be if we had a second guitarist in the band, and I reckon you can learn all of our songs before we record. We went into the studio with a lot of positive energy rather than knowing that we actually had it haha. He was incredible, and we pulled it off, ‘Bone’ is now a massive part of the band.

After the album came out, we played shows and toured a lot, playing the last Kennedys Creek Music Festival and the first Goomfest in 2019.

I started the label Side Stare Music about seven years ago now. Those bands were all the first generation of Side Stare Music. It is what it is now with the - The Stained Daisies, Joe Terror, Tug, Suneden, Indigo Children, Gardens.

Droid Party is an incredibly catchy new single, I love the big change towards the end. What was the songwriting process behind the song and it’s transition?

We recorded the single “Droid Party” at the end of 2019. The Stained Daisies guys, myself, and a few others were all living in this warehouse in Brunswick. There would have been like 13 of us living there. It was great. We had a studio set up and little performance space for a few low key gigs we hosted. We recorded a lot of music there before we all got kicked out. “Droid Party” and the upcoming album it is off were all recorded in that space. Aidan Bateman has been our engineer, producer, mixer and master for all the music Tug has released. We were going to go with someone else to master this single. But I preferred that Aidan did it. “You're Not Exceptional, Man” went really well, and I 100% back him with his skills. Aidan is really good at what he does. I tend to write all the music. I'll bring an idea to the band or have the structure of the song written. I like to leave part of the song unfinished. So we can work it out together as a band. Jam on an idea and see where it takes us and whatever happens happens.

In “Droid Party”, there is this abrupt change that happens towards the end of the song. I had it in mind that it would be cool to put this big change in the song. We had this jam and were wondering how the transition was going to fit in. In the end, we decided to make it as abruptly as possible. If you listen to it closely when the music stops, you can hear this click right before it jumps to this other jam. 

The message behind “Droid Party” is my tongue-in-cheek way of hinting at; how we are so aware of the environmental catastrophe that is going on around us these days, but with our love of technology is so conflicting. Not that I said it explicitly, I don't think I was very explicit in the way I say it, just in sort of a cheeky way that's the concept of the song. With the abrupt change and that concept of flicking the switch. I see it as being very tech orientated. It's as if we are all androids being forced into the new future of technology. On most of our jams, we like to find some random samples to play over the top. We did that a lot on our first album. For the sample that plays on “Droid Party”, we typed in "Tug and Robot" into this database. It came up with this video about a robot they use in hospitals that goes around and dispenses pharmaceutical drugs. We took snippets of this guy explaining the functionality of "Tug" and chucked it over the jam. The guys like “Tugs know exactly where he is right now. Tug is very helpful to our workflow”. 

The film clip is sick! What went into making this one?

I made the music video when I had nothing to do and was going crazy over lockdown. The music video is all chopped up footage of this old archived VHS show I found from the '90s about places and locations. I found this episode of what they thought the future was going to look like in Australia, it was mainly footage of Melbourne in the future. Melbourne was hit with this massive dust storm where it was impossible for everyone to see and move around. I thought this footage worked conceptually really well with the theme of the song and how we are headed to a bad place, aligning the dust storm with the abrupt musical change. It was kind of cool, it had this little scene in the future and the year 2020 popped up, I thought it was pretty surreal to be working on that same year they were showing the future. I felt like it fit my personality and the tongue-in-cheek aspect of the song.

It must be so exciting that Goomfest is coming up soon. As always, the lineup is really impressive this year. How does it feel to be a part of it again and is there anything special planned for your set?

We are very excited for this one! It's our first gig back in almost 15 months and we have a few special things planned. We've organised an extended lineup for this show. Our producer Aidan is going to be on the congas, and an extra flutist as well. We're going to set up a vocal chain on stage that Aidan's going to be controlling, which will be pretty fun and wild. 

Goomfest is a pretty special festival for us. We played the first one back in 2019 and are stoked to be playing again this year. We were pretty lucky to have played the last Kennedys Creek Festival that was just outside of Warrnambool. Sam Pyers runs Goomfest. He is a really great guy and has taken this idea for the festival and run with it. He saw this niche spot in the market where Kennedys was ending and has made it his own. He is slowly growing the festival, from 300 attendees the first year to 500 in 2021.

It’s a weird feeling. Goomfest is going to be the biggest gig we have played in front of an audience and the fact that we haven't played in so long. It’s a bit daunting but exciting at the same time.

This year's line-up is unbelievable and I’m pretty chuffed that Tug gets to be a part of it. Bananagun, Zoe Fox and the Rocket Clocks, Beans, Big Yawn, Hideous Sun Demon and heaps of other great local bands are playing. It’s going to be an awesome festival! Goomfest is sold out, but I think they are still looking for some volunteers if you are keen to get down.

How was your experience during the COVID lockdowns? Were you still living in the warehouse? How were you able to stay musically creative for such a long period of time?

We got kicked out a few weeks just before COVID hit, we were all pretty shattered when we found out, but I think it was a blessing in disguise. Our landlord never had the right housing permits for where we were staying, and after ten months of us all renting there, he told us we had a week to find somewhere new to stay because his new application he put it got denied.

I think it was lucky in a way. It would have been a nightmare for all of us locked in there. We are all creative nutcases. It would've been good, but bad. Destructive and creative. In the end, it would've been too much to handle. I ended up moving back into the place I was renting before the warehouse. The timing was lucky because lockdown hit not long after I moved back in. Lockdown was pretty rough for me, mental health-wise, I was struggling, and things got pretty dark there. I'm glad things are representing normality again. I was just stuck at home for the whole time and couldn't work. I was pretty productive over the lockdown period. I ended up making the film clips for the songs of our new album, also recording a whole new album. But I just nearly lost my mind. The new album I recorded over lockdown will conceptually be following the album we are about to release. Conceptually it will follow as part two.

Incredible! Could you tell us a little bit more about this follow-up album and how they coincide?

We haven't finalised the name of the upcoming album, it will either be called The Fall or Falling, and the follow-up album will be called Phoenix Reborn. The concept is you crumble into ashes, and from the ashes, a rebirth happens. I had this idea and these songs floating around in my head for a while. I wrote all of the songs before we even jammed the music on The Fall/Falling.

I planned on recording Pheonix Reborn with the full band. But over the lockdown period, I had nothing to do and was tearing my hair out. I had these ten songs that were just sitting there stuck in my head, so I just started recording them myself. I only had limited recording equipment at home. My guitar was broken, and I only had a keyboard and an acoustic guitar. I knew the exact sound I was after and went out and sampled the drums and instruments from other songs. I think we are just going to release Pheonix Reborn how it is. Rather than rerecord it with the band. Nothing is set in stone, but the album is all there, and I am really happy and surprised with what I could pull together with limited resources.

This version of Pheonix Reborn is a bit sentimental. I know it might not be as polished or as well as it could be. But it has a certain vibe of the time it was recorded in, and I like that.

Does Tug have any other shows coming up and can we expect the release of Phoenix Reborn in 2021?

Goomfest is the only show booked in, and we don't really have anything else at the moment.

Playing Goomfest spurred us to release some new music around the same time and kickstart this album cycle. Our good friend Maz is working with us, helping book and organise some single launches, shows and maybe a tour if possible. It's just hard at the moment. Not knowing if the rules are going to change or stay the same that far out. We are just taking it slow right now and trying not to look too many weeks ahead. The best place to stay up to date with all the news is on our socials.

I reckon we will follow The Fall/Falling up pretty quickly with Phoenix Reborn. I would love to release two albums this year.

Stay up to date with Tug on Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.

Posted on the 16th of March by Jake Taylor.