The fluorescent pink locks of Christopher Whitehall practically glowed in the dark when his band stepped on the 9:30 Club stage to Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” a couple of weeks ago. Whitehall is the singer of the Australian four-piece indie rock band The Griswolds and that night the group was opening for Magic Man. But before that band could take the stage, it was clear that the Griswolds’ energy would define the night.
They had the crowd jumping to their classics like “Beware the Dog” and “Be Impressive.” At one point, Whitehall stood on the drum kit in a jam session with drummer Lachlan West.
“We went out and partied that night,” joked West weeks later, “and I paid for it the next day.”
With the Hotline Springs Tour winding down, the band is beginning to find their way off the stage and back into the studio in preparation to create their sophomore album. This week, The Diamondback had the chance to sit down with West to discuss The Griswolds’ past, present and future.
The Diamondback: How did The Griswolds come to be a band?
West: We all knew each other beforehand. Sydney’s indie music scene isn’t that huge, so we all knew of each other and stuff like that. Tim and I, the bass player and myself, we grew up across the street from one another, so we’ve kind of known each other forever. It makes it a lot easier. We don’t really have to talk to each other to know what’s going on, we can just read each other.
D: Where do you guys pull most of your influence from?
W: Absolutely anything we listen to we are influenced by, whether that be through active listening, you know, by putting on records and listening to it, or whether it be….You know, sometimes you can chill with a band and their influence just shapes into yours. You watch them play live every single night, and play the same songs. So sometimes it can be accidental influence, or it can be an active influence. It can be anything we listen to.
In the band, we’re into a lot of hip-hop at the moment. We listen to Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar, A$AP Rocky, a whole bunch of that. Also, we used to all be metalheads as well, so every now and then there will be like a Slayer or a Megadeth song come on. It’s pretty eclectic. This morning we went to a Beatles-themed diner in Detroit. We’re influenced by a whole lot of different things at the same time, and that’s the way we like it.
D: How have you seen your band grow both musically and as people since your debut EP Heart of a Lion?
W: I guess musically we’ve grown a lot. In our music it’s still the same delivery, it’s us giving it to the people. But it’s different influence delivered by the same people. As people, we’ve learned not to get in each other’s way.
D: What was the process of recording Be Impressive, your first studio album?
W: We were in the studio for I think about six weeks or so, in Los Angeles with a gentleman by the name of Tony Hoffer. He’s the producer, and he’s done some amazing stuff. He’s like the king of indie band production. He’s done like Phoenix albums, and Beck albums, M83, The Kooks, The Fratellis, you name it. He’s awesome. We absolutely love Tony. He made us step up our game. We were happy to sort of settle for whatever we’d written previously, but he would always push us to beat it, to write a better part, a better line, chorus, whatever. So yeah, he made us raise our standards.
D: Who did most of the writing of the album?
W: Well for the first album [Be Impressive], the majority of the writing was Chris and Dan, the singer and the guitarist. But, for the current one we’re doing now, it’s very collaborative, which is really fun for us. I was the only new member when we made the first album, so I’m sort of finding my place both musically and socially. It’s a lot more interesting for me now.
D: How did you come to tour with Magic Man and Panama Wedding?
W: It was quite organic. We were already friends with Magic Man. We’d never met Panama Wedding before the tour. With Magic Man, we’d never played with them on a tour, but you know, you meet each other at festivals or at parties or whatever. We just befriended them and then we’d get drunk together and be like, “Aw man, we should tour together!” And then we’d finally be like, “Oh, do you — do you want to actually do that?” Having Panama Wedding on the tour sort of just rounded it out. They’re such a good band.
D: What is your favorite song to perform live?
W: “16 Years.” It’s the first song on the album … The crowd always sings along to the chorus, so I think the lyrics really hit home to a lot of people. It’s also one of the little faster, upbeat songs, so it’s fun to play.
D: What was it like to perform in America for the first time?
W: It’s cool. At this point, we’ve played, I think, over 300 American shows. So at this point it’s become normal. We’ve done many more shows here than back home. At first, it was great, because, I mean, it’s playing music in a different country, in a different continent. That’s the coolest thing in the world!
I remember when I was like a teenager, and thinking, when I had my little shitty band, if I get to play music overseas, then I’ve made it. And then I did it….I always wonder what 15-year-old me would be thinking, and I think he’d be pretty stoked at the moment.
D: What has been your most memorable experience on tour so far?
W: We toured with a band called Walk the Moon last year and that’s honestly one of the most fun experiences we’ve ever had. We just got along really well … I think the last night of the tour was in Las Vegas, and it had been very tense for a long time, so it was a good release. There’s a lot of details that I can’t really share, but you can imagine what happens when a tour ends in Vegas. It was a lot of fun; I’ll just leave it at that.
D: If you had to describe each of your band members in one word, what would they be?
W: Chris: I will say “manic.” Tim: I will say…hard one…for him I would say “grubby,” which may not translate over here. He’s not a slob, he’s a grub, which is an Australian term for a guy that’s sort of got ketchup on his shirt all the time. Dan: “lazy,” I guess. Me: you know, perfect.
D: What is the next step for the band?
W: At the moment, we’re halfway through recording our second album. We started recording it in Los Angeles and we came out on this tour and once this tour is done, we’re going straight back into the studio to finish this album.
D: What is the vibe for the next album?
W: It’s some damn good songs. We’re so proud of how it’s going. We’re taking our time with it; we don’t want to rush it. But it’s sounding very good. I’m really excited to see how it does. I just want to hear it; I just want to hear the finished product. I don’t want to do the work, I just want to hear it.
