Jack Pierce - The Pierce Brothers (23/03/2015)
The first time I met Pat Pierce - half of the currently world-dominating twin duet The Pierce Brothers - at film school in Prahran circa 2010, I thought he was loud. Truth be told, he and his brother Jack’s penchant for jovial, unabashed openness and social confidence roused jealousy more than anything else. Here were two handsome, smiling, awesome dudes that were always up for a fun and creative challenge, and a part of me envied their ability to achieve lofty goals with a wink and a smile.
It was inevitable that we’d wind up collaborators and friends by the year’s end, such is the kind and involving nature of these two extremely attractive young men. Seeing them now a few years down the track, having well-and-truly moved from lucrative busking gigs in Bourke Street mall to slowly-but-surely taking the music world by storm with rollicking and peerless musical perspicacity is exactly no surprise to anyone who has had the pleasure of knowing these guys before they got the rest of our planet’s attention.
My phone interview with Jack (and subsequent ramble with Pat) was barely an interview in any sense, and more of a jolly, warbling chin wag between old mates. Below you’ll find an abridged collection of things from that hopefully make sense to a fan or curious third party, but more obviously, truthful words from two completely wonderful Australian artists who have put in the very, very hard yards to carve a notch for themselves in the music world. In Jack and Pat Pierce, you’ll find a spark and eagerness to successfully bring excitement and fun to the world around them every day with what they do, and it’s something from which we could all take note.
Holy shit, Jack. You guys are world famous now! Signed a big deal, playing the Peninsula Picnic this March, and are headed to Amsterdam to play at fuckin’ Pink Pop!
Yeah, the Pink Pop thing is ridiculous! I looked it up and according to Wikipedia it’s the biggest music festival in the world. I don’t know how true that is because it’s Wikipedia, but still… I’m claiming it! We’re so excited.
You’ll be rubbing shoulders with all kinds of people there!
Yeah, man. I’m so excited. We’re so excited! We’re flat out until then.
Yeah, you’re on tour with Dan Sultan now, is that right?
Yeah, we met him for the first time the other night. He’s a legend! We were at the airport and on the same flight to go to the first show in Alice Springs. Pat and I were just kind of sitting there, y’know, on our phones, and he just walks up and goes “Excuse me, you’re Jack and Pat, aren’t ya?”, and we’re like, “Yeah...”, and he’s like “I’m Dan”, and we’re like (very excited) “WE KNOW!”, and he’s like “Well come here then!”, and we all had a good cuddle! It was so awesome.
You guys have come a long way from being touring Australia in a small truck with a director of photography from our film class in the back right after Pat and I graduated in 2011, hey?
(Much laughter), yeah I guess we have, actually. Those were still some of the most fun tours, though. That was the tour when we all decided, oh… well, we ran out of money because it was really just a surfing trip we were playing music on. (The girl) touring with us was decided to go home, and me Pat and (DOP) Carl were like, “We can keep doing this for a few more months, can’t we? Yep? Great.”
You guys have a live gig from The Corner Hotel in Melbourne on a CD/ DVD just out, from which you’re releasing a few thousand signed ones. Fans must be stoked!
It went pretty well, that one. We were really happy with it in the end. And now were working on new stuff now as well. We’ve just been in the studio with a producer that has worked with John Butler and on Dan Sultans EP, yeah, a whole bunch of stuff. It’s Jan Skubiszewski from Way Of The Eagle. We’re smashing out new stuff with him and getting it finalized as quick as possible. Hopefully we’re going to get one of those singles out really soon.
You can’t go to Europe empty handed.
That’s what I thought! I’m just waiting to find out what we all want to do, really.
How does it work in new territory? Do you just walk up to the merch stand and say “Hey, can you sell our stuff?”
I honestly don’t know what to do. I remember last year at Lowlands, our first big music festival in Europe, we out sold everyone at the festival except one other band! It was a festival of 180,000 people with like Skrillex and Snoop Dogg, bloody Chet Faker, and Vance Joy. We out sold them all! I remember I just took our merch up myself, because we were doing it independently. Everyone else had their labels there, with tour managers and posters on the wall and stuff, and I just walk up with two card board boxes like;
Jack: Who do I talk to?, and the bloke’s like;
Merch Guy: Who are you?
Jack: Oh, we’re The Pierce Brothers. and he’s like
Merch Guy: Never heard of you. I said
Jack: I’m pretty sure we’re on a list somewhere, can you please take the boxes?
Merch Guy: How much have you got there?
Jack: Uh… like, 400 CDs?
Merch Guy: Oh, I think that’s too many, mate.
Jack: Oh… well I don’t really want to cart them around. Can we just leave them here?
Yeah, so we sold all of them (laughs).
Hah! Fuck you, guy at the merch stand!
Yeah, exactly. So we went back there after our show and found out we sold them all. Definitely puffed our chests out and turned our noses up like two pigeons (laughs).
So what’s next for you dudes after the tour with Dan Sultan? Will you have to move over seas with all your new found fame?
I honestly don’t know. Like, yeah… I don’t know. We’ve got a show in Canada at The Canadian Music Week, and then we’re doing the one in London, then the Pink Pop show, then all these The Cat Empire shows as well, so it’s all unchartered territory. I don’t expect to really have to, though. I’d definitely like to, at least for a little while.
What types of folks come to your gigs in other countries?
I guess there’s no specific demographic, really. They’re usually young, I guess. Early 20’s, mostly. Last year when we did Lowlands in the Netherlands, we spent the whole week before on radio stations in Holland doing shows, then opened up the festival with a Like A Version. So then a lot of people came to our tent because of that. Then later on in London a lot of different people came to our show because they’d seen us busking in Melbourne, and because we’ve done that twice in the last two years, we basically told everyone “Hey, you know that band you saw busking in Melbourne? Well they’re only playing in London for one night!” So then a bunch of people from all ages came to those shows. Singles, couples, young, old, black, white, whatever!
You guys are killing it. Alright, man, I have to bugger off to the zoo to take photos of The Twerps and Steve Malkmus And The Jicks. We’ll catch up for a beer soon when you’re done conquering earth.
Yeah, man! Awesome. We’d love that. I’m just gonna put you on to Pat for a second…
What followed was ten solid minutes of conversation between myself and Pat Pierce that was both enjoyable and deeply inappropriate for revisitation in this interview. The Pierce Brothers are on tour locally again soon, and you’d be a damn fool not to get on board. Good work, lads. I’ll see you for a beer in April.
Todd Gingell
The Peninsula Picnic
March 29th - Mornington Peninsula
http://peninsulapicnic.com.au/
Pierce Brothers National 2015 Tour Dates
Friday, 17th April 2015 - Spirit Bar, Traralgon
Saturday, 18th April 2015 - Westernport Hotel, San Remo
Sunday, 19th April 2015 - 170 Russell, Melbourne
Thursday, 23rd April 2015 - Solbar, Maroochydore
Friday, 24th April 2015 - Woolly Mammoth, Brisbane
Saturday, 25th April 2015 - Newtown Social Club
Friday, 1st May 2015 - Pirie & Co. Social Club, Adelaide
It was inevitable that we’d wind up collaborators and friends by the year’s end, such is the kind and involving nature of these two extremely attractive young men. Seeing them now a few years down the track, having well-and-truly moved from lucrative busking gigs in Bourke Street mall to slowly-but-surely taking the music world by storm with rollicking and peerless musical perspicacity is exactly no surprise to anyone who has had the pleasure of knowing these guys before they got the rest of our planet’s attention.
My phone interview with Jack (and subsequent ramble with Pat) was barely an interview in any sense, and more of a jolly, warbling chin wag between old mates. Below you’ll find an abridged collection of things from that hopefully make sense to a fan or curious third party, but more obviously, truthful words from two completely wonderful Australian artists who have put in the very, very hard yards to carve a notch for themselves in the music world. In Jack and Pat Pierce, you’ll find a spark and eagerness to successfully bring excitement and fun to the world around them every day with what they do, and it’s something from which we could all take note.
Holy shit, Jack. You guys are world famous now! Signed a big deal, playing the Peninsula Picnic this March, and are headed to Amsterdam to play at fuckin’ Pink Pop!
Yeah, the Pink Pop thing is ridiculous! I looked it up and according to Wikipedia it’s the biggest music festival in the world. I don’t know how true that is because it’s Wikipedia, but still… I’m claiming it! We’re so excited.
You’ll be rubbing shoulders with all kinds of people there!
Yeah, man. I’m so excited. We’re so excited! We’re flat out until then.
Yeah, you’re on tour with Dan Sultan now, is that right?
Yeah, we met him for the first time the other night. He’s a legend! We were at the airport and on the same flight to go to the first show in Alice Springs. Pat and I were just kind of sitting there, y’know, on our phones, and he just walks up and goes “Excuse me, you’re Jack and Pat, aren’t ya?”, and we’re like, “Yeah...”, and he’s like “I’m Dan”, and we’re like (very excited) “WE KNOW!”, and he’s like “Well come here then!”, and we all had a good cuddle! It was so awesome.
You guys have come a long way from being touring Australia in a small truck with a director of photography from our film class in the back right after Pat and I graduated in 2011, hey?
(Much laughter), yeah I guess we have, actually. Those were still some of the most fun tours, though. That was the tour when we all decided, oh… well, we ran out of money because it was really just a surfing trip we were playing music on. (The girl) touring with us was decided to go home, and me Pat and (DOP) Carl were like, “We can keep doing this for a few more months, can’t we? Yep? Great.”
You guys have a live gig from The Corner Hotel in Melbourne on a CD/ DVD just out, from which you’re releasing a few thousand signed ones. Fans must be stoked!
It went pretty well, that one. We were really happy with it in the end. And now were working on new stuff now as well. We’ve just been in the studio with a producer that has worked with John Butler and on Dan Sultans EP, yeah, a whole bunch of stuff. It’s Jan Skubiszewski from Way Of The Eagle. We’re smashing out new stuff with him and getting it finalized as quick as possible. Hopefully we’re going to get one of those singles out really soon.
You can’t go to Europe empty handed.
That’s what I thought! I’m just waiting to find out what we all want to do, really.
How does it work in new territory? Do you just walk up to the merch stand and say “Hey, can you sell our stuff?”
I honestly don’t know what to do. I remember last year at Lowlands, our first big music festival in Europe, we out sold everyone at the festival except one other band! It was a festival of 180,000 people with like Skrillex and Snoop Dogg, bloody Chet Faker, and Vance Joy. We out sold them all! I remember I just took our merch up myself, because we were doing it independently. Everyone else had their labels there, with tour managers and posters on the wall and stuff, and I just walk up with two card board boxes like;
Jack: Who do I talk to?, and the bloke’s like;
Merch Guy: Who are you?
Jack: Oh, we’re The Pierce Brothers. and he’s like
Merch Guy: Never heard of you. I said
Jack: I’m pretty sure we’re on a list somewhere, can you please take the boxes?
Merch Guy: How much have you got there?
Jack: Uh… like, 400 CDs?
Merch Guy: Oh, I think that’s too many, mate.
Jack: Oh… well I don’t really want to cart them around. Can we just leave them here?
Yeah, so we sold all of them (laughs).
Hah! Fuck you, guy at the merch stand!
Yeah, exactly. So we went back there after our show and found out we sold them all. Definitely puffed our chests out and turned our noses up like two pigeons (laughs).
So what’s next for you dudes after the tour with Dan Sultan? Will you have to move over seas with all your new found fame?
I honestly don’t know. Like, yeah… I don’t know. We’ve got a show in Canada at The Canadian Music Week, and then we’re doing the one in London, then the Pink Pop show, then all these The Cat Empire shows as well, so it’s all unchartered territory. I don’t expect to really have to, though. I’d definitely like to, at least for a little while.
What types of folks come to your gigs in other countries?
I guess there’s no specific demographic, really. They’re usually young, I guess. Early 20’s, mostly. Last year when we did Lowlands in the Netherlands, we spent the whole week before on radio stations in Holland doing shows, then opened up the festival with a Like A Version. So then a lot of people came to our tent because of that. Then later on in London a lot of different people came to our show because they’d seen us busking in Melbourne, and because we’ve done that twice in the last two years, we basically told everyone “Hey, you know that band you saw busking in Melbourne? Well they’re only playing in London for one night!” So then a bunch of people from all ages came to those shows. Singles, couples, young, old, black, white, whatever!
You guys are killing it. Alright, man, I have to bugger off to the zoo to take photos of The Twerps and Steve Malkmus And The Jicks. We’ll catch up for a beer soon when you’re done conquering earth.
Yeah, man! Awesome. We’d love that. I’m just gonna put you on to Pat for a second…
What followed was ten solid minutes of conversation between myself and Pat Pierce that was both enjoyable and deeply inappropriate for revisitation in this interview. The Pierce Brothers are on tour locally again soon, and you’d be a damn fool not to get on board. Good work, lads. I’ll see you for a beer in April.
Todd Gingell
The Peninsula Picnic
March 29th - Mornington Peninsula
http://peninsulapicnic.com.au/
Pierce Brothers National 2015 Tour Dates
Friday, 17th April 2015 - Spirit Bar, Traralgon
Saturday, 18th April 2015 - Westernport Hotel, San Remo
Sunday, 19th April 2015 - 170 Russell, Melbourne
Thursday, 23rd April 2015 - Solbar, Maroochydore
Friday, 24th April 2015 - Woolly Mammoth, Brisbane
Saturday, 25th April 2015 - Newtown Social Club
Friday, 1st May 2015 - Pirie & Co. Social Club, Adelaide